| Abstract: | The electron density resolution of synchrotron‐radiation phase‐contrast imaging (SR‐PCI) is 1000 times higher than that of conventional X‐ray absorption imaging in light elements, through which high‐resolution X‐ray imaging of biological soft tissue can be achieved. For biological soft tissue, SR‐PCI can give better imaging contrast than conventional X‐ray absorption imaging. In this study, human resected stomach and gastric cancer were investigated using in‐line holography and diffraction enhanced imaging at beamline 4W1A of the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. It was possible to depict gastric pits, measuring 50–70 µm, gastric grooves and tiny blood vessels in the submucosa layer by SR‐PCI. The fine structure of a cancerous ulcer was displayed clearly on imaging the mucosa. The delamination of the gastric wall and infiltration of cancer in the submucosa layer were also demonstrated on cross‐sectional imaging. In conclusion, SR‐PCI can demonstrate the subtle structures of stomach and gastric cancer that cannot be detected by conventional X‐ray absorption imaging, which prompt the X‐ray diagnosis of gastric disease to the level of the gastric pit, and has the potential to provide new methods for the imageology of gastric cancer. |
