Non-Rotating Transaxial Radionuclide Imaging
First Claim
1. A collimator comprising a plurality of adjacently stacked collimating segments sharing a common central axis, each segment having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, wherein adjacent collimating segments are annularly displaced from one another about the common central axis.
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Abstract
Transaxial radionuclide imaging is implemented without relative rotation between detectors and a patient by employing a collimator comprising segments sharing a common central axis, each segment having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, wherein the segments are angularly displaced from one another about the common central axis. Embodiments include SPECT systems comprising a polygonal detector having a collimator on at least two sides thereof. Embodiments further include collimators comprising six segments, each offset by an angle of 7 to 9°.
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Citations
20 Claims
- 1. A collimator comprising a plurality of adjacently stacked collimating segments sharing a common central axis, each segment having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, wherein adjacent collimating segments are annularly displaced from one another about the common central axis.
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14. A radionuclide imaging method comprising:
positioning a patient having a radiating mass within a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system and moving the patient along a longitudinal axis, the SPECT system comprising; a polygonal shaped radiation detector; and a collimator on at least two sides of the polygonal shaped detector, wherein the collimator comprises a plurality of adjacently stacked collimating segments sharing a common central axis, each segment having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, wherein the adjacent collimating segments are angularly displaced from one another about the common central axis; wherein each aperture forms a passageway for radiation rays emanating from the radiating mass in a direction substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the respected passageway so that aligned radiation rays strike the detector; and motive means for effective longitudinal relative motion between the detector and the patient for taking multi-angular SPECT radiation sampling of the radiating mass in the patient utilizing the passageways, without relative rotation between the patient and detector. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A nuclear medical imaging apparatus comprising:
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a gantry defining a central longitudinal axis; a plurality of detection rings disposed about the axis and supported by the gantry; and a plurality of radiation detectors disposed among the plurality of detection rings and configured to detect ionizing radiation, wherein the adjacent rings are longitudinally and annularly displaced from one another along the axis. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification