Doctoral School

Introduction to X-ray computed tomography

Target audience

PhD students interested to use Micro CT in their research. No prerequisites required. 

Disciplinary backgrounds: Arts, Natural Sciences, (Bioscience) Engineering, Life sciences and medicine.

Organizing and scientific committee

dr. Wannes Goethals (Fac. Sciences, UGent)

dr. Sojwal Manoorkar (Fac. Sciences, UGent)

Prof. Matthieu Boone (Fac. Sciences, UGent)

Prof. Veerle Cnudde (Fac. Sciences, UGent)

Prof. Jan Van den Bulcke (Fac. BioScience Engineering, UGent)

Prof. Tom Bultreys (Fac. Sciences, UGent)

Prof. Jan Aelterman (Fac. Engineering & Architecture, UGent)

dr. Laurenz Schröer (Fac. Sciences, UGent)

Abstract

High-resolution X-ray computed tomography (or micro-CT) is a non-destructive imaging technique which has gained significant importance in many different research domains in Natural sciences, geology, archaeology, biology, pharma and engineering. The aim of this course is to introduce the technique to any PhD student interested to (or has started to) apply micro-CT in their PhD research. The students will be familiarized with the scanning equipment at the Ghent University expertise centre UGCT and international and commercial facilities.

Objectives

The course consists of lectures with basics of X-ray physics, micro-CT, 3D image reconstruction, analysis and hands on sessions on tomography measurements at the UGCT campus along with 3D image visualization and image analysis. Furthermore, the students can have the opportunity to analyse their own scanned samples during the practical sessions upon prior discussion. Upon completion of this course, the students will be familiar with the fundamentals of X-ray interaction with matter, the advantages and limitations of micro-CT and the potential of image processing. The course provides an overview of various applications of micro-CT and different experimental setups that can be combined with the micro-CT techniques at UGCT. Using this facility, the students will be able to optimally design their experiments and analyse their experimental data.

Dates and venue

16-18 September 2024

Campus Proeftuin Building N3, Ghent University (Proeftuinstraat 86, 9000 Ghent)

Preliminary Programme

Day 1

  • 9:00 - 9:30: Welcome/course introduction – Wannes Goethals / Sojwal Manoorkar
  • 9:30 - 10:30: Introduction to Micro CT and UGCT facility – Matthieu Boone
  • 10:45 - 12:15: Data analysis – overview on visualization, image processing – Tom Bultreys
  • 12:15 - 13:30: Poster session during lunch
  • 13:30 - 16:30: Practical session – static data analysis using ImageJ / Fiji– Tom Bultreys / Sharon Ellman

Day 2

  • 9:00 - 9:15: Welcome – Wannes Goethals / Sojwal Manoorkar
  • 9:15 - 10:15: Physics of Micro CT and hardware – Matthieu Boone
  • 10:30 - 12:00: Tomography reconstruction – Jan Alterman
  • 12:00 - 13:00: Lunch
  • 13:00 - 17:15: Practical session – custom visualization, scripting
    1. Short visits to scanner facility: 30-45 min per group of 10
    2. Short demos in breakout room: VGstudio, Avizo, Python / Jupyter

Day 3: Wednesday (18.09.2024: 9:00-16:30)

  • 9:00 - 9:15: Welcome - Wannes Goethals / Sojwal Manoorkar
  • 9:15 - 11:15: External speaker: Rajmund Mokso
  • 11:30 - 12:30: Applications of X-ray tomography: Geology - Veerle Cnudde
  • 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
  • 13:30 - 15:30: Applications of X-ray tomography:
    1. Wood technology - Jan Van den Bulcke (13:30 - 14:30)
    2. Commercial applications - XRE/TESCAN (14:30 - 15:30)
  • 15:45 - 16:15: International facilities: Excite network – Dr Laurenz Schröer
  • 16:15 - 16:30: Closing notes – Wannes Goethals & Sojwal Manoorkar

Registration

  • Follow this link for the registration and waiting list.
  • Cancellation of your registration can only be performed by sending an email to doctoralschools@ugent.be. For external participants, it is possible to cancel with full reimbursement of the course fee before 31/08/2024 23:59. After this date, reimbursement is at the discretion of the organizing committee given valid reasons for late cancellation.
  • Participants may submit a sample to be scanned in agreement at one of UGCT's CT systems. This needs to be communicated before 31/08/2024 to wannes.goethals@ugent.be or sojwal.manoorkar@ugent.be. This scan may be used in the practical sessions of the course as subject of the image analysis.

Registration fee

Free of charge for Doctoral School members.

Registration fee for external participants is 250 euro. 

Number of participants

Maximum 45

Language

English

Evaluation method

100% attendance and poster presentation

After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.