Tours

Technology: Computerized Tomography

Dr. Bruno Frohlich, Research Anthropologist

Department of Anthropology

National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Institution

Using computerized tomography (CT) scanners at the Smithsonian Institution, scientists like Dr. Bruno Frohlich are learning more than ever before about the 124 million objects and specimens in their collection.  CT technology is the same kind of technology that medical doctors and researchers use to conduct human CAT scans.  With two highly sophisticated CT scanners donated by Siemens Medical Systems and Rongten Domus Medical, Smithsonian scientists can observe the interior of millions of specimens and objects through computer-animated, three-dimensional images, without altering the objects in any way.  This technology not only preserves the object under examination, but also takes this area of scientific research to a higher level.

Dr. Frohlich took the group of START participants "behind the scenes" for a closer look at the CT technology and the types of specimens and objects under current CT inquiry.  Among the objects seen were human remains like skulls, bones, and mummified babies, all of which were scanned for further human pathological inquiry.  Other objects being scanned include a dinosaur, a mummified cat, fossils found in objects like coils, a space suit, and animal bones.

One very interesting research project involves Stradivarius violins and a Stradivarius cello from the Museum of American History. By using CT technology, scientists are learning what makes them each unique. They discovered that each instrument is made quite differently, with different carvings in different areas and patches of wood found glued on to create different densities of wood.