Fiber optic scintillator with optical gain for a computed tomography system and method of manufacturing same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A fiber optic scintillator cell comprising:
- a first component formed of a block of scintillating material, the scintillating material configured to output light in response to electromagnetic energy incidence thereon;
a second component formed of a block of optically stimulatable material, the optically stimulatable material configured to receive the light output from the block of scintillating material along a path substantially parallel to a path of electromagnetic energy incidence on the block of scintillating material and output light in a direction substantially parallel to the path of electromagnetic energy incidence, and further configured to output light at an intensity greeter than that output by the block of scintillating material; and
wherein the first component and the second component are arranged in a discretely layered stack.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a detector for a CT system. The detector includes a scintillator with built-in gain for receiving and converting high frequency electromagnetic energy to light. Each scintillator is formed of a scintillating material and an optically stimulated material. The components may be intermixed with one another to form a single composite structure or formed into layers to form a single layered structure. The scintillator may be incorporated into the detector array of any CT system including medical diagnostic systems and package/baggage inspection systems.
80 Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A fiber optic scintillator cell comprising:
-
a first component formed of a block of scintillating material, the scintillating material configured to output light in response to electromagnetic energy incidence thereon;
a second component formed of a block of optically stimulatable material, the optically stimulatable material configured to receive the light output from the block of scintillating material along a path substantially parallel to a path of electromagnetic energy incidence on the block of scintillating material and output light in a direction substantially parallel to the path of electromagnetic energy incidence, and further configured to output light at an intensity greeter than that output by the block of scintillating material; and
wherein the first component and the second component are arranged in a discretely layered stack. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A detector for a computed tomography system, the detector comprising:
-
a fiber optic scintillator configured to receive high frequency electromagnetic energy from a first direction and convert the high frequency electromagnetic energy to light energy having a first intensity, and further configured to output the light energy in a second direction generally parallel to the first direction at a second intensity, wherein the second intensity exceeds the first intensity; and
a photodiode coupled to the scintillator generally perpendicular to both the first and second directions and configured to detect the light energy output from the fiber optic scintillator along a path that is generally parallel to a path of high energy electromagnetic energy incidence on the fiber optic scintillator. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A CT system comprising:
-
a rotatable gantry having an opening to receive an object to be scanned;
a high frequency electromagnetic energy projection source configured to project a high frequency electromagnetic energy beam toward the object along a projection path;
a scintillator array having a plurality of scintillator cells wherein each cell is configured to detect high frequency electromagnetic energy passing through the object, wherein each cell is configured to initially convert high frequency electromagnetic energy to light energy having an intensity and output the light energy along a path generally parallel to the projection path at an intensity exceeding that initially generated;
a photodiode array optically coupled to the scintillator array and comprising a plurality of photodiodes configured to detect light output from a corresponding scintillator cell, wherein each photodiode outputs a signal indicative of the light output of the corresponding scintillator cell;
a data acquisition system (DAS) connected to the photodiode array and configured to receive the photodiode outputs; and
an image reconstructor connected to the DAS and configured to reconstruct a CT image of the object from the photodiode outputs received by the DAS. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A method of manufacturing a fiber optic scintillator cell having optical gain, the method comprising the steps of:
-
fashioning a first component of scintillating material;
fashioning a second component of optically stimulatable material; and
forming the first component in a single layer, forming the second component in a single layer, and connecting the first component layer and the second component layer to one another in a discretely layered structure. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
-
-
25. A detector for a CT system, the detector comprising:
-
a pixilated array of scintillation elements arranged to receive x-rays emitted along on x-ray path from an x-ray emitter toward a subject to be scanned, wherein each scintillator element includes a first component formed of scintillating material and a second component formed of optically stimulatable material; and
a pixilated array of photodiodes coupled to receive light emissions from the pixilated array of scintillation elements along a direction generally parallel to the x-ray path such that each photodiode is configured to output a signal indicative of an intensity of light emitted by a corresponding scintillation element to a decoder. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
-
Specification