Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080247504 | DUAL-FOCUS X-RAY TUBE FOR RESOLUTION ENHANCEMENT AND ENERGY SENSITIVE CT - A CT system includes a rotatable gantry having an opening for receiving an object to be scanned, at least one x-ray source coupled to the gantry and configured to project x-rays toward the object, a detector coupled to the gantry and having a scintillator therein and configured to receive x-rays that pass through the object, and a generator configured to energize the at least one x-ray source. The system includes a controller configured to energize the generator to project a first beam of x-rays toward the object from a first focal spot position of an anode, the first beam of x-rays having a ray traversing a path through the object, acquire imaging data from the first beam of x-rays, position the at least one x-ray source such that a second beam of x-rays projected from a second focal spot position of the anode has a ray directed to traverse the path through the object, the second anode focal spot position different than the first anode focal spot position, energize the generator to project the second beam of x-rays toward the object, and acquire imaging data from the second beam of x-rays. | 10-09-2008 |
20090161816 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR X-RAY IMAGING - A technique is provided for imaging a field of view using an X-ray source comprising two or more emission points. The two or more emission points may be independently operated. Independent operation of the two or more emission points in performed in accordance with a list of commands that specifies the operation of the emission points. The list of commands, in one embodiment, is stored in a sequence buffer. In other embodiments, the list of commands is generated for a given usage, without being stored in a sequence buffer. | 06-25-2009 |
20090245467 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF FAST SWITCHING FOR SPECTRAL IMAGING - A system includes a generator configured to output at least one voltage level and an x-ray source configured to generate x-rays directed toward an object. The system includes a module coupled to the output of the generator and to an input of the x-ray source and configured to switch or assist in switching an output to the x-ray source between a first voltage level and a second voltage level. | 10-01-2009 |
20100215143 | METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR SCANNING A STREAM OF OBJECTS - A method for scanning a stream of objects includes continuously acquiring raw data of the stream of objects using an X-ray system including a detector, determining a leading edge and a trailing edge of a first object of the stream of objects from the raw data acquired by the detector using a control system, processing acquired raw data of the first object based on the determined leading edge and the determined trailing edge using the control system, and reconstructing an image of the first object using at least the processed raw data. A system configured to perform the method is also disclosed. | 08-26-2010 |
20100215144 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING A SCAN OF AN OBJECT - A method for generating an image of an object using a scanning system includes performing a first portion of a scan in a first scanning mode to acquire a first dataset, receiving a halt command for a conveyor within the scanning system, decelerating the conveyor to a halt based on the halt command using a conveyor controller, and, when the object is present within an examination region after the conveyor has halted, performing a second portion of the scan in a second scanning mode to acquire a second dataset. The second scanning mode is different than the first scanning mode. The method also includes reconstructing the first dataset using a first reconstruction algorithm and reconstructing the second dataset using a second reconstruction algorithm. The second reconstruction algorithm is different than the first reconstruction algorithm. The image is generated using the first reconstructed dataset and the second reconstructed dataset. | 08-26-2010 |
20100230242 | SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR SCANNING A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF OBJECTS - A method for scanning a stream of objects includes conveying the stream of objects through a scanning system using a conveyor, marking a leading edge position of an object within the stream of objects with respect to a first known distance between a sensor and a start of a scan range, and recording data associated with the object when the leading edge position reaches the start of the scan range. The method also includes marking a trailing edge position of the object with respect to a second known distance between the sensor and an end of the scan range, halting recording of the data when the trailing edge reaches the end of the scan range, and generating a three-dimensional image of the object based on the recorded data. | 09-16-2010 |
20100272557 | GAS TURBINE OPTICAL IMAGING SYSTEM - A method and system for recreating a two-dimensional distribution of temperatures in an exhaust plane of a gas turbine engine. Light transmission and detection pairs may be arranged in the annulus of the exhaust of the turbine engine in such a way that the individual rays form a two-dimensional mesh of beams across a sector of the exhaust. Based on the absorption of the rays, the temperature of the sector of the exhaust thru which the ray passes may be determined. Based on these determinations, an image that corresponds to the operation of the turbine engine may be generated. | 10-28-2010 |
20110051886 | SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR SCANNING A CONTINUOUS STREAM OF OBJECTS - A method for scanning a stream of objects includes continuously acquiring raw data of the stream of objects using an X-ray system, that includes a detector. The raw data of the stream of objects is rebinned into at least one two-dimensional sinogram. A leading edge and a trailing edge of a first object of the stream of objects is determined from the at least one two-dimensional sinogram and a three-dimensional image of the first object is reconstructed using the at least one two-dimensional sinogram. | 03-03-2011 |
20140010473 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR THIN OBJECT IMAGING - A method for imaging an object is provided. The method includes acquiring image data of the object, wherein the image data includes a plurality of original voxels each having an original CT number, identifying, using a processing device, a subset of the original voxels based on at least one of an original CT number and a location of each original voxel, applying, using the processing device, an anisotropic smoothing filter to the identified original voxels in the subset to generate a set of smoothed voxels each having a smoothed CT number, generating, using the processing device, smoothed image data by combining the original voxels and the smoothed voxels, and analyzing the smoothed image data to determine whether the object contains contraband. | 01-09-2014 |