Methods and systems for the rapid detection of concealed objects
First Claim
1. An apparatus for identifying an object concealed within a container, comprising:
- a first stage inspection system having a Computed Tomography scanning system to generate a first set of data;
a plurality of processors in data communication with the first stage inspection system wherein the processors process said first set of data and wherein the first set of data is used to identify at least one target region;
a means for positioning an inspection region relative to the target region wherein an inspection region at least partially physically coincides with the target region; and
a second stage inspection system for generating the inspection region wherein the second stage inspection system produces a second set of data having an X-ray signature characteristic of the material in said inspection region.
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Abstract
The present invention provides for an improved scanning process having a first stage to rapidly identify a threat location and a second stage to accurately identify the nature of the threat. The improved scanning process maintains a high degree of accuracy while still providing an operationally desirable high throughput. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for identifying an object concealed within a container. It comprises a first stage inspection system having a Computed Tomography system to generate a first set of data and a plurality of processors in data communication with the first stage inspection system. The processors process the first set of data and are used to identify at least one target region. A second stage inspection system is then used to generate an inspection region, which is then positioned relative to the target region and made to at least partially physically coincide with the target region. A second set of data is produced specifically from the inspection region, which has a high degree of specificity for the material in the inspection region.
148 Citations
46 Claims
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1. An apparatus for identifying an object concealed within a container, comprising:
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a first stage inspection system having a Computed Tomography scanning system to generate a first set of data;
a plurality of processors in data communication with the first stage inspection system wherein the processors process said first set of data and wherein the first set of data is used to identify at least one target region;
a means for positioning an inspection region relative to the target region wherein an inspection region at least partially physically coincides with the target region; and
a second stage inspection system for generating the inspection region wherein the second stage inspection system produces a second set of data having an X-ray signature characteristic of the material in said inspection region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for identifying an object concealed within a container, comprising:
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generating a first set of data using a first stage Computed Tomography inspection system;
processing said first set of data using a plurality of processors in data communication with the first stage inspection system;
identifying at least one target region from said processed first set of data;
positioning an inspection region relative to the target region wherein the inspection region at least partially physically coincides with the target region;
generating the inspection region through a second stage inspection system; and
producing a second set of data having a X-ray signature characteristic of the material in the inspection region. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification