I dunno, once again I don't think you really need any advanced scanning technology to figure out what's going to happen if you remove the piece that attaches the chainring (in this case, the small chainring) to the crank.

Edit to add: and yes, of course, you could replace the cover/standoff/bolt receptacle with something that just functioned as a bolt receptacle, but you'd *have* to replace it. So it's structural, IE: product won't function if it isn't in place.

---

Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/