Tomographic method of x-ray imaging

1. Field of the Invention A method is disclosed for obtaining the density distributions of three-dimensional elements that compose objects or groups of objects, by examining the objects with beams of x-rays or gamma radiation that are transmitted through the object in a plurality of approximately parallel paths and measuring the intensity of the radiation, scattered approximately perpendicular to the parallel paths, in arrays of detectors around the object. The energy of the x-rays or gamma rays is such that dominant interaction in the object is Compton scattering. The density of each element is determined from the totality of measurements by standard mathematical tomographic or relaxation techniques of data manipulation.