Quantitative single-exposure x-ray phase contrast imaging using a single attenuation grid.

A single-exposure quantitative method of x-ray phase contrast imaging, suitable for animal in vivo observations, is described and shown experimentally both for a known static sample and an ex vivo biological airway. The ability to acquire the desired information within a single exposure is important for dynamic samples, as is sufficient sensitivity to reveal small variations in the composition or thickness of such a sample. This approach satisfies both these needs by analyzing how a reference grid pattern is deformed by the presence of the sample, similar to a Shack-Hartmann sensor. By resolving the shift of the pattern into horizontal and vertical components, a quantitative phase depth map is recovered, sensitive to both sharp edges as well as low phase gradients.