micro-CT Team
After two years of painstaking research, Henrik Lauridsen, Associate Professor at Aarhus University in Denmark, and Professor Michael Pederson from the Department of Medicine, entrusted the TESCAN micro-CT team to do a demo study aimed at using SPECTRAL CT imaging to non-destructively determine the elemental content of the prized Dana platypus specimen from the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
A conclusion that once required a 2-year research project can now be reached in just 5 minutes with a TESCAN SPECTRAL CT scan.
The neurocranium and part of the bill of the platypus were imaged using a TESCAN UniTOM XL SPECTRAL system with a hyperspectral detector. Parameters included a 160 kVp x-ray tube voltage, 94 µA current, and 20 W power. K-edge subtraction was used to highlight the lead (Pb) signal.
Results
The UniTOM XL detected a K-edge at 88 keV in the foreign objects within the platypus, allowing for precise mapping of Pb. It confirmed the presence of large concentrations of Pb and showed that small dense particles within the fur were not corroded lead residues.
Conclusion
TESCAN UniTOM XL SPECTRAL provides element-specific information, adding a new dimension to museum specimen imaging. It demonstrated the presence of heavily corroded lead shotgun pellets in a 100-year-old platypus specimen.
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Further reading