It all began with a request from the University of Chile being interested in seeing how advanced X-ray technology and specifically our high-resolution CT inspection systems with our sophisticated software features could support their biological explorations. Using a marten skull from their collection, our application specialists started the demonstration with a QuickScan of the Vista software package at our FF35 CT system for a 3-dimensional overview. The QuickScan mode is a cone-beam scan by continuously rotating the sample while capturing X-ray shots from every angle. It saves considerable time compared to the stop-and-go QualityScan mode while providing sufficient resolution for further analyses. Thanks to the intuitive Geminy user interface, the program choice is just a question of clicking the corresponding symbol, making the operation easy and quick for users with different skill levels in CT inspection.

Since the mandible was not fixed to the skull, we took the chance and made a second, separate detail scan using two new functionalities of the Vista packages. With the help of SmartGuard, we precisely defined the shape of the mandible. SmartGuard is designed for reliable crash protection, allowing the exact positioning of an inspection part to achieve the maximum scan resolution and magnification. Combined with ZoomScan from the VistaX package, the system will precisely follow this shape to maintain the closest distance to the sample at any point and guarantee maximum resolution of the complete scan.

Especially with flat test parts, VistaX SpeedMode offers ultimate efficiency. The flat sides contain the fewest information and thus don’t need as many shots as the angled positions and thicker regions. SpeedMode allows the definition of the scan steps speeding up the whole inspection process by keeping the highest possible resolution.