X-ray inspection for boreholes in intact trees

X-ray systems are commonly used for luggage inspection. The size of these systems is sufficient for inspection of intact trees. The first objective of this study is to determine whether such an X-ray system is able to visualise boreholes in intact trees. The present study is partly based on human inspection of X-ray images to determine whether boreholes are visible or not. But, human inspection requires skilled personal which in-turn lead to high costs. Today, machine vision is often used to detect irregularities in images. The second objective of this study is to determine the ability of machine vision to detect boreholes in intact trees. A clear visualisation of boreholes by means of X-ray may depend on many factors. Factors as tree position, the stem diameter, the borehole diameter and position, the presence of boredust and the humidity of the wood are expected to be of prime importance. The third objective of this study is to determine the effect of the above mention factors on the visibility of boreholes in intact trees.