Ghost tomography

Abstract

The quest for imaging protocols with ever-reduced dose is one of the most powerful motivators driving the currently exploding field of ghost imaging (GI). Ghost tomography (GT) using single-pixel detection extends the burgeoning field of GI to 3D, with the use of penetrating radiation. For hard x-rays, GT has the potential to relax the constraints that dose rate and detector performance impose on image quality and resolution. In this work, spatially random x-ray intensity patterns illuminate a specimen from various view-angles; in each case, the total transmitted intensity is recorded by a single-pixel (or bucket) detector. These readings, combined with knowledge of the corresponding 2D illuminating patterns and specimen orientations, are sufficient for 3D specimen reconstruction. The experimental demonstration of GT is presented here using synchrotron hard x-rays. This result significantly expands the scope of GI to encompass volumetric imaging (i.e., tomography), of optically opaque objects using penetrating radiation.