Grating interferometry is a phase-contrast X-ray imaging method that is extraordinarily sensitive to density variations in the sample. The method is especially suited for imaging of biomedical samples and will play an indispensable role in future X-ray imaging applications. However, the high sensitivity to variations in the sample is accompanied by a high sensitivity to intensity fluctuations (horizontal streaks) during image acquisition. The latter lead to artifacts in the 3D reconstructions, which in turn constitute a major obstacle for 3D data visualization and analysis.
The goal of the project is to design and test out image processing algorithms to reduce these artifacts. The potential impact of such work could be quite significant; in case of success, it would be immediately incorporated in the data processing pipeline of the TOMCAT beamline at the Swiss Light Source (Paul Scherrer Institute).