Dynamic X-ray CT of Spaghetti Noodles - 1 of 3

Sample information

The dataset consists of a scan of a pasta bundle (Albert Heijn – Spelt), placed inside a bottle. The pasta was suspended at the bottleneck using a sponge to hold it in position. Scanning was focused on the bottleneck region to minimize interference from surrounding water. This scan was performed under dynamic thermal conditions: the bottle was filled with a 50/50 mix of boiling and cold water, leading to a gradual change in temperature during the scan.  This setup tries to mimic cooking conditions, allowing observation of structural changes in the pasta as it is exposed to varying thermal environments. Exact temperature values were not recorded.

Scanner information

The dataset was scanned in the FleX-ray Laboratory located at CWI in Amsterdam. The Flex-ray scanner is custom-built and consists of a cone-beam microfocus X-ray point source.  More system details are available in [Coban 2020].

Scanning Settings

The scan was performed on a sample of Albert Heijn Spelt pasta under a dynamic temperature condition, where the sample was exposed to 50% cold and 50% hot water. The scan lasted approximately 1 hour and acquired 42,990 projections, corresponding to 15 full rotations (i.e., 2867 projections per 360° turn). The scan followed a dynamic scanning protocol, designed to capture temporal changes during thermal exposure.

A peak voltage of 90 kV was applied, with the tube operating in high-power focus mode. The detector used a pixel size of 0.0748 mm, and each frame was captured at an exposure time of 99.998 ms.

Folder/file name description

There are 16 folders: metadata and one folder per rotation. Metadata includes configuration files (e.g., scan settings.txt) that store the scan parameters and metadata needed for reconstruction. A script (data_reconstruction.ipynb) is also provided for preprocessing and reconstructing the volume through the ASTRA toolbox.

The rotation folders divide the dynamic dataset into 15 rotations (2867 projections each, except for the last rotation). Each folder contains the same flat-field correction images. Each folder includes a subset of files for reconstructing the specific rotation:

rotation_00.zip to rotation_06.zip - 10.5281/zenodo.15688351 (this upload)

rotation_07.zip to rotation_10.zip - 10.5281/zenodo.15696902

rotation_11.zip to rotation_14.zip - 10.5281/zenodo.15697442

Research Group

This dataset was produced during a 5-day ASTRA workshop hosted and organized by Leiden University for the RELIANCE Doctoral Network (https://www.chalmers.se/en/projects/reliance/).

Contact Details

[e-mail]

Acknowledgement

This research received funding from Horizon Europe through the MSCA Doctoral Network RELIANCE, grant no. 101073040. 

References

[Coban 2020] S. B. Coban, F. Lucka, W. J. Palenstijn, D. Van Loo, and K. J. Batenburg, "Explorative imaging and its implementation at the FleX-ray Laboratory," J. Imaging, vol. 6, no. 18, 2020, doi: 10.3390/jimaging6040018.

[Aarle 2015] W. V. Aarle et al., "The ASTRA toolbox: A platform for advanced algorithm development in electron tomography," Ultramicroscopy, vol. 157, pp. 35–47, 2015.