[Bone researches using synchrotron radiation].

Bone researches with synchrotron radiation have now expanded from a simple mineralization measurement to more complicated studies such as strain mapping and tissue engineering. The most common techniques are high resolution X-ray tomography and X-ray diffraction, but the spectroscopic techniques such as fluorescence analysis, infrared FTIR and XAFS are also available. High resolution X-ray tomography has been improved in the time and spatial resolution. In vitro tomographic experiments have become common and been applied to 3D imaging of a live mouse. As a new imaging method, coherent diffraction imaging has been applied to visualize the lacunocanalicular network. As each of these techniques provides unique information and the sample condition depends much on the technique, the choice of the technique is important to achieve a scientific goal.