A simplified approach for computed tomography with an X-ray grating interferometer.

We present a simplified acquisition and processing method for X-ray grating interferometry computed tomography (CT). The proposed approach eliminates the need to scan the gratings, thus allowing for a faster CT acquisition compared to methods presently in use. The contrast in the reconstructed images can be expressed as a linear combination of the absorption and refraction within the sample. Experimental images of a test phantom made of known materials and a human bone-cartilage sample prove the correctness of the method and show very good agreement with the theory. The here proposed approach might be highly interesting in many fields where a reduced imaging acquisition time is requested and/or where the radiation dose delivered to the sample has to be kept low, such as, for example, in in-vivo imaging.