March 03, 2023
Bone structure probed by tensor tomography
Bone has a complex hierarchical structure extending from the nanoscale to the full bone. Bone is also continuously being remodeled where cells replace old bone with new. The interface between old and new bone is called a cement line whose structure is not well understood. Now Birkedal and coworkers have used X-ray imaging in two ways. They used a technique called tensor tomography to study the cement line structure in human bone and found that the bone in the cement line is organized differently than the bone farther away.
See more on: https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252523000866
December 13, 2022
The very last beamtime at ID06 at ESRF
'We just finalized the very last beamtime on ID06 with great results on dislocations. One hour after the end of the beamtime the instrument was being taken apart. We look forward to its resurrection at ID03' - prof. Grethe Winther
September 24 - 26, 2022
September 22 and 23, 2022
The second SOLID Assembly for partners and affiliated staff, was on 22 and 23 September 2022. The host of the event was the European Spallation Source ESS.
The event contained visiting the instruments in ESS and MAX IV, presentations, poster session by junior partners and a workshop.
March 7 and 8, 2022
SOLID Assembly
KU hosted the first assembly on 7 and 8 March and 47 SOLID partners and affiliated had signed up for the event.
The venue was on the 15th floor at Mærsk Tower and the view was fantastic - and we also got a very interesting guided tour in the basement at Forensics at Panum.
All jr. SOLID partners were encouraged to bring posters for the poster session on day 1.
15 very nice posters were presented and all participants voted for the best ones - technical and in general.
The winners were:
- Thorbjørn Erik Køppen Christensen, AU (Generel)
- Jonas Palle, AU (Technical)
- Bjarke Juul Georgi Østergaard, DTU (General and Technical)
May 19, 2021
The first dark field X-ray microscopy workshop
During the last 8 years a group of SOLID researchers have demonstrated a new X-ray method – Dark Field X-ray Microscopy - and implemented this as an instrument at the European Synchrotron X-ray Facility, ESRF.
Uniquely DFXM can visualize how domains and defects change deep inside hard crystalline materials during processing. May 6-7 a very successful DFXM workshop was held at ESRF with 80 participants, presenting the first scientific results emerging from the new microscope.
A second generation instrument is already being built at ESRF, as one of four flagship projects related to the new X-ray source. Planned to be inaugurated in 2022, this will provide up to 1000 times more photons. Two DTU teams led by Hugh Simons and Henning Friis Poulsen will continue to spearhead these activities via two new ERC grants.
Moreover, the imaging branch of the beamline DanMAX will also provide DFXM capabilities, when that is opened to users – also in 2022.
February 5, 2021
First tomogram in a pure phase contrast mode
At the end of December 2020 a first tomogram in a pure phase contrast mode has been taken at DanMAX. X-ray phase contrast imaging allows studying low-absorbing samples with high energy X-rays, which reduces dramatically the deposited radiation dose and eliminating beam damage of the sample. It is especially important for biological samples, where a micro-CT scan can irreversibly destroy its DNA.
A fragment (approx. 1 mm in height) of a Dermestes genus beetle was scanned in an propagation-based phase contrast mode (a), which is one of the main modes of DanMAX full-field imaging. X-ray phase has been retrieved using the Paganin method (b), and a 3D volume was reconstructed with a conventional filtered back projection algorithm (c and d are the horizontal and vertical slices through the reconstructed volume). Semi-transparent rendered volume (e) reveals both, external shape and internal organs of the insect.
December 2, 2020
Interesting presentation on Bone Diagenesis
At the SOLID Group meeting on December 2, Matthew Collins gave a very interesting presentation on Bone Diagenesis.
Download his presentation here.
November 24, 2020
Listen to Henrik Birkedal's and Mads Ry Vogel Jørgensen's interview about DanMAX for the Radio4 programme Kraniebrud.
September 11, 2020
New VILLUM Experiment research grant
Henning Osholm Sørensen has received one of the VILLUM Experiment research grants (LINK: https://veluxfoundations.dk/en/content/villum-experiment-100-mio-dkk-51-bold-research-experiments). VILLUM Experiment funds wild research projects and the rewarded project is indeed very challenging.
The project entitled: Opening the black box: imaging nanoparticle transport in porous media aims at enabling direct imaging of nano-particle transport through tight porous media, i.e. to follow the dynamic process inside porous media with a pore scale size below 1 µm. To do this everything related to the experimental components needs to miniaturised - samples should be less that 0.05 mm and yet it should be possible to inject nano-particles suspensions into the sample.
If succesful, the project is expected to reveal direct evidence of the mechanisms of nano-particle transport that before have only been theoretical. Eventually, these results can be used to improve predictive modelling of how nano-particles are transported in the natural environment.