Tailoring X-ray imaging techniques for dendrochronology of large wooden objects

X-ray computed tomography (CT) has been applied to visualize tree rings in a non-invasive way for dendrochronological research. For large objects such as chests or cabinets, it is often impossible or impractical to rotate fully within the scanner as is necessary for CT. As a solution to this challenge, we developed a line trajectory X-ray tomography technique, in which the object is moved only sideways. We show that this
method, although not yielding a full 3D image, is particularly well suited to reveal tree rings. Using this easily implementable scanning
trajectory, sharp reconstruction images of the tree rings can be obtained for dendrochronological purposes. The method is shown on an important
historical object from the Rijksmuseum, the Hugo de Groot bookchest: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/NG-KOG-1208. The result is of
importance to the fields of both imaging and dendrochronology and opens up a wide variety of objects of which the internal tree ring patern can
now be investigated using X-ray imaging.