SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING AN X-RAY IMAGING SYSTEM WITH NEARLY CONTINUOUS ZOOMING CAPABILITY

• US 20150146847A1
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Published: 05/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Liu, James Zhengshe
• Application Number:
  US14/090,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20150146847A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/42
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4405 the apparatus being movable or portable, e.g. handheld or mounted on a trolley
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4441 the rigid structure being a C-arm or U-arm
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/461 Displaying means of special interest
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/501 for diagnosis of the head, e.g. neuroimaging or craniography
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/043 using fluoroscopic examination, with visual observation or video transmission of fluoroscopic images
• CPC Class Codes: G21K 1/04 using variable diaphragms, shutters, choppers

Abstract

Systems and methods for obtaining and displaying an X-ray image are described. The X-ray system contains an X-ray source, a CMOS based X-ray detector containing an active area for detecting an X-ray beam from the X-ray source, the active area containing an array of physical detector pixels having a pixel size or dimension ranging from about 10 μm×10 μm to about 50 μm×50 μm, a collimator defining an aperture, wherein the collimator is configured for a user to center the aperture over any portion of the active area of the CMOS based X-ray detector, and a display device configured to receive and display an X-ray image containing an array of virtual image pixels that have been previously binned at the CMOS based X-ray detector. Other embodiments are described.

Claims

1. An X-ray system, comprising:

an X-ray source;

a CMOS based X-ray detector having an active area of an array of physical detector pixels for detecting X-rays from the X-ray source and capable of adjusting a virtual image pixel size by binning multiple physical detector pixels together according to a desired region of interest;

a collimator defining an aperture, wherein the collimator is configured to center the aperture over any portion of the active area of the CMOS based X-ray detector; and

a display device configured to receive and display an X-ray image comprised of an array of virtual image pixels that have been previously binned at the CMOS based X-ray detector.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the X-ray image is generated by passing the X-ray beam through the aperture of the collimator and onto an object placed between the X-ray source and the CMOS based X-ray detector.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the array of virtual image pixels corresponds with the array of physical detector pixels.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the array of virtual image pixels are binned according to a region of interest selected by a user.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the display device is configured to display the X-ray image so that it fills the display dimensions of the display device.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a touch-screen user interface enabling a user to select a sub-region of interest of the X-ray image and to zoom in on the sub-region of interest, and wherein one or more virtual image pixels are re-binned according to the sub-region of interest selected by the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the collimator comprises multiple collimator plates that can be moved to define the size of the aperture.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the aperture can be moved across the entire active area of the CMOS based X-ray detector.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the array of physical detector pixels is comprised of pixels having a pixel size ranging from about 10 μ

m×

10 μ

m to about 50 μ

m×

50 μ

m.

10. A method for acquiring and displaying an X-ray image, comprising:

providing an X-ray system comprising;

an X-ray source;

a CMOS based X-ray detector having an active area for detecting a X-rays from the X-ray source and capable of adjusting a virtual image pixel size by binning multiple physical detector pixels together according to a desired region of interest; and

a collimator defining an aperture, wherein the collimator is configured to center the aperture over any portion of the active area of the CMOS based X-ray detector; and

generating an X-ray image of an object placed between the X-ray source and the CMOS based X-ray detector, wherein the X-ray image visualizes an array of virtual image pixels that have been previously binned at the CMOS based X-ray detector.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the X-ray image on a display device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the array of virtual image pixels corresponds with an array of the physical detector pixels.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the one array of virtual image pixels are binned according to a region of interest selected by a user.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the display device is configured to display the X-ray image so that it fills the display dimensions of the display device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising a touch-screen user interface enabling the user to select a sub-region of interest of the X-ray image and to zoom in on the sub-region of interest, and wherein the one or more X-ray image pixels are re-binned according to the sub-region of interest selected by a user.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the collimator comprises multiple collimator plates that can be moved to define the size of the aperture.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the aperture can be moved across the entire active area of the CMOS based X-ray detector.

18. An X-ray system, comprising:

an X-ray source;

a CMOS based X-ray detector having an active area of an array of physical detector pixels for detecting X-rays from the X-ray source and capable of adjusting a virtual image pixel size by binning multiple physical detector pixels together according to a desired region of interest; and

a collimator defining an aperture, wherein the collimator is configured to center the aperture over any portion of the active area of the CMOS based X-ray detector.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a display device configured to receive and display an X-ray image comprised of an array of virtual image pixels that have been previously binned at the CMOS based X-ray detector.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the array of virtual image pixels are binned according to a region of interest selected by a user.