The BEKVÄM lends a hand in X-Ray CT Scanner research

Ikea X-Ray CT Scanner

Materials: BEKVÄM kitchen cart

This is a homemade X-ray CT scanner designed to find the positions of knots in logs. It was made as part of a PhD thesis research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. An X-ray source on the right side, just out of the picture, shines X-rays through the log towards the detector (the large white box behind the log). The two Ikea carts support the log specimen within the X-ray beam. They are shortened and attached on wheeled platforms that run along tracks on the floor and move the log forward in a spiral motion through the X-ray beam. The black panels in the background hold thick lead sheets to enclose the X-rays.

The radiograph at the lower left is a “chest X-ray” of the log. The dark shadows indicate the knots. The image at the right is an example CT cross-section.