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However, its feasibility and diagnostic potential at radiation doses comparable to those used in standard clinical procedures has yet to be established. This study aims to evaluate the performance of phase-contrast CT in comparison with state-of-the-art high-resolution multislice CT and bronchoscopy, and to validate its diagnostic accuracy histologically using porcine and, for the first time, human lung specimens.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Phase-contrast CT experiments were conducted at the Italian synchrotron using lung specimens mounted in a custom-made anthropomorphic chest phantom. Imaging utilized two photon-counting detectors under various acquisition settings, followed by artificial intelligence-based denoising. Sequential imaging by phase-contrast CT, multislice CT, and bronchoscopy was performed prior to formaldehyde vapor fixation and histological dissection. Image quality was assessed quantitatively (contrast-to-noise ratio, edge sharpness, power spectra) and qualitatively via radiological scoring across 14 criteria.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Phase-contrast CT achieved effective pixel sizes of 0.067\u00a0mm (Hydra detector) and 0.038\u00a0mm (LAMBDA detector), at radiation doses near full-dose multislice CT (\n                      <jats:bold>\n                        <jats:italic>\u2248<\/jats:italic>\n                      <\/jats:bold>\n                      \u200912 mGy). Denoising improved contrast without major loss of edge sharpness. Radiological scoring showed phase-contrast CT outperformed multislice CT in visualizing peripheral airways and fine parenchymal structures. Histological validation confirmed imaging accuracy. Limitations from source spot size (\n                      <jats:bold>\n                        <jats:italic>\u2248<\/jats:italic>\n                      <\/jats:bold>\n                      \u2009200\u00a0\u03bcm) were noted but did not prevent significant diagnostic improvements.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Phase-contrast CT, combined with artificial intelligence-based denoising, offers detailed, non-invasive imaging of lung microstructures at clinically relevant radiation doses. It complements multislice CT, holds potential for clinical adoption in advanced pulmonary diagnostics, and may reduce reliance on invasive biopsies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12931-026-03561-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,11]],"date-time":"2026-02-11T10:49:10Z","timestamp":1770806950000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Ultra-high-resolution synchrotron phase-contrast CT enables microstructural pulmonary imaging at clinical dose levels"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-6614-0848","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudia 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The storage, transport, handling, and disposal of these animal by-products were conducted in compliance with national regulations and were registered with the competent veterinary authority. All procedures complied to relevant German legislation, and the pigs were humanely euthanized at the slaughterhouse by the approved captive bolt pistol. Experiments performed on the right lungs from the IPF and RA-associated UIP-pattern fibrosis patients, who had undergone lung transplantation, were approved by the local ethics committee of Hannover Medical School (ethics approval number: 10194 BO K 2022). Written informed consent was obtained from these human research participants included in the study.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"By providing written informed consent to take part in the study, participants consented to anonymized results being published.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"105"}}