System and method for producing pulsed monochromatic X-rays

• US 6,687,333 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vanderbilt University
• Original Assignee: Vanderbilt University
• Inventors: Carroll, Frank E., Brau, Charles A., Mendenhall, Marcus H., Waters, James W., Edwards, Glenn, Traeger, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): ARANA, LOUIS M
• Application Number:
  US09/964,872
• Publication Number:
  US 20020057760A1
• Time in Patent Office: 858 Days
• Field of Search: 378/119, 378/138, 378/137, 378/121
• US Class Current: 378/119
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 2/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for producing X-rays, not involving X-ray tubes, e.g. involving generation of a plasma X-ray lasers H01S4/00

Abstract

A system for generating tunable pulsed monochromatic X-rays includes a tabletop laser emitting a light beam that is counter-propagated against an electron beam produced by a linear accelerator. X-ray photon pulses are generated by inverse Compton scattering that occurs as a consequence of the “collision” that occurs between the electron beam and IR photons generated by the laser. The system uses a novel pulse structure comprising, for example, a single micropulse. In this way, pulses of very short X-rays are generated that are controllable on an individual basis with respect to their frequency, energy level, “direction,” and duration.

Claims

1. A system for generating an X-ray pulse, comprising:

an electron beam source configured to direct a pulse of electrons at a beam interaction zone; and

a laser beam source configured to direct an optical pulse of photons at the beam interaction zone, the system configured such that when operational, the electrons in the electron pulse collide with the photons in the optical pulse at the beam interaction zone, the collision producing a pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons, at least one characteristics of the pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons being individually controllable.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons is utilized to perform an imaging application.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the imaging application is three-dimensional, volumetric mammography without use of breast compression.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the pulse of X-ray photons is the only pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons used to perform the imaging application.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein a drug is administered to a patient that collects on a portion of the patient to be imaged, the pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons is tuned to a predetermined energy level sufficient to dislodge valence electrons from the drug, and imaging photons are produced at the portion of the patient being imaged.

6. A system for generating an X-ray pulse, comprising:

an electron beam source configured to direct a pulse of electrons at a beam interaction zone, the pulse of electrons having a predetermined electron pulse charge of at least one nanocoulomb and a predetermined electron pulse length less than approximately ten picoseconds; and

a laser beam source configured to direct an optical pulse of photons at the beam interaction zone the optical pulse having a predetermined optical pulse length of less than approximately ten picoseconds and a predetermined optical pulse energy level of less than approximately ten joules, the system configured such that when operational, the electrons in the electron pulse collide with the photons in the optical pulse at the beam interaction zone, the collision producing a pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons, the pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons having a predetermined pulse length of less than approximately ten picoseconds and a predetermined flux of at least approximately 10⁹ photons per pulse.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons is utilized to perform an imaging application.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the imaging application is three-dimensional, volumetric mammography without use of breast compression.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the pulse of X-ray photons is the only pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons used to perform the imaging application.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein a drug is administered to a patient that collects on a portion of the patient to be imaged, pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons is tuned to a predetermined energy level sufficient to dislodge valence electrons from the drug, and imaging photons are produced at the portion of the patient being imaged.

11. A method of generating an X-ray pulse comprising:

generating an individually-configured optical pulse;

generating an individually-configured electron pulse synchronously with generation of the optical pulse; and

colliding the optical pulse and the electron pulse at a beam interaction zone, the collision of electrons in the electron pulse with photons in the optical pulse producing an individually-configured pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising

imaging a target object with the individually-configured pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the individually-configured pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons is the only source of X-ray photons used in performing the imaging.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising performing three-dimensional volumetric mammography with the individually-configured pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

administering to a patient a drug having K shell electrons having a predetermined binding energy, the drug collecting at a portion of the patient to be imaged;

tuning the individually-configured pulse of X-ray photons to the predetermined binding energy of the K shell electrons;

focusing the individually-configured pulse of X-ray photons at the portion of the patient; and

observing imaging photons produced at the portion of the patient by the interaction of the individually-configured pulse of approximately monochromatic X-ray photons with the K shell electrons of the drug.

16. A system for generating an X-ray pulse, comprising:

an electron source configured to direct a pulse of electrons at an interaction zone; and

a photon source configured to direct a pulse of photons at the interaction zone, the system configured such that when operational, the election source is sufficiently synchronized in time and duration with the photon source to cause a collision of the pulse of electrons and the pulse of photons in the interaction zone, the collision producing the X-ray pulse.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the X-ray pulse produced when the system is operational is an approximately monochromatic pulse of X-ray photons.