Method and system for high energy, low radiation power X-ray imaging of the contents of a target
First Claim
1. A system for imaging a target object comprising:
- a source assembly for directing a radiation source at the target object;
a detector component for detecting a level of radiation passing through the target object;
the detector component comprising a plurality of converters that convert the radiation into a signal, the detector component comprising;
a first detector for detecting radiation in an analog mode; and
a second detector for detecting radiation in a discrete photon counting mode; and
a processor for imaging the target object in response to the signal from the detector component;
wherein the processor differentiates between an atomic number by weight of a first material from an atomic number by weight of a second material in the target object;
wherein the converters comprise Cherenkov x-ray converters.
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Abstract
The systems and methods described herein automatically detect, highlight and identify high-Z materials in volume concentrations of approximately 100 cm3 or greater utilizing single and/or dual energy sources with x-ray and neutron detectors. The methods and systems described herein are applied to the imaging of containerized cargo and cargo vehicles. Pursuant to the described systems and methods, radiation powers are orders of magnitude lower than those used in the conventional systems. By reducing the radiation power by a factor of, for example, 100 or more, the shielding requirements for the system are greatly reduced, alignment requirements can be significantly relaxed and system components can be lighter weight and more modular. Consequently, system costs are reduced.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. A system for imaging a target object comprising:
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a source assembly for directing a radiation source at the target object; a detector component for detecting a level of radiation passing through the target object; the detector component comprising a plurality of converters that convert the radiation into a signal, the detector component comprising; a first detector for detecting radiation in an analog mode; and a second detector for detecting radiation in a discrete photon counting mode; and a processor for imaging the target object in response to the signal from the detector component; wherein the processor differentiates between an atomic number by weight of a first material from an atomic number by weight of a second material in the target object; wherein the converters comprise Cherenkov x-ray converters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method for imaging a target object comprising:
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directing radiation from a first radiation source to the target object; detecting radiation from the irradiated target object at a first detector in analog mode; directing radiation at the target object after the first detector detects radiation from the irradiated target object; detecting radiation from the irradiated target object at a second detector in discrete photon counting mode; and depicting an image of the target object based upon the detected radiation by the first or second detector; wherein the first detector or second detector comprises a Cherenkov x-ray converter. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification