X-ray computed tomography using flying spot mechanical scanning mechanism

Patent · Tue Sep 18 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6167750

Swift, R D

A radiant energy imaging apparatus for obtaining CT scans employs an X-ray unit operative to produce a pencil beam of X-ray radiant energy which is caused to scan in a horizontal plane through an angle, sufficiently great to embrace a cross section of a human body being examined, along a single, elongated, horizontally oriented detector forming a portion of the X-ray unit and located on the side of the body opposite to an X-ray source in the unit. A supporting structure, adapted to be rotated about a vertical axis, supports a human body in a vertical orientation; and when the system is scanning in the CT mode, the supporting structure rotates the human body smoothly and continuously about a vertical axis while the X-ray unit is held at a fixed position adjacent a horizontal section of interest of the human body. In addition to being used as a CT scanner, the system can be used to generate its own localization images and to perform digital radiography on those images and can be employed in this mode of operation to obtain anterior-posterior, lateral or oblique images at any desired angle. In addition, when used as a CT scanner, the apparauts can be provided with several contiguous linear detectors all of which are associated with the same scanning beam, so that several CT scans are generated simultaneously. The effective slice width of a particular region of interest can be adjusted by combining the outputs of one or more detectors in a contiguous group.

• Assignee: American Science and Engineering Inc.
• Patent Number(s): US 4472822
• OSTI ID: 6167750
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550602* -- Medicine-- External Radiation in Diagnostics-- (1980-)
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BODY
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DESIGN
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
DISPLAY DEVICES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ENERGY TRANSFER
HEAT TRANSFER
IMAGE INTENSIFIERS
IMAGE PROCESSING
IMAGE SCANNERS
IMAGES
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MECHANICS
PROCESSING
RADIANT HEAT TRANSFER
RADIATIONS
TOMOGRAPHY
X RADIATION