Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) is a non-destructive method to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the micro-structure of tissue engineering scaffolds [1, 2]. Pixel size and rotation step are among the acquisition parameters that have an influence on the micro-CT analysis. The aim of the study is to identify the influences of the scanning parameters on the mean porosity, mean pore size, and mean wall thickness of different scaffolds: silk fibroin and hydroxyapatite. In this study, we analyzed the scaffolds using the 15 defined acquisition protocols that differ in pixel size (1 µm-15 µm) and rotation step (0.1°-0.4°), and compared the quantitative results. It was found that different protocols could have a significant influence on the results and the cost of analysis. Regarding the mean porosity, the difference between two protocols could be as high as 24%. Additionally, different protocols lead to a significant difference in the total analysis time. The results of this study can be useful for the researchers in their µ-CT analysis practice.

References:

1. Ho ST, Hutmacher DW. A comparison of micro-CT with other techniques used in the characterization of scaffolds. Biomaterials. 2006;27(8):1362-76.

2. Müller R, Matter S, Neuenschwander P, Suter U, Rüegsegger P, editors. 3D micro-tomographic imaging and quantitative morphometry for the nondestructive evaluation of porous biomaterials. MRS Proceedings; 1996: Cambridge Univ Press.