# Development of a Quantitative Iron Characterization System for Alzheimer's Disease Using Computed Laminography X-ray Fluorescence Imaging (CL-XRFI)

> **NIH NIH R44** · SIGRAY, INC. · 2020 · $247,818

## Abstract

Title: Development of a Quantitative Iron Characterization System for Alzheimer's Using
Computed Laminography X-ray Fluorescence Imaging (CL-XRFI)
Project Summary/Abstract
The discovery of ferroptosis has invigorated new therapeutics to prevent and/or alter
pathological iron distribution in the brain correlated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other
neurodegenerative diseases. To efficiently evaluate new drug designs, techniques capable of
directly imaging and quantifying the trace levels of iron in brain samples are required. Current
approaches include LA-ICPMS and synchrotron microXRF, which each have their own
drawbacks in terms of speed, quantification reliability, and accessibility.
We propose to develop a scheme called computed laminography x-ray fluorescence imaging
(CL-XRFI). In this novel system design, an x-ray beam is focused into a pencil-like beam
incident upon a sample at a very low angle (3 degrees). A detector is placed parallel to the
sample surface to maximize solid angle. Acquisition is similar in concept to absorption-based
laminography, in which acquisition at multiple angles are taken for reconstruction of the signal
origin. The system design is uniquely enabled by the company’s patented high brightness x-ray
source and its proprietary x-ray optic technology that provides the large working distances
necessary for the technique to work.
The proposed Phase I 6-month project is a proof-of-principle demonstration of the sensitivity
and throughput of a breadboard low angle incidence fluorescence system. The proposed Phase II
24-month project is to develop a complete prototype of the CL-XRFI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10011049
- **Project number:** 1R44GM137743-01
- **Recipient organization:** SIGRAY, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Wenbing Yun
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $247,818
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2020-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10011049

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10011049, Development of a Quantitative Iron Characterization System for Alzheimer's Disease Using Computed Laminography X-ray Fluorescence Imaging (CL-XRFI) (1R44GM137743-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10011049. Licensed CC0.

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