  Purpose: Grating-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging is a promising modality
increasing the soft tissue contrast in medical imaging. In this work, the
signature of lung tissue in X-ray grating-based physe-contrast imaging is
investigated. Methods: We used a Talbot-Lau interferometer for our
investigations of two C57BL/6 mice. Both underwent projection imaging and
computed tomography. Results: The results show that the three images obtained
by X-ray phase-contrast imaging show complementary anatomical structures.
Especially the dark field image allows a more-exact determination of the
position of the lung in the chest cavity. Conclusion: Due to its sensitivity to
granular structures, the dark field image may be used for the diagnosis of lung
diseases in earlier stages or without a CT scan. Furthermore, X-ray
phase-contrast imaging may also have great potential in the application of
animal laboratory sciences to reduce the number of required animals used in
long-term translational, toxicity, and regenerative medicine studies.
