Nano-CT Image Processing of Intramuscular Bone in Herring

Abstract

This study investigated how to implement image processing techniques to convert large compressed files to enhanced digital images and 3D models that can be visualized and operated on by FEA and other mechanical modeling techniques. The scanned images and .VOL files were opened and used to generate TIFFs and DICOMs. An image of the bone was visualized using ImageJ. A relationship was established between density and attenuation based on the raw data, and the large data sets of pixel values in ImageJ were converted to attenuation values and imported into MIMICS. A 3D model of the image stacks was created and processed to visualize the appearance of the pores and microstructure of bone. Overall, this study established the image processing workflow for nano-CT scans.