Three-Dimensional Analysis of High-Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography Data with Morpho+

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) analysis is an essential tool to obtain quantitative results from 3D datasets. Considerable progress has been made in 3D imaging techniques, resulting in a growing need for more flexible, complete analysis packages containing advanced algorithms. At the Centre for X-ray Tomography of the Ghent University (UGCT), research is being done on the improvement of both hardware and software for high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT). UGCT collaborates with research groups from different disciplines, each having specific needs. To meet these requirements the analysis software package, Morpho+, was developed in-house. Morpho+ contains an extensive set of high-performance 3D operations to obtain object segmentation, separation, and parameterization (orientation, maximum opening, equivalent diameter, sphericity, connectivity, etc.), or to extract a 3D geometrical representation (surface mesh or skeleton) for further modeling. These algorithms have a relatively short processing time when analyzing large datasets. Additionally, Morpho+ is equipped with an interactive and intuitive user interface in which the results are visualized. The package allows scientists from various fields to obtain the necessary quantitative results when applying high-resolution X-ray CT as a research tool to the nondestructive investigation of the microstructure of materials.

Combining electrical resistance and 3-D X-ray computed tomography for moisture distribution measurements in wood products exposed in dynamic moisture conditions

“…The software package Morpho+ was used to obtain the average greyscale values of the different constituents [21]. Preprocessing of the volumes included bilateral filtering to remove noise and preserve edges.…”

Integral procedure to assess crack filling and mechanical contribution of polymer-based healing agent in encapsulation-based self-healing concrete

“…A comparison of the scans before and after breakage of the glass capsules inside the concrete blocks was done using DataViewer, a commercial software package of Skyscan (Bruker). This allows us to register and further analyze the outflow of healing agent inside the crack between the concrete blocks using Octopus Analysis [10].…”

Advanced Segmentation Algorithms for the Three-Dimensional Analysis of X-Ray CT Data from Geomaterials

“…It is possible to manually rejoin selected objects, however this is a time-consuming job (especially for large datasets) and mistakes are easily made. Therefore a semi-automatic method to rejoin was developed at UGCT and added to Morpho+ (Brabant et al, 2011).…”

“…The 'Centre for X-ray Tomography' of the Ghent University (UGCT) covers the entire X-ray tomography process from design and construction of the CT scanners to data acquisition, processing, reconstruction and visualization. To gain optimal control over the data processing a 3D-analysis software package, Morpho+, was developed in house (Vlassenbroeck et al, 2007;Brabant et al, 2011). …”

“…more objects are separated than actually needed). Therefore an intelligent semi-automatic "smart rejoin" algorithm (Brabant et al, 2011) can be applied to obtain a more accurate segmentation of the grains. To separate different components in the stone, selection parameters can be used.…”