Scanning hard X-ray imaging allows simultaneous acquisition of multimodal information, i.e. of images in which each pixel contains several types of data. The output is, for instance, a map of the sample in absorption, phase and dark-field contrasts and X-ray fluorescence, providing with a single scan both structural and chemical details.
Combining this scanning technique with the FLYSCAN infrastructure developed for fast data acquisition at Synchrotron SOLEIL (Medjoubi et al. 2013) permits to perform multimodal tomographic imaging and tomographic reconstruction during routine user experiments at the Nanoscopium 155m long beamline (Somogyi et al. 2015). A computerized analysis reconstructs the 3D inner structure of the observed object from these tomographic data, which are a large set of images of the sample in different orientations (see at right : "Phase contrast tomography at PSICHÉ reveals a very ancient symbiosis").
A main challenge of such imaging techniques is the online processing and analysis of the important amount of generated multimodal data. This is particularly important for the wide user community working at the user oriented Nanoscopium beamline (e.g. biology, life sciences, geology, geo-biology), having sometimes no experience in such data-handling.
MMX-I is a new and unique multi-platform open-source freeware for the processing and reconstruction of scanning multi-technique X-ray imaging and tomography datasets (Bergamaschi et al. 2016). The MMX-I project aims to offer both expert users and beginners the possibility of processing and analyzing raw data, either on-site or off-site. Therefore we have developed a multi-platform (Mac, Windows and Linux 64bit) data processing tool, which is easy to install, comprehensive, intuitive, extendable and user-friendly. A dedicated data-input stream copes with the input and management of large datasets (several hundred of Giga Bytes) collected during a typical multi-technique fast scanning and this even on a standard PC.
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Figure: 3D volume rendering of the multimodal tomogram of a fossil single-cell foraminifera. Scanning multi-technique tomography provides simultaneous structural and elemental information for the study of heavy metal incorporation mechanisms during bio-mineralization processes. The different contrast modalities were reconstructed by the MMX-I data-processing software developed at the Nanoscopium beamline of Synchrotron SOLEIL. The reconstructed phase is shown in grey, the dark field is in blue, the iron distribution is in red and the calcium distribution is marked in yellow in the figures.
The data of each scanning imaging technique (included into the software) or any of their combinations can be treated by MMX-I. Experienced users can use this program as a library for their existing software or develop new functions, which are then released for other users. MMX-I is now routinely used by the Nanoscopium users community either on-site or off-site and has demonstrated its effectiveness in dealing with big data.
MMX-I is available online at the address at right.