Industrial computed tomography (CT) enables the non-destructive three-dimensional representation and measurement of workpieces. Due to its high flexibility, this measurement and analysis method is used both in research and development as well as in production. Applying CT technology, internal structures or shape deviations can be measured and material defects can be detected.

Nitinol is an important material for medical implants due to its super elastic behaviour and since its mechanical properties mimic biological materials. The surface of nitinol implants is commonly covered with a thin titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) layer which acts both as a passivating layer to increase the corrosion resistance and as a barrier layer to address the toxicological concerns of long-term nickel release into the biological tissue. Even though nitinol undergoes a natural passivation when exposed to air, various thermal, chemical, and electrochemical surface finishing techniques are applied during manufacturing to replace the native oxide layer by uniform TiO 2 layers of controlled thickness. The properties of these oxide layers depend on the surface finishing technique and the process parameters.

Nitinol's thermomechanical properties are well studied and understood below the so-called martensite death (MD) temperature, above which martensite cannot be induced by mechanical stress: Even at high stresses Nitinol stays in the austenite phase. This paper presents tensile tests performed well above MD (>150 °C) with Nitinol specimens laser cut from tube. The investigations show that Nitinol drastically changes its mechanical properties in this temperature range: The superelastic plateau shortens and finally vanishes. Furthermore, Nitinol starts becoming more ductile.