Coherent-scatter computer tomograph
First Claim
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1. A computer tomography apparatus for examination of an object of interest, the computer tomography apparatus comprising:
- a source of radiation;
a scatter radiation detector for receiving a scatter radiation scattered by the object of interest, said detector being arranged opposite to the source of radiation with an offset with respect to a fan plane which extends through the object of interest and the source of radiation; and
a first collimator comprised of;
a second collimator focused at the source of radiation; and
a third collimator focused at the section of the object of interest;
wherein the scatter radiation detector has a plurality of detector regions organized substantially as a detector matrix comprised of matrix elements defined by horizontal and vertical detector lines, each of the plurality of detector regions having at least one energy resolving detector element;
wherein the first collimator is adapted such that radiation impinging on the at least one energy resolving detector element of a respective region of the plurality of regions is substantially restricted to scatter radiation scattered from a predetermined section of the object of interest, the dimensions of which correspond substantially to a matrix element of said detector matrix;
wherein the source of radiation is adapted such that a fan beam of radiation is applied to the object of interest in the fan plane.
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Abstract
Conventional CSCT may require a complex reconstruction involving a large number of calculations. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, additional collimators are used in combination with energy revolving detectors, which may allow that a CSCT image may be reconstructed by a simple superposition of images obtained from different viewing angles in a direct tomography data acquisition scheme. Advantageously, a reconstruction may be avoided. Advantageously, this may allow for an improved image quality while reducing an amount of calculations required for generating the output image.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A computer tomography apparatus for examination of an object of interest, the computer tomography apparatus comprising:
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a source of radiation; a scatter radiation detector for receiving a scatter radiation scattered by the object of interest, said detector being arranged opposite to the source of radiation with an offset with respect to a fan plane which extends through the object of interest and the source of radiation; and a first collimator comprised of; a second collimator focused at the source of radiation; and a third collimator focused at the section of the object of interest; wherein the scatter radiation detector has a plurality of detector regions organized substantially as a detector matrix comprised of matrix elements defined by horizontal and vertical detector lines, each of the plurality of detector regions having at least one energy resolving detector element; wherein the first collimator is adapted such that radiation impinging on the at least one energy resolving detector element of a respective region of the plurality of regions is substantially restricted to scatter radiation scattered from a predetermined section of the object of interest, the dimensions of which correspond substantially to a matrix element of said detector matrix; wherein the source of radiation is adapted such that a fan beam of radiation is applied to the object of interest in the fan plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer tomography apparatus for determining a first output image by using readouts from a scatter radiation detector, the computer tomography apparatus having:
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a source of radiation; a scatter radiation detector for receiving a scatter radiation scattered by the object of interest wherein the scatter radiation detector has a plurality of detector regions organized substantially as a detector matrix comprised of matrix elements defined by horizontal and vertical detector lines; wherein each of the plurality of detector regions has at least one energy resolving detector element; a first collimator comprised of a second collimator focused at the source of radiation and a third collimator focused at a section of the object of interest; wherein the first collimator is adapted such that radiation impinging on the at least one energy resolving detector element of a respective region of the plurality of regions is substantially restricted to scatter radiation scattered from a predetermined section of the object of interest, the dimensions of which correspond substantially to a matrix element of said detector matrix; wherein the scatter radiation detector is arranged opposite to the source of radiation with an offset with respect to a fan plane; wherein the fan plane extends through the object of interest and the source of radiation; wherein the scatter radiation detector has a plurality of regions; wherein each of the regions has at least one first detector element; wherein the at least one first detector element is an energy resolving detector element; wherein the first collimator is adapted such that scatter radiation impinging on the at least one first detector element of a respective region of the plurality of regions is substantially restricted to radiation scattered from a predetermined section of the object of interest; and wherein the source of radiation is adapted such that a fan beam of radiation is applied to the object of interest in the fan plane; and a data processing device comprising; a memory for storing the readouts from the scatter radiation detector; and a processor which is adapted to perform at least the following operation;
generating a first output image from the readouts without performing a reconstruction. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method of performing a fan-beam coherent scatter computer tomography scan with a computer tomography apparatus for examination of an object of interest, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a source of radiation; providing a scatter radiation detector for receiving a scatter radiation scattered by the object of interest, wherein the scatter radiation detector has a plurality of detector regions organized substantially as a detector matrix comprised of matrix elements defined by horizontal and vertical detector lines; providing a first collimator comprised of a second collimator focused at the source of radiation and a third collimator focused at a section of the object of interest, wherein the first collimator is adapted such that radiation impinging on the at least one energy resolving detector element of a respective region of the plurality of regions is substantially restricted to scatter radiation scattered from a predetermined section of the object of interest, the dimensions of which correspond substantially to a matrix element of said detector matrix; energizing the source of radiation to generate a fan beam of radiation; determining readouts from the scatter radiation detector; generating a first output image from the readouts by superimposing images without performing a reconstruction. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification