Precision 3D Micro-Tomography & Anatomical Visualization

Unveiling sub-micron morphological structures, internal organ systems, and non-destructive specimen reconstructions with archival scientific fidelity.

Featured Specimen: Adetomyrma bressleri (Dracula Ant) male holotype scanned at 0.4 μm isotropic 3D resolution.
CAS-ENT-80291 0.4 μm MICRO-CT
Adetomyrma bressleri full lateral micro-CT profile scan displaying wing venation and abdominal segments
Inspect High-Res 4K
Figure 1. Adetomyrma bressleri lateral profile. Non-destructive micro-CT reconstruction capturing delicate wing membranes, chitin density variation, and thoracic musculature.
0.4 μm Sub-Micron Spatial Resolution
100% Non-Destructive Preservation
4K Ultra-HD Interactive Mesh Renders
DICOM / GLTF Archival Export Formats
ARCHIVAL & TAXONOMIC RIGOR

Bridging High-Resolution Imaging & Scientific Discovery

GraeaeX provides researchers, museum curators, and evolutionary biologists with state-of-the-art non-invasive 3D visualization. Our techniques preserve irreplaceable holotypes while making internal anatomy fully accessible for digital study.

Volumetric Micro-CT

Multi-angle X-ray projection mapping resolves soft tissues, chitin cuticles, and sub-micron tracheoles without physical dissection or tissue degradation.

Digital Holotype Archiving

Transform rare or single-specimen museum type collections into permanent, web-accessible 3D open data records compliant with global taxonomy standards.

Comparative Morphometrics

Perform 3D spatial measurements, organ surface area calculations, and finite element strain simulations on anatomical structures directly in digital space.

TOSCA 2015 FIRST PLACE WINNER

International Recognition in 3D X-Ray Tomography

At the international Tomography of Materials and Life Sciences (TOSCA 2015) conference, GraeaeX and research partners won First Place in the "CT – Past, Present and the Future" session — prevailing over competitors including Google, GE, Siemens, and the Museum of Natural History.

TOSCA 2015 Session Standings

Session: CT – Past, Present and the Future

1st Place
GraeaeX, ZEISS XRM & California Academy of Sciences "Approaching Realism – What you can do with 3D X-ray Microscopy?"
Participating Organizations Overcome
Competitor
Google Advanced Computer Vision & 3D Imaging
Competitor
GE (General Electric) Industrial Computed Tomography & Healthcare
Competitor
Siemens Healthcare & Industrial X-Ray Physics
Competitor
Museum of Natural History Bio-Informatics & Specimen Digitization
OFFICIAL CONFERENCE ABSTRACT

Approaching Realism – What You Can Do With 3D X-Ray Microscopy?

Leah L. Lavery1, Masako Terada1, Dave McMahon2, Eric Whitehead2, Brian L. Fisher3
1Carl Zeiss X-ray Microscopy2GraeaeX3California Academy of Sciences

Realism is a function of scale, resolution, material properties, and imaging capability. To approach realism — providing adequate visualization or representation for any material whether it be ant anatomy or 3D printed steel — requires having the imaging capability at the appropriate scale and spatial resolution.

A new field of 3D X-ray microscopy (XRM) has emerged bringing dramatic resolution and contrast improvements to X-ray tomographic imaging. Tomographic data was collected by ZEISS Xradia 520 Versa of an ant specimen (Adetomyrma bressleri) for morphological studies to resolve species phylogeny. In this case, to 'approach realism' required intuitive and advanced visualization engineered by GraeaeX.

Abdomen of a male ant (Adetomyrma bressleri) with extended genitalia captured by Xradia 520 Versa
Figure 1. Abdomen of a male ant (Adetomyrma bressleri) with extended genitalia captured by ZEISS Xradia 520 Versa. Image by GraeaeX. Sample courtesy of California Academy of Sciences.
SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY

The GraeaeX Imaging Pipeline

From iodine/PTA contrast enhancement to sub-micron X-ray tomography and GPU-accelerated 3D volumetric mesh generation.

01

Specimen Preparation & Staining

Non-destructive soft-tissue staining using PTA (Phosphotungstic Acid) or Lugol's Iodine solution differential absorption.

Preserves Chitin & Muscle
02

Sub-Micron Micro-CT Scan

Multi-thousand X-ray angular projection capture under continuous rotation at isotropic spatial resolutions down to 0.25 μm.

Synchrotron / ZEISS X-Ray
03

Volumetric Neural Segmentation

Automated and curator-guided density thresholding to separate exoskeleton chitin from soft organs, nerve cords, and glands.

Density Map Extraction
04

Archival 3D Mesh & WebGL Export

Optimized manifold polygon meshes exported in GLTF, DICOM, and OBJ formats for web-based 3D viewing and physical 3D print replicas.

Open Data Ready

Interactive Multi-Channel Inspection Demo

Compare imaging channels for specimen CAS-ENT-80291 (Adetomyrma bressleri)

DISCIPLINARY UTILITY

Applications Across Science & Heritage

Tailored 3D micro-visualization workflows for research laboratories, natural history museums, and academic publications.

MUSEUMS & EXHIBITIONS

Interactive Kiosks & Digital Holotypes

Enable museum visitors and remote taxonomists to rotate, dissect, and inspect fragile type specimens in interactive 3D touchscreen exhibits without risking specimen damage.

  • Permanent digital curation for endangered holotypes
  • Tactile 3D physical print replicas scaled up 100x
  • WebGL open-access collection repositories
TAXONOMY & SYSTEMATICS

Cryptic Species & Genitalic Diagnosis

Differentiate morphologically identical cryptic species by visualizing sub-surface sclerotized genitalic structures and internal cephalic ridges with nanometer accuracy.

  • Non-invasive male genitalic organ extraction
  • Quantitative 3D morphometric distance matrices
  • Publication-ready 4K high-contrast plates
BIOMECHANICS & PHYSIOLOGY

Musculature Volume & Finite Element Analysis

Calculate muscle pennation angles, mandibular bite force vectors, and cuticle strain distributions for functional biomechanics research.

  • Soft-tissue volumetric muscle segmentation
  • Structural stress & strain heatmaps
  • Kinematic joint range-of-motion models
HERITAGE & ANCIENT SAMPLES

Amber Inclusions & Fossil Preservation

Peer through opaque Baltic amber or fossilized matrices to reveal ancient organism inclusions trapped millions of years ago in crisp 3D detail.

  • Phase-contrast imaging for low-density fossils
  • Digital matrix subtraction and isolation
  • Virtual restoration of compressed specimens
INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION

Trusted by Leading Natural History & Research Centers

“The non-destructive sub-micron resolution delivered by GraeaeX has transformed how our department handles fragile type specimens. We captured internal genitalia and delicate muscle structures from single holotypes without causing a fraction of damage.”
CAS
Department of Entomology
California Academy of Sciences (CAS) & ZEISS Microscopy Collaboration