In the last decade, several XPCI techniques have been adapted and refined to be effective using conventional sources 7, 8, 9. demonstrated the possibility to perform XPCI using a conventional x-ray micro-focus source 6, opening the way to a wider use in research. XPCI was first introduced by Bonse and Hart in 1965 1, but became the subject of worldwide interest with the advent of вЂ3 rd generationвЂ™ synchrotron radiation facilities 2, 3, 4, 5. Moreover, XPCI could improve the applications where high x-ray dose could be an issue, since it allows to reduce it by increasing E while preserving high image contrast. XPCI is therefore considered an ideal candidate for applications involving low-Z materials, which generate a weak signal in conventional x-ray imaging. soft tissues), and it does not decrease as dramatically with increasing energy (E). Compared to attenuation, the phase contrast effect is significantly stronger for low Z materials (ZвЂ‰<вЂ‰10, e.g. XPCI systems are sensitive to the x-ray phase-shift induced by the sample this is described by Оґ in the complex refractive index nвЂ‰=вЂ‰1вЂ‰в€’вЂ‰ОґвЂ‰+вЂ‰iОІ, while the x-ray attenuation is related to ОІ. In the last decades, however, x-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) has emerged as a new technique with the potential to improve the conventional x-ray imaging through a radically different principle. While improvements have been introduced on the technical side, the basic principle of x-ray imaging has remained unchanged. This capability is widely exploited in application fields such as security screening, industrial inspections and medical diagnosis. In general, x-rays allow the investigation of the internal features of opaque objects because of their reduced interaction with matter compared to electromagnetic radiation at longer wavelengths. Its principles are straightforward: an x-ray source irradiates a sample, and an x-ray detector placed on the opposite side collects the transmitted photons. X-ray imaging is one of the most widespread inspection/diagnostic techniques, mainly because of its simplicity and low cost. We expect this will enable a long overdue translation into application fields such as security screening, industrial inspections and large FOV medical radiography вЂ“ all with the inherent advantages of the XPCI multimodality. This extends the use of XPCI to areas which were unpractical or even inaccessible to previous XPCI solutions. Importantly, it is capable of providing high image quality at low x-ray doses, compatible with or even below those currently used in medical imaging. Our system combines, for the first time, large FOV, high energy and fast scanning. We recently succeeded in designing, realizing and testing an XPCI system, which achieves significant steps toward simultaneously overcoming these limitations. Those limitations relegated XPCI to a вЂresearch-onlyвЂ™ technique with an uncertain future in terms of large scale, high impact applications.

However, so far all XPCI implementations have suffered from one or more of the following limitations: low x-ray energies, small field of view (FOV) and long acquisition times. X-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) is an innovative imaging technique which extends the contrast capabilities of вЂconventionalвЂ™ absorption based x-ray systems.

Low cost low exposure x-ray