Volumetric simulation of nano-fibres and 2D SEM and 3D XCT imaging processes

It is possible to image nano-fibres with a number of different imaging modalities. Imaging modalities can include the 2D based Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) or the 3D based X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). The 3D XCT has some advantages over conventional 2D SEM. The principal ability is to gain an understanding of the 3D structure of objects. However 3D XCT has limited resolution which is far less superior compared to the resolution of 2D SEM. This means 2D SEM can be useful to provide more detailed specific estimates of the sizes of structures. This can include quantities such as estimates of the diameters of fibres. The two imaging modalities can be used together to provide two complementary sources of imaging information. Image processing of these images has resulted in the need to for a gold standard to help demonstrate the correct functioning and validation of designed algorithms. Simulation can play an important part in the validation of algorithms. However, previous works have performed limited simulations. Some methods simulate fibres as straight vectors. The approach taken here is more realistic, allowing for curving, overlapping and other more realistic generation of fibre volumes. This is made possible here, with the use of splines. Furthermore, the limited resolution in the imaging processes are also considered here. This is another important factor when considering simulations for the purposes of producing a gold standard. Simulation results are compared with real world imaging data from both SEM and XCT. The generated results appear to show similar properties and could potentially be used as gold standards for the validation of image processing algorithms.