Spectral propagation-based X-ray dark-field imaging of the lungs

Hospital scanners are like incandescent bulbs, so X-ray scans are effectively blurry shadows. In this thesis, I studied how laser-like X-ray machines could be used for chest imaging, enabling us to see refraction patterns from the soft tissues in the lung. As a first step, I found an optimal configuration for lung imaging at the Australian Synchrotron. I then developed various algorithms that use images taken at several X-ray energies to disentangle two effects we see in the images: refraction patterns that reveal abnormalities like cancer, and random scattering from the lung’s air sacs that tells us about lung health.