Unlocking the secrets of bone by multimodal and multi-length-scale X-ray 3D imaging

Bone has recently emerged as a larger player in human biology than hitherto believed. The osteocyte network in bone, cells encrusted in the bone matrix, has received special focus but proven very challenging to study. X-ray imaging at synchrotrons provide the required penetration and resolution and afford nanoscale resolution. This revealed novel features of the cellular network that also displays changes during some diseases. The bone matrix itself is also under intense scrutiny. Novel multimodal imaging techniques afford new insights in mineralisation and 3D structural organisation of bone. The new opportunities afforded by synchrotron X-ray sources promise to help unlock the secrets of bone.