CT scanners unveil creepy secrets at Chicago’s Field Museum

CHICAGO - Chicago's Field Museum is world-famous for its massive collection of animal specimens. And with Halloween fast approaching, researchers are putting some of their creepiest critters into new machines to reveal their secrets.

What we know:

"This is a game changer," said Field Museum scientist Dr. Stephanie Smith, as she showcased their newest research tools — a pair of powerful CT scanners.

A new way to see the unseen

"Your x-rays come out here. They pass through your object, which is right here. And this is the detector, so this is like the photographic plate," Smith added.

And with Halloween on the horizon, there was a special skull to scan on Friday.

"The thing we're going to talk about today is some bat skulls that we're scanning. Very spooky. Seasonably appropriate," said Smith.

Because most bat skulls are tiny—not much larger than a dime—the CT scanner creates a 3D image that can be rotated on a screen.

"This is the back of the skull. This is the front," Smith said as she showed the image. "Here's the ear bones and here's the teeth."

That 3D image can also be used with a 3D printer to create a much bigger model.

"This is a vampire bat at significantly larger than actual size," Smith said.

Bats, bones and "Big Boy"

Before the CT scanners were installed this year, Field scientists would have to carefully package up their specimens and take them to hospitals or other research institutions.

"Put them in my little bag and take them on the Metra down to the University of Chicago," said Smith. "Generally, people don't like them to leave the building. And now they don't have to."

And it's not just tiny specimens that can be examined.

"This is the bigger scanner. I call him ‘Big Boy,’" said Smith. "I will open it up for you. You can see the inside. It's the size of a fairly expensive apartment in New York City."

On Friday researchers used "Big Boy" to study the hidden teeth in a Yucatán spiny iguana.

"With the help of XCT, we're actually getting our first look at these teeth in the highest resolution we've ever been able to," said Selena Martinez, a PhD student at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Dani Adams, a Field Museum researcher, is studying the spine of a tiny shrew.

"I can scroll through and look at this stack. But what's really great is we can really pinpoint the things we're interested in. So, I can segment something out to just the very specific vertebrae that I'm interested in."

Unlocking centuries-old specimens

And with millions of animal and fossil specimens in the Field Museum collection, Smith said they're holding a treasure trove of research material.

"Some of these specimens are from the late 1800s. So now we're like good thing they saved that because we can get way more information out of it than we could previously," said Smith.

"And now there's so many networks of scientists using this technology to do incredible science on stuff you couldn't even dream of doing before now."