X-ray scattering tensor tomography with different wavefront modulators to study the 3D arrangement of human auditory ossicles

The two primary goals of this proposal are: demonstrating X-ray tensor tomography (XTT) with speckle-based imaging for the first time and investigating the unknown sub-micron 3D structure of auditory ossicles within the human middle ear at the macro-scale. XTT allows for the 3D visualisation of X-ray scattering (dark field) from features smaller than the resolution of the imaging system and enables the quantitative detection of the orientation of anisotropic structures within the sample. While the method has successfully been demonstrated using gratings, speckle-based XTT has not been achieved to date. We will apply the novel speckle TT method to the investigation of the main orientation of microstructures within healthy and pathological human middle-ear ossicles. The inner structure of ossicles is largely unknown and further knowledge would be an important step towards a better understanding of hearing loss and the planning and assessment of reconstructive ossicle surgery.