System and method for detecting an object
First Claim
1. A system for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
- an energy-discriminating acquisition subsystem including an x-ray computed tomography scanner having a stationary radiation source and a stationary detector, said acquisition subsystem is adapted to acquire intensity measurements pertaining to the explosive;
a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; and
a reconstruction subsystem, in communication with the acquisition subsystem, for generating view data from the intensity measurements and for reconstructing the view data into image data representative of the explosive, wherein said reconstruction subsystem utilizes three-dimensional reconstruction techniques;
wherein the acquisition subsystem acquires image data of the articles for three-dimensional reconstruction without rotating the articles.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for ascertaining the identity of an object within an enclosed article. The system includes an acquisition subsystem utilizing a stationary radiation source and detector, a reconstruction subsystem, a computer-aided detection (CAD) subsystem, and a 2D/3D visualization subsystem. The detector may be an energy discriminating detector. The acquisition subsystem communicates view data to the reconstruction subsystem, which reconstructs it into image data and communicates it to the CAD subsystem. The CAD subsystem analyzes the image data to ascertain whether it contains any area of interest. Any such area of interest data is sent to the reconstruction subsystem for further reconstruction, using more rigorous algorithms and further analyzed by the CAD subsystem. Other information, such as risk variables or trace chemical detection information may be communicated to the CAD subsystem to be included in its analysis.
98 Citations
70 Claims
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1. A system for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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an energy-discriminating acquisition subsystem including an x-ray computed tomography scanner having a stationary radiation source and a stationary detector, said acquisition subsystem is adapted to acquire intensity measurements pertaining to the explosive; a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; and a reconstruction subsystem, in communication with the acquisition subsystem, for generating view data from the intensity measurements and for reconstructing the view data into image data representative of the explosive, wherein said reconstruction subsystem utilizes three-dimensional reconstruction techniques; wherein the acquisition subsystem acquires image data of the articles for three-dimensional reconstruction without rotating the articles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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a transportation means for transporting the article without rotating the article; an energy-discriminating acquisition subsystem comprising an x-ray computed tomography scanning device having a stationary radiation source and a stationary detector and being adapted to acquire intensity measurements from which view data may be derived; a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; a reconstruction subsystem, comprising a plurality of reconstruction stages, for reconstructing the view data into image data representative of the explosive, wherein said reconstruction subsystem utilizes three-dimensional reconstruction techniques; and a computer-aided detection subsystem, comprising a plurality of computer-aided detection stages, for analyzing the image data. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A system for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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an energy-discriminating acquisition subsystem including an x-ray computed tomography scanner having a stationary radiation source for acquiring intensity measurements pertaining to the explosive; a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; a reconstruction subsystem, in communication with the acquisition subsystem, for generating view data from the intensity measurements and for reconstructing the view data into image data, wherein said reconstruction subsystem utilizes three-dimensional reconstruction techniques; a computer-aided detection subsystem for analyzing the image data; and at least one additional source of information pertaining to the explosive, wherein the image data and the at least one additional source of information assist in identifying the explosive, wherein the acquisition subsystem acquires image data of the article for three-dimensional construction without rotating the articles. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A method for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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acquiring information pertaining to the explosive with an energy-discriminating acquisition apparatus having an x-ray computed tomography scanner with a stationary radiation source and a stationary detector; a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; and reconstructing an image representative of the explosive based upon the acquired information, wherein said reconstructing includes reconstructing the acquired information into a three-dimensional image; wherein the acquisition subsystem acquires image data of the articles for three-dimensional reconstruction without rotating the articles. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A method for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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acquiring information pertaining to an object located within the article with an energy-discriminating x-ray computed tomography machine having a stationary radiation source and a stationary detector; a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; communicating the acquired information to a plurality of reconstruction modules; reconstructing the acquired information into image data with the plurality of reconstruction modules, wherein said reconstructing includes reconstructing the acquired information into a three-dimensional image; and analyzing the image data to identify whether the object is an explosive device; wherein the acquisition subsystem acquires image data of the articles for three-dimensional reconstruction without rotating the articles. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A method for detecting an object, comprising:
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scanning an article with an energy-discriminating x-ray computed tomography machine to acquire information pertaining to the object, wherein the computed tomography machine includes a stationary radiation source and a stationary detector; a means for conveying articles to be scanned through the computed tomography scanner; discriminating between high-energy and low-energy signatures; reconstructing image data representative of the object based upon the high-energy and low-energy signatures, wherein said reconstructing includes reconstructing the information derived from the high-energy and low-energy signatures into a three-dimensional image; and analyzing the reconstructed image to identify the object; wherein the acquisition subsystem acquires image data of the articles for three-reconstruction without rotating the article. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70)
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Specification