Diagnosis of thyroid multinodular goiter using diffraction-enhanced imaging

Diffraction-enhanced images (DEI) have been obtained using two silicon crystals. A first channel-cut silicon crystal using the Si(3 3 3) reflection is employed to reduce the divergence of the pre-monochromated Si(1 1 1) beam of the light line to 60 microradian (12 arcsec). A second channel-cut Si(3 3 3) crystal was used as a Bragg analyzer to obtain bright and dark field images by changing its angular position. This technique is ideally suited for soft-tissue imaging or objects with the same absorption coefficient interfaces. DEI was developed at the XRD-2 beamline at the Brazilian Synchrotron (LNLS) in Campinas-Brazil. Feasibility tests on acquired images, which allow the diagnosis of thyroid nodular goiter, were performed. This disease is ordinary. The tissue developed on the cervical area causes compression of the nearby structures and undesirable aesthetic deformities with worldwide distribution. DEI of the tissues were taken to observe their morphology and to compare with the microscopic analysis (histopathological). This technique allows cutting sections a hundred times thicker than conventional histological techniques allowing a complete vision of the disease morphology. DEI show details not clearly seen with conventional techniques.