OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to evaluate whether a novel radiographic technique, diffraction-enhanced radiographic imaging, would render high-contrast images of mouse livers, hearts, and kidneys and to determine whether blood vessels and bile ducts can be differentiated on images of mouse livers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For imaging of the bile ducts, mouse livers were excised 20 or 35 days after ligation of the common bile duct. Livers, hearts, and kidneys of control mice also were excised for imaging. The diffraction-enhanced imaging experiments were performed with a silicon 333 crystal diffraction plane and an 18-keV x-ray beam. The beam incident to the sample measured 20 mm (horizontal) x 11 mm (vertical). Images were acquired with the analyzer crystal set at different positions of the rocking curve. RESULTS: Only dilated bile ducts, no normal bile ducts, were found. With diffraction-enhanced imaging without a contrast agent, the blood vessels of the liver, heart, and kidney were visualized to a scale of tens of micrometers. CONCLUSION: Diffraction-enhanced imaging with a silicon 333 crystal plane had excellent contrast in the detection of blood vessels and pathologically dilated bile ducts and may be a promising radiographic technique for basic medical research.
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