Imaging techniques for reducing blind spots
First Claim
1. An imaging system for performing radiological imaging of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the system comprising:
- a housing;
a support structure, movably coupled to the housing;
at least one motor assembly, coupled to the housing and the support structure, and configured to move the support structure with respect to the housing;
at least two detector assemblies, fixed to the support structure, and comprising respective radiation detectors and angular orientators; and
a control unit, which is configured to perform a radiological imaging procedure bydriving the motor assembly to position the support structure in a plurality of positions with respect to the housing during a respective plurality of portions of the procedure, andwhile the support structure is positioned in each of the plurality of positions, driving the orientators to orient the respective detectors in a plurality of rotational orientations with respect to the ROI, and to detect radiation from the ROI at least a portion of the rotational orientations.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An imaging system is provided for radioimaging a region of interest (ROI) of a subject. The system includes a housing, a support structure, which is movably coupled to the housing, and at least one motor assembly, coupled to the housing and the support structure, and configured to move the support structure with respect to the housing. The system also includes at least two detector assemblies, fixed to the support structure, and comprising respective radiation detectors and angular orientators. A control unit drives the motor assembly to position the support structure in a plurality of positions with respect to the housing, and, while the support structure is positioned in each of the plurality of positions, drives the orientators to orient the respective detectors in a plurality of rotational orientations with respect to the ROI, and to detect radiation from the ROI at the rotational orientations. Other embodiments are also described.
299 Citations
44 Claims
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1. An imaging system for performing radiological imaging of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the system comprising:
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a housing; a support structure, movably coupled to the housing; at least one motor assembly, coupled to the housing and the support structure, and configured to move the support structure with respect to the housing; at least two detector assemblies, fixed to the support structure, and comprising respective radiation detectors and angular orientators; and a control unit, which is configured to perform a radiological imaging procedure by driving the motor assembly to position the support structure in a plurality of positions with respect to the housing during a respective plurality of portions of the procedure, and while the support structure is positioned in each of the plurality of positions, driving the orientators to orient the respective detectors in a plurality of rotational orientations with respect to the ROI, and to detect radiation from the ROI at least a portion of the rotational orientations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for performing radiological imaging of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the method comprising performing a radiological imaging procedure by:
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driving at least one motor assembly to, during a plurality of portions of the procedure, position a support structure in a respective plurality of positions with respect to a housing to which the support structure is movably coupled, which support structure is coupled to at least two radiation detectors; and while the support structure is positioned in each of the plurality of positions, driving orientators to orient the detectors in a plurality of rotational orientations with respect to the ROI, and, using the detectors, detecting radiation from the ROI at least a portion of the rotational orientations. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An imaging system for imaging a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the system comprising:
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at least one detector assembly, which comprises; first and second angular orientators; first and second axial supports, coupled to the first and second angular orientators, respectfully; and at least first and second detectors, coupled to the first and second axial supports, respectively, such that the first detector is completely longitudinally offset from the second detector; and a control unit, which is configured to; during a first portion of an image acquisition procedure, position the detector assembly in a first longitudinal position with respect to the ROI, and, while the detector assembly is thus positioned, drive the first and second orientators to orient the first and second axial supports, respectively, in a plurality of rotational orientations with respect to the ROI, and during a second portion of the image acquisition procedure, position the detector assembly in a second longitudinal position with respect to the ROI, and, while the detector assembly is thus positioned, drive the first and second orientators to orient the first and second axial supports, respectively, in a plurality of rotational orientations with respect to the ROI. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. An imaging system for performing radiological imaging of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the system comprising:
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at least two detector assemblies, which comprise respective radiation detectors and angular orientators; a housing; a support structure, to which the detector assemblies are coupled, which support structure is coupled to the housing such that the support structure is movable generally around an axis which is perpendicular to a plane defined by the detectors; at least one motor assembly, which is coupled to the housing and the support structure, and which is configured to move the support structure with respect to the housing and generally around the axis; and a control unit, which is configured to perform a radiological imaging procedure by driving the motor assembly to position the support structure in a plurality of positions with respect to the housing during a respective plurality of portions of the procedure, and while the support structure is positioned in each of the plurality of positions, driving the orientators to orient the detectors with respect to the ROI. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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34. An imaging system for performing radiological imaging of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the system comprising:
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a housing; a support structure, movably coupled to the housing; at least one motor assembly, coupled to the housing and the support structure, and configured to move the support structure with respect to the housing; at least two detector assemblies, coupled to the support structure, and comprising respective radiation detectors and orientators; and a control unit, which is configured to perform a radiological imaging procedure by driving the motor assembly to move the support structure with respect to the housing during the procedure, and driving the orientators to orient the detectors with respect to the ROI. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method for performing radiological imaging of a region of interest (ROI) of a subject, the method comprising performing a radiological imaging procedure by:
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driving at least one motor assembly to move a support structure with respect to a housing to which the support structure is movably coupled, which support structure is coupled to at least two radiation detectors; driving orientators to orient the detectors with respect to the ROI; and using the detectors, detecting radiation from the ROI. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification