Photography techniques reveal every blood vessel inside the mummy

Thuy Phong scientists develop new X-ray imaging techniques to capture the detailed characteristics of mummies at the cellular level.

The research team at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Albanova University Center in Stockholm, Sweden, use computerized tomography (CT) to record soft tissue images on the hands of a mummy Ancient Egypt. The technique allows to see the detailed biological characteristics of mummies with a resolution of 6 to 9 micrometers, only slightly larger than human red blood cells. The research results were published in Radiology magazine on September 25.

According to IFL Science, the mummy hand was transported from Egypt to Sweden in the late 19th century. It dates back to about 400 BC. The revolutionary new technique even allows researchers to see nerves, blood vessels at the base of the nail, different layers of skin, and even the rest of the fat cells.

Computerized tomography (CT) image of the mummy hand.(Photo: North American Radiation Society).

This technique not only creates high-definition images to study ancient mummies, it even enhances our understanding of ancient diseases.

"For bone research and other hard materials, absorption contrast techniques work quite well. But for soft tissue, this technique is not enough to produce detailed images , " Jenny said. Romell, a member of the research team, said. "This is why we replaced it with propagation-based phase-contrast technology . "

Phase contrast imaging technique is capable of detecting both absorption and phase shift when X-rays pass through the specimen. This creates different contrast in the same photo, highlighting details that are not easy to detect instead of just a simple black and white projection.

"If we only use absorption-contrast imaging techniques, we might miss the traces of diseases that are preserved only in soft tissue. But with phase contrast imaging techniques, soft tissue structures. can be photographed with cell resolution, opening up opportunities for detailed soft tissue analysis , " Romell said.

Researchers believe that the new technology will someday be widely used to study mummies and other ancient remains."Like conventional computer tomography (CT) techniques have become the standard method for studying mummies and ancient remains, we found that phase contrast CT technology is a natural complement to the existing methods , " Romell said.