LAUSR

Clear and complete microstructural imaging of the root canal isthmus is an important part of pathological investigations in research and clinical practice. X‐ray micro‐computed tomography (μCT) is a widely used non‐destructive imaging technique, which allows for distortion‐free three‐dimensional (3D) visualisation. While absorption μCT typically has poor contrast resolution for observing the root canal isthmus, especially for weak‐absorbing tissues, propagation‐based X‐ray phase‐contrast imaging (PBI) is a powerful imaging method, which in its combination with μCT (PB‐PCμCT) enables high‐resolution and high‐contrast microstructural imaging of the weak‐absorbing tissues in samples. To investigate the feasibility and ability of PB‐PCμCT in microstructural imaging of the root canal isthmus, conventional absorption μCT and PB‐PCμCT experiments were performed. The two‐dimensional (2D) and 3D comparison results demonstrated that, compared to absorption μCT, PB‐PCμCT has the ability to image the root canal isthmus more clearly and completely, and thus, it has great potential to serve as a valuable tool for biomedical and preclinical studies on the root canal isthmus.