Clinical screening CT systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computerized tomographic (CT) imaging system comprising:
- a gantry defining a central bore surrounding an object being imaged;
at least one X-ray tube affixed to said gantry for emitting X-rays;
X-ray detectors mounted on said gantry to detect X-rays from said at least one X-ray tube that traverse said object; and
a helical movement arrangement for moving the gantry vertically while rotating the gantry such that at least one X-ray tube rotates the object being imaged, said helical rail arrangement including vertically extending helically-arranged rails to provide a helical scan of the object as the gantry travels over the rails.
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Abstract
A computerized tomographic imaging system (31) including a vertical movement arrangement (32, 35) for moving gantry of said system vertically while rotating about the object being imaged (44) to provide a helical scan.
80 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A computerized tomographic (CT) imaging system comprising:
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a gantry defining a central bore surrounding an object being imaged;
at least one X-ray tube affixed to said gantry for emitting X-rays;
X-ray detectors mounted on said gantry to detect X-rays from said at least one X-ray tube that traverse said object; and
a helical movement arrangement for moving the gantry vertically while rotating the gantry such that at least one X-ray tube rotates the object being imaged, said helical rail arrangement including vertically extending helically-arranged rails to provide a helical scan of the object as the gantry travels over the rails. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
an image constructor that reconstructs images from said imaging data; and
a monitor that displays said reconstructed images.
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8. The CT imaging system of claim 5 including a memory that receives said acquired imaging data to enable the reconstruction of images at a central imaging data processing and display center.
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9. The CT imaging system of claim 8 where said memory is located on said gantry.
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10. The CT imaging system of claim 1 including a power pack mounted on said gantry for powering components on said gantry during the helical scan.
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11. The CT imaging system of claim 10 wherein said power pack includes high voltage capacitors.
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12. The CT imaging system of claim 10 including a trickle charger for charging said power pack when not in use.
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13. The CT imaging system of claim 12 wherein said capacitors are in parallel during the charging and in series during use.
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14. The CT imaging system of claim 1 wherein said at least one X-ray tube includes more than one X-ray source mounted on said gantry.
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15. The CT imaging system of claim 1 wherein said at least one X-ray tube comprises a single focal spot X-ray source.
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16. The CT imaging system of any of claim 1 wherein said at least one X-ray tube includes a multiple focal spots X-ray tube.
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17. The CT imaging system of claim 1 wherein said X-ray detectors comprise a single row of X-ray detectors.
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18. The CT imaging system of claim 1 wherein said X-ray detectors comprise multiple rows of detectors.
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19. The CT imaging system of claim 1 wherein the X-ray detectors comprise area detector arrays.
Specification