In this paper, the development of compact transmission soft x-ray microscopy (XM) with sub-50 nm spatial resolution for biomedical applications is described. The compact transmission soft x-ray microscope operates at lambda = 2.88 nm (430 eV) and is based on a tabletop regenerative x-ray source in combination with a tandem ellipsoidal condenser mirror for sample illumination, an objective micro zone plate and a thinned back-illuminated charge coupled device to record an x-ray image. The new, compact x-ray microscope system requires the fabrication of proper x-ray optical devices in order to obtain high-quality images. For an application-oriented microscope, the alignment procedure is fully automated via computer control through a graphic user interface. In imaging studies using our compact XM system, a gold mesh image was obtained with 45 nm resolution at x580 magnification and 1 min exposure. Images of a biological sample (Coscinodiscus oculoides) were recorded.

The efficacy of adalimumab in patients with noninfectious intermediate, posterior and panuveitis (NIPPU) has been assessed based on clinical findings obtained by conventional biomicroscopy. In this study, we utilised enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) and attempted to investigate whether choroidal imaging parameters obtained by EDI-OCT are helpful in monitoring disease activity following the initiation of adalimumab therapy in eyes with refractory NIPPU. Our data indicates that the efficacy of adalimumab therapy could be better monitored by subfoveal choroidal thickness than the choroidal stromal index defined as the proportion of stromal area to the total choroidal area stromal area. From the results of subgroup analysis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease is likely to be most suitable for EDI-OCT evaluation.

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A nano computed tomography (nano-CT) system has been developed for three-dimensional (3-D) noninvasive biomedical imaging with sub-micrometer resolution. Using modern technologies in x-ray sources, precision mechanics and detection systems, a compact nano-CT scanner has been created for non-invasive imaging of internal microstructure of objects with sub-micrometer resolution. The system allows the imaging of previously unattainable details of internal 3-D micro-architecture in a wide range of applications. The nano-CT scanner consists of a nanofocus x-ray source, a precision object manipulator and high resolution CCD detectors. The source is of the open tube type (transmission) and the minimum focal spot size is < 1um. The object manipulator is composed of three linear motion stages for magnification adjustment(x), alignment(y), positioning(z) and rotating motion stage( ) for sample rotation. The x-ray detector contains a straight fiber-optic coupled CCD. The source-to-detector distance (SDD) is 500 mm and the magnification is from 1.1 to 25 times respectively. All parts of the system operate under computer control from integrated software. In this paper, the reconstructed images using the developed nano CT system for 3-D non-invasive biomedical imaging are presented. The characteristics of nano-CT system are also depicted.