Synchrotron radiation inline phase-contrast imaging combined with computed tomography (SR-inline-PCI-CT) offers great potential for non-invasive characterization and three-dimensional visualization of fine features in weakly absorbing materials and tissues. For cartilage tissue engineering, the biomaterials and any associated cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) that is secreted over time are difficult to image using conventional absorption-based imaging techniques. For example, three-dimensional printed polycaprolactone (PCL)/alginate/cell hybrid constructs have low, but different, refractive indices and thicknesses. This paper presents a study on the optimization and utilization of inline-PCI-CT for visualizing the components of three-dimensional printed PCL/alginate/cell hybrid constructs for cartilage tissue engineering. First, histological analysis using Alcian blue staining and immunofluorescent staining assessed the secretion of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAGs) and collagen type II (Col2) in the cell-laden hybrid constructs over time. Second, optimization of inline PCI-CT was performed by investigating three sample-to-detector distances (SDD): 0.25, 1 and 3 m. Then, the optimal SDD was utilized to visualize structural changes in the constructs over a 42-day culture period. The results showed that there was progressive secretion of cartilage-specific ECM by ATDC5 cells in the hybrid constructs over time. An SDD of 3 m provided edge-enhancement fringes that enabled simultaneous visualization of all components of hybrid constructs in aqueous solution. Structural changes that might reflect formation of ECM also were evident in SR-inline-PCI-CT images. Summarily, SR-inline-PCI-CT images captured at the optimized SDD enables visualization of the different components in hybrid cartilage constructs over a 42-day culture period.

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Biomedical imaging is crucial to the success of bone/cartilage tissue engineering (TE) by providing detailed three-dimensional information on tissue-engineered scaffolds and associated bone/cartilage growth during the healing process. Synchrotron radiation (SR)-based biomedical imaging is an emerging technique for this purpose that has been drawing considerable recent attention. Due to the unique properties of synchrotron light, SR biomedical imaging can provide information that conventional X-ray imaging is not able to capture. SR biomedical imaging techniques notably differ from conventional imaging in both physics and implementation, thus varying with regard to both capability and popularity for biomedical imaging applications. In the earlier decade, synchrotron-based imaging was used in bone/cartilage TE to characterize bone/cartilage scaffolds and tissues as well as the varying degrees of success in reconstruction. However, several key issues should be addressed through research before SR biomedical imaging can be advanced to a noninvasive method for application to live animals and eventually to human patients. This review briefly presents recent developments in this area, focusing on different synchrotron-based biomedical imaging techniques and their advantages and limitations, as well as reported applications to bone and cartilage TE. Key issues and challenges are also identified and discussed along with recommendations for future research.

In medical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging sequences are able to provide information of the damaged brain structure and the neuronal connections. The sequences can be analyzed to form 3D models of the geometry and further including functional information of the neurons of the specific brain area to develop functional models. Modeling offers a tool which can be used for the modeling of brain trauma from images of the patients and thus information to tailor the properties of the transplanted cells. In this paper, we present image-based methods for the analysis of human spinal cord injuries. In this effort, we use three dimensional diffusion tensor imaging, which is an effective method for analyzing the response of the water molecules. This way, our idea is to study how the injury affects on the tissues and how this can be made visible in the imaging.In this paper, we present here a study of spinal cord analysis to two subjects, one healthy volunteer and one spinal cord injury patient. We have done segmentations and volumetric analysis for detection of anatomical differences. The functional differences are analyzed by using diffusion tensor imaging. The obtained results show that this kind of analysis is capable of finding differences in spinal cords anatomy and function.