Since the discovery of X-rays, transmission imaging has been used extensively for a variety of fields, taking advantage of the high penetrating power of X-rays. However, because it uses X-ray absorption to generate image contrast, X-ray transmission imaging has a drawback that its sensitivity is poor to weakly absorbing objects consisting mainly of light elements, such as polymers and biological soft tissues. Since the 1990s, X-ray phase imaging, which relies on the measurement of the X-ray phase shift (or X-ray refraction) caused by a sample, has attracted attention, because weakly absorbing objects could be imaged. Particularly in this decade, X-ray phase imaging based on grating optics has been studied actively thanks to its practical advantage that laboratory X- ray sources are usable, while other earlier techniques of X-ray phase imaging were developed and performed mainly in synchrotron radiation facilities. Therefore, grating-based X-ray phase imaging has attracted special attentions from the medical and industrial fields. Moreover, a similar technique is expanding to neutron phase imaging field for various other materials including metal. This proceedings volume contains 47 papers presented at the first workshop held in Tokyo to provide an opportunity for discussion and to promote new collaborations in this rapidly growing field.

The conference comprises of 3-day symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There were over 150 participants coming from regional and international universitites, research institutions and companies. Malaysian Ministry of Science and Technology and Innovation, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, and International Atomic Energy Agency, International Union of Crystallography, and Malaysia Nuclear Society provided support to the event.

This thesis offers an accessible guide to biomedical phase-contrast imaging with over 20 radiographic illustrations. It focuses on research to improve radiography, and particularly mammography applications, by using a novel X-ray imaging modality that exploits the wave-nature of X-rays, rather than just their absorption in tissue. Further, it explores a broad range of potential applications – from the assessment of breast cancer and the evaluation of microcalcification clusters, to the examination of renal stones. X-ray imaging is an indispensable tool in modern medical diagnostics, and ranges from simple radiography applications to advanced CT imaging protocols. This novel phase-contrast approach has the potential to deliver significantly improved diagnostic information, also and especially in cases where mammography is used for screening purposes. The thesis is based on several studies conducted by the author – working in close interdisciplinary cooperation with medical doctors at two university clinics in Munich – and successfully demonstrates this diagnostic potential in pre-clinical experiments.