Automatic concealed object detection system having a pre-scan stage
First Claim
1. An apparatus for automatically detecting a target object within a container, said apparatus comprising:
- means for prescanning said container to form prescan data;
means for determining selected locations for CT scanning of said container, said determining means utilizing said prescan data;
means for CT scanning said container at said selected locations to form CT data, said CT scanning means being responsive to said determining means; and
means for identifying automatically said target object within said CT data, said identifying means receiving said CT data from said scanning means, wherein said target object within said CT data corresponds to said target object within said container.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for detecting concealed objects, such as explosives, drugs, or other contraband is disclosed. The apparatus uses CT scanning to identify concealed objects with a density corresponding to the density of a target object such as explosives or drugs. To reduce the amount of CT scanning required, a number of prescanning approaches are disclosed. Based upon the prescan data, selected locations for CT scanning are identified. CT scanning is undertaken at the selected locations. The resultant CT scan data is utilized to automatically identify objects of interest. This identification of objects may be verified through further automatic analysis of such attributes as shape, texture, and context. Finally, the objects of interest may be reconstructed and displayed on a computer monitor for visual analysis by an operator.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. An apparatus for automatically detecting a target object within a container, said apparatus comprising:
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means for prescanning said container to form prescan data; means for determining selected locations for CT scanning of said container, said determining means utilizing said prescan data; means for CT scanning said container at said selected locations to form CT data, said CT scanning means being responsive to said determining means; and means for identifying automatically said target object within said CT data, said identifying means receiving said CT data from said scanning means, wherein said target object within said CT data corresponds to said target object within said container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for automatically detecting a target object within a container, said apparatus comprising:
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a conveyor responsive to a conveyor motion controller; a prescanner providing X-ray scanning of said container as said container moves past said prescanner on said conveyor, said prescanner forming prescan data; a CT scan selection system for receiving said prescan data and determining scan locations for CT scans of said container; a CT system for CT scanning said container at said determined scan locations to form CT data, said CT system operating cooperatively with said conveyor whereby said conveyor positions said container at said determined scan locations; and an object detection system for receiving said CT data, said object detection system converting said CT data into data objects with calculated densities corresponding to the densities of the physical objects within said container, whereby said target objects are identified by their corresponding densities. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of automatically detecting a target object within a container, said method comprising the steps of:
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prescanning said container to form prescan data; determining selected locations for CT scanning of said container, said determining step relying upon said prescan data; CT scanning said container at said selected locations to form CT data; and identifying automatically said target object within said CT data, said identifying step relying upon said CT data from said scanning step. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification