Wide-angle X-ray diffraction tensor tomography for 3D mapping of gallstones with chemical and orientational contrast

Pathological crystallization within the human body is a major cause of diseases like atherosclerotic plaques in arteries, urinary stones, gallstones and osteoarthritis. As part of our existing research objective to understand pathological crystallisation in the human body, we aim to understand the intricate structural details of gallstones primary composed of cholesterol. In particular, we want to investigate how the 3D orientation of cholesterol and calcium carbonate/phosphate crystallites relate to the internal structure of the gallstones. In the proposed experiment we aim to utilize state-of-the-art wide-angle X-ray diffraction tensor tomography (XRDTT) to map in 3D the local variations of mineral orientation in gallstones. We expect that the proposed experiments will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of gallstone formation and help establish a correlation between organic cholesterol phase and inorganic components in terms of the local orientational variations.