Quantification of reconstruction quality in x-ray phase contrast tomography

We have developed a quality function that quantifies how well features are reconstructed in 3D phase contrast tomographic reconstructions for pure phase samples. We consider image formation using the free space propagation method for each projected data-set. A partially coherent radiation field originating from an extended source is also incorporated. This means the model is suitable for a laboratory based micro focus x-ray source. The quality function is useful for optimizing the tomographic reconstruction for given feature sizes in an object. We then use the quality function to develop filters for improving the reconstruction quality for high spatial frequency objects.