The rise of a new merchant class in Europe also created a demand for high-quality portable religious carvings. Due to the onset of the Reformation and the assumption that ecclesiastical accessories were going out of fashion, these miniature pieces of boxwood disappeared again. It is also possible that the carver died and was unable to pass on his knowledge. These carvings can also be seen as a kind of precursor to micro-carving.

With the help of micro-CT scans and advanced 3D analysis software, the AGO and Delft University researchers found out how these prayer nuts were constructed. The new scanning technique revealed the structure and composition. It turned out that the joints of the miniature altars are so hidden that they can only be seen with a microscope or an X-ray. In larger pieces, they also incorporated needles that are smaller than grass seeds. Nevertheless, despite the synchrotron method, a good part of the manufacturing process remains unknown.

This X-ray technique could also be applied to some examples of micro-carving in cooperation with the University of Delft in the Netherlands in order to better understand their production process.

Research with synchrotron radiation began in 1982 in Berlin Wilmersdorf. In the following 20 years, Bessy I and Bessy II were developed. "This radiation covers a very wide spectral range. There are no comparable alternative light sources. Therefore, synchrotron radiation is an analytical tool for research and development in physics, chemistry, materials research and biology", but also for applications in the field of materials are structural research, spectromicroscopy and related to this also for the research of works of art without damaging them.