Diffusible iodine‐based contrast‐enhanced computed tomography (diceCT): an emerging tool for rapid, high‐resolution, 3‐D imaging of metazoan soft tissues

Morphologists have historically had to rely on destructive procedures to visualize the three-dimensional (3-D) anatomy of animals. More recently, however, non-destructive techniques have come to the forefront. These include X-ray computed tomography (CT), which has been used most commonly to examine the mineralized, hard-tissue anatomy of living and fossil metazoans. One relatively new and potentially transformative aspect of current CT-based research is the use of chemical agents to render visible, and differentiate between, soft-tissue structures in X-ray images. Specifically, iodine has emerged as one of the most widely used of these contrast agents among animal morphologists due to its ease of handling,…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: NSF EAGER 1450850, NSF IOS‐0749750, 0749750, 1450842, EAGER 1450850, NSF DEB‐1457180, NSF EAGER 1450842, DEB-1457180, 1457180, 1450850
• OS
  Oklahoma State University
• SB
  Stony Brook University
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: NIH T32, T32 HD009007
• CF
  Center for Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University
• DO
  Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
• DO
  Division of Environmental Biology