Radiolucent Loading Device for Computed Tomography Imaging

There is a limited availability of portable compressional loading devices, none of which work within a computed tomography (CT) scanner. This is due to the lack of radiolucent materials these devices are made of, which make artifacts that disrupt the final CT image. Combining both testing and imaging can advance understanding of how materials behave at a microstructural level. This paper describes the design and fabrication of a novel device that can be used within a CT scanner to collect images of compressed bone samples. Validation testing showed that specimens could be compressed up to 2000 Newtons of force over 26 millimeters of displacement within 8 Newtons and 0.071 millimeters of accuracy