Field Museum of Natural History

Contact Info:

Stephanie Smith

1400 S DuSable Lake Shore Drive

Chicago, IL 60605

https://sites.google.com/fieldmuseum.org/research/laboratories/core-laboratories/xct?authuser=0

Grants and Identifiers:

RRID: RRID:SCR_026255

Instrumentation:

Services Provided:

Relevant Publications:

Description:

Facility for computed tomography (3D) imaging of objects in the Field Museum and part of the Museum’s Core Lab Group. Includes two North Star Imaging (NSI) XCT scanners. The larger of the two scanners is an X5000 with a dual tube setup: one 450kV mini-focus tube, and one 225kV micro-focus tube. This scanner can house samples up to 500lbs and 1.2m in longest dimension, and has excellent penetrating power for imaging dense samples like fossils and meteorites. The smaller scanner is an X25 with a 150kV Hamamatsu tube, which is excellent for imaging smaller and/or less dense samples in extremely high resolution, such as small animal skeletons. In addition to the scanners, the lab is equipped with two high-powered computers for post-scan data processing. Available software includes NSI’s suite of inspection and reconstruction software, VG Studio, ORS Dragonfly, 3DSlicer, Meshlab, and Blender.