X-ray micro-CT is widely used for small animal imaging in preclinical studies of cardiopulmonary disease, but further development is needed to improve spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and material contrast. This study presents a set of tools that achieve these improvements. These tools include the mathematical formulation and computational implementation of algorithms for calibration, image reconstruction, and image analysis with our custom micro-CT system. These tools are tested in simulations and in experiments with live animals. With these tools, it is possible to visualize the distribution of a contrast agent throughout the body of a mouse as it changes over time, and produce 5-dimensional images (3 spatial dimensions + time + energy) of the cardiac cycle.
