Automobile Scanning System
First Claim
1. An apparatus for imaging an organic object contained within a metal enclosure, comprising:
- an x-ray source for producing an x-ray beam passing through said metal container;
a first beam filter for creating a low-energy x-ray spectrum;
said first beam filter comprising an atomic element having a high k-edge energy;
a second beam filter for creating a high-energy x-ray spectrum;
a filter exchanger for alternately positioning said first beam filter and said second beam filter within said x-ray beam;
an x-ray detector for measuring the intensity of said x-ray beam exiting said metal enclosure;
a computer for calculating a metal suppressed image from the x-ray detector measurements;
whereby the image of said organic object is isolated from the interference of said metal enclosure.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A dual-energy x-ray imaging system searches a moving automobile for concealed objects. Dual energy operation is achieved by operating an x-ray source at a constant potential of 100 KV to 150 KV, and alternately switching between two beam filters. The first filter is an atomic element having a high k-edge energy, such as platinum, gold, mercury, thallium, lead, bismuth, and thorium, thereby providing a low-energy spectrum. The second filter provides a high-energy spectrum through beam hardening. The low and high energy beams passing through the automobile are received by an x-ray detector. These detected signals are processed by a digital computer to create a steel suppressed image through logarithmic subtraction. The intensity of the x-ray beam is adjusted as the reciprocal of the measured automobile speed, thereby achieving a consistent radiation level regardless of the automobile motion. Accordingly, this invention provides images of organic objects concealed within moving automobiles without the detritus effects of overlying steel and automobile movement.
-
Citations
26 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for imaging an organic object contained within a metal enclosure, comprising:
-
an x-ray source for producing an x-ray beam passing through said metal container; a first beam filter for creating a low-energy x-ray spectrum;
said first beam filter comprising an atomic element having a high k-edge energy;a second beam filter for creating a high-energy x-ray spectrum; a filter exchanger for alternately positioning said first beam filter and said second beam filter within said x-ray beam; an x-ray detector for measuring the intensity of said x-ray beam exiting said metal enclosure; a computer for calculating a metal suppressed image from the x-ray detector measurements; whereby the image of said organic object is isolated from the interference of said metal enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 26)
-
-
12. An apparatus for searching an automobile for security threats, comprising:
-
x-ray generating means for penetrating said automobile with x-ray radiation; switching filter means for changing said x-ray radiation between a low-energy spectrum and a high-energy spectrum, wherein said low-energy spectrum is substantially determined by the k-edge energy of a high atomic number element; x-ray detector means for converting the x-ray radiation that penetrates said automobile into a digitally represented signal; computer means for converting said digitally represented signal into a steel suppressed digital image of said automobile. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. A method for detecting objects hidden in moving automobiles, comprising:
-
measuring the speed of said automobile; illuminating said automobile with a radiation beam; adjusting the intensity of said radiation beam substantially in accordance with the inverse of the measured speed; detecting a modulated signal resulting from interaction of said radiation beam with said automobile; generating an image of said automobile from said modulated signal; wherein said image is derived from a consistent radiation exposure regardless of the automobile'"'"'s speed. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
Specification