CT-Guided system and method for analyzing regions of interest for contraband detection
First Claim
1. A system for detecting a contraband object within an article, comprising:
- an acquisition subsystem including a three dimensional computed tomography scanner that produced volumetric data;
a reconstruction subsystem adapted to identify and distinguish regions of interest from regions of no interest within an article;
andan alternate modality subsystem adapted to analyze the regions of interest to identify a contraband object, wherein the alternate modality subsystem does not comprise a computed tomography modality, wherein the alternate modality subsystem comprises a detector having a modality with a sensitivity complementary to the computed tomography scanner, wherein the detector comprises an x-ray system with dual energy capability.
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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 with a computed tomography machine and an alternate modality subsystem. The alternate modality subsystem includes a detector mounted to a rotatable gantry. The detector may be a quadrupole resonance unit, a dual energy x-ray unit, or a backscatter x-ray unit. The acquisition subsystem analyzes an article and distinguishes regions of interest (may contain contraband) from regions of no interest (do not contain contraband). The article is then transported to the alternate modality subsystem at which the detector further analyzes just the regions of interest.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A system for detecting a contraband object within an article, comprising:
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an acquisition subsystem including a three dimensional computed tomography scanner that produced volumetric data; a reconstruction subsystem adapted to identify and distinguish regions of interest from regions of no interest within an article; and an alternate modality subsystem adapted to analyze the regions of interest to identify a contraband object, wherein the alternate modality subsystem does not comprise a computed tomography modality, wherein the alternate modality subsystem comprises a detector having a modality with a sensitivity complementary to the computed tomography scanner, wherein the detector comprises an x-ray system with dual energy capability. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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an acquisition subsystem including a computed tomography scanner that produces volumetric data and serving as a pre-scan modality; a reconstruction subsystem adapted to identify and distinguish regions of interest from regions of no interest within an article; an alternate modality subsystem adapted to analyze the regions of interest to identify an explosive, wherein the alternate modality subsystem comprises a detector having a modality with a sensitivity complementary to the computed tomography scanner; and
wherein the alternate modality subsystem does not comprise a computed tomography scanner, wherein the detector comprises an x-ray system with dual energy capability; anda transportation means for transporting the article between the acquisition subsystem and the alternate modality subsystem. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for detecting a contraband object within an article, comprising:
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performing a computed tomography scan of the article with a three-dimensional computed tomography scanner that produces volumetric data; then, distinguishing regions of interest from regions of no interest within the article through computed tomography reconstruction; and then, analyzing the regions of interest with a second modality having a sensitivity complementary to the compute tomography scanner to detect the contraband object, wherein the second modality does not comprise computed tomography, wherein the analyzing step is accomplished with an alternate modality subsystem comprising a detector, wherein the detector comprises an x-ray system with dual energy capability. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for detecting an explosive within an article, comprising:
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performing a computed tomography scan of the article with a computed tomography scanner that produces volumetric data; then, distinguishing regions of interest from regions of no interest within the article through computed tomography reconstruction; transporting the article through the computed tomography scanner to an alternate modality subsystem having a sensitivity complementary to the compute tomography scanner; and then, analyzing the regions of interest with the alternate modality subsystem without tomography reconstruction to detect the explosive, wherein the alternate modality subsystem includes a detector mounted on a gantry and wherein the detector comprises an x-ray system with dual energy capability. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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Specification