UoN Hounsfield Facility: Lego Movie

The Hounsfield Facility at the University of Nottingham Sutton Bonington campus houses our state-of-the-art X-ray computed tomography (CT) technology. This enables scientists to explore the internal architecture of biomaterials and support research into environmental sustainability and global food security. A particular focus is rhizosphere research into microscopic root-soil interactions.  X-rays are passed through the samples to create radiograph images where different materials appear as different shades of grey according to their density. These grey scale images are combined to create a 3-D volume where the root architecture can be segmented out of the soil. We also have a little help from a robot to speed up the process. The robot moves around the glass house to pick up and transfer the larger plant pots to our largest system.

Our building is named after the inventor of X-ray CT, Sir Godfrey Hounsfield who once said: “Each new discovery brings with it the seeds of other, future inventions. There are many discoveries, probably just around the corner, waiting for someone to bring them to life. Could this possibly be you?” That message resonates in our building.

See the Hounsfield Facility in action in our very own Lego movie