Man builds CT-scanner at home

Do you fancy yourself a DIY-guru? Well, do-it-yourself has taken on a whole new dimension with Ben Krasnow who built a CT-scanner at home, using parts he bought on eBay.

"After finishing my X-ray backscatter imaging project, I realised that I can also build an X-ray CT scanner which produces even more interesting images," the US-based Krasnow says.

A computerised tomography (CT) scan, also known as a CAT scan, uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of your body.

“I built a CT-scanner from an X-ray tube that I bought on eBay, a stepper motor, a large ring bearing, and an Arduino [microcontroller],” Krasnow explains. “I used a phosphor screen and my camera to capture X-ray shadow images of a frozen chicken, while the Arduino and stepper motor rotated the chicken by 8 degrees between shots. The resulting 45 images were combined via filtered back projection to create a 3D volume reconstruction of the chicken.”

According to Krasnow, who also happens to be a mechanical and electrical engineer by profession, he enjoys building things just for the fun of it: "My favorite place to be is my workshop."

To learn more about Krasnow's impressive project, check out this video:



- (Birgit Ottermann, Health24, January 2013)