Collimator assembly having multi-piece components
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A CT system comprising:
- a rotatable gantry having a bore centrally disposed therein and configured to receive a subject to be scanned;
a table movable fore and aft through the bore and configured to position the subject for data acquisition;
a high frequency electromagnetic energy projection source positioned within the rotatable gantry and configured to emit high frequency electromagnetic energy toward the subject along a projection path;
a CT detector array configured to receive high frequency electromagnetic energy impinged by the subject, the CT detector array including;
a scintillator array configured to received high frequency electromagnetic energy and output light relative thereto;
a plurality of collimating elements to filter high frequency electromagnetic energy scatter;
a plurality of shielding elements secured to the scintillator array to at least shield scintillator edges from energy absorption; and
a photodiode array configured to detect light output of the scintillator array and output a series of electrical signals;
a DAS configured to received the electrical signals from the photodiode array; and
an image reconstructor configured to reconstruct an image of the subject from the electrical signals received by the DAS.
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a collimator assembly defined by a series of multi-piece collimator elements or plates that extend along at least one dimension of a scintillator pack. Each collimator element has a collimating component and a shielding component that are structurally independent from one another. The collimating components may be connected to the shielding components or separated by a small air gap. The shielding components are wider than the collimating components but the collimating components have a greater height. With this construction, the collimator assembly optimizes collimation and shielding with lower material requirements and reduced overall size.
80 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A CT system comprising:
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a rotatable gantry having a bore centrally disposed therein and configured to receive a subject to be scanned;
a table movable fore and aft through the bore and configured to position the subject for data acquisition;
a high frequency electromagnetic energy projection source positioned within the rotatable gantry and configured to emit high frequency electromagnetic energy toward the subject along a projection path;
a CT detector array configured to receive high frequency electromagnetic energy impinged by the subject, the CT detector array including;
a scintillator array configured to received high frequency electromagnetic energy and output light relative thereto;
a plurality of collimating elements to filter high frequency electromagnetic energy scatter;
a plurality of shielding elements secured to the scintillator array to at least shield scintillator edges from energy absorption; and
a photodiode array configured to detect light output of the scintillator array and output a series of electrical signals;
a DAS configured to received the electrical signals from the photodiode array; and
an image reconstructor configured to reconstruct an image of the subject from the electrical signals received by the DAS. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of manufacturing a CT detector array having individual detector cell optimization, the method comprising the steps of:
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forming a scintillator pack defining a plurality of scintillators;
depositing shielding elements on the scintillator pack between adjacent scintillators;
forming an array of collimator elements and aligning the array such that each collimator element generally aligns with a corresponding shielding element; and
coupling a photodiode array to the scintillator pack. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification