Division of Biology and Medicine
BioMed Core Facilities

X-Ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) Facility

X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) is a 3D imaging technology, developed at Brown University, for visualizing rapid skeletal movement in vivo.

About

X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM) is a 3D imaging technology, developed at Brown University, for visualizing rapid skeletal movement in vivo.

XROMM combines 3D models of bone morphology with movement data from biplanar x-ray video to create highly accurate (±0.1 mm) re-animations of the 3D bones moving in 3D space.

Rapid bone motion, such as during bird flight, frog jumping, and human running, can be visualized and quantified with XROMM.

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XROMM History

Services and Instruments

Services

Service Request and Reservations

Scheduling

To request a service, please email Erika Tavares, Laboratory Manager

Email

Phone: 401-863-1032

The Morphology calendar is used for scheduling core equipment. A read-only version of the Morphology Group calendar is also available below.

Morphology Group calendar

Rates

FY24 Rates

Service Units Internal Academic Rate* External
Academic Rate
XROMM Day $1,221 $1,947
CT Scanner  Scan $236 $377
SkyScan 1276 in vivo microCT scanner Hour $53 $84
Hourly Rate Hour $48 $77

*Rates for Brown and Rhode Island Academic and Hospital Affiliates

Effective 1/1/2024

For XROMM, setup days are charged at the regular daily rate when staff support is required for setup.

Contacts/Location

Director, XROMM Technology Development Project

Resources for Grants

X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (XROMM). This facility, located at the Biomedical Center, is directed by a PhD-level scientist and staffed by a research technician. XROMM is a 3D imaging technology for visualizing rapid skeletal movement in vivo. XROMM combines 3D models of bone morphology with movement data from biplanar X-ray video to create highly accurate re-animations of the 3D bones moving in 3D space. Rapid bone motion, such as during bird flight, frog jumping and human running, can be visualized and quantified with XROMM. Facility instrumentation includes mobile C-arm OEC 9400 Fluoroscopes and a biplanar X-ray room containing two Varian model G-1086 X-ray tubes, 2 EMD Technologies model EPS 45-80 pulsed X-ray generators, two Dunlee model TH9447QQXH590 image intensifiers (16 diameter), and 2 Phanotm v10 high-speed digital video cameras. The facility also has a veterinary Animage Fidex CT Scanner, a CT scanner designed for animals in the size range from rats to dogs and a SKYSCAN 1276 in vivo micro-CT system for scanning small laboratory animals and biological samples.

Scientific reproducibility is enhanced through scientific rigor and transparency.  Scientific rigor is the strict application of the scientific method to ensure unbiased and well-controlled experimental design, methodology, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of results. The XROMM Facility is committed to supporting research excellence by adopting the following practices of scientific rigor.

  • Purchase and maintain a variety of high-quality instruments from established vendors such that the best instrument is available for any given research analysis.
  • The equipment is overseen by highly trained experts and well maintained under service contracts or funds budgeted for annual preventive maintenance and repairs.
  • The experts are available for experimental design consults or troubleshooting.

Acknowledgment

We thank the Office of the Vice President for Research at Brown University, the RIH Orthopaedic Foundation, and the Bushnell Research and Graduate Education Fund for essential seed funding at the start of the XROMM development project. The W.M. Keck Foundation generously provided funding for the development of biplanar videoradiography hardware, and in support of our interdisciplinary collaborative development of XROMM software. The Instrument Development for Biological Sciences Program at the US National Science Foundation provided funding for the development of low-cost x-ray hardware and XROMM software for comparative biomechanics research.