Methods of examining an item of luggage by means of an x-ray diffraction method

• US 7,792,248 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2005
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Morpho Detection (Safran SA)
• Original Assignee: Morpho Detection (Safran SA)
• Inventors: Strecker, Helmut, Zienert, Gabriel, Schmiegel, Armin
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMAS, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US11/571,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20090016487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,897 Days
• Field of Search: 378/57, 378 70- 89, 378/98.11, 378/98.12
• US Class Current: 378/57
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/22 Active interrogation, i.e. by irradiating objects or goods using external radiation sources, e.g. using gamma rays or cosmic rays

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of examining an item of luggage 1, in which an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the whole item of luggage 1 is produced first, then planiform suspect regions 4, 5, 6 in the X-ray fluoroscopic image are determined and the scanning time during the following production of an X-ray diffraction image depends on whether the X-ray beam is located specifically in a planiform suspect region 4, 5, 6, wherein the scanning time heads towards zero outside a planiform suspect region 4, 5, 6 and lasts long enough inside a planiform suspect region 4, 5, 6 to obtain an informative X-ray diffraction image.

Claims

1. Method of examining an item of luggage comprising:

obtaining a first X-ray fluoroscopic image of the whole item of luggage;

identifying one or more planiform suspect regions in the first X-ray fluoroscopic image;

calculating a travel path for an X-ray beam; and

moving the X-ray beam along the travel path to obtain an X-ray diffraction scan of the item of luggage, wherein a scanning speed at which the X-ray beam moves depends on whether the X-ray beam is located in the one or more planiform suspect regions, wherein the scanning speed is faster outside the one or more planiform suspect regions than inside the one or more suspect regions, and is slow enough inside the one or more planiform suspect regions to obtain an informative X-ray diffraction image.

2. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, further comprising subjecting at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions to a geometric optimization based on a geometry of the one or more planiform suspect regions, a travel time of the X-ray beam in the one or more planiform suspect regions and a beam geometry of the X-ray beam, wherein the geometric optimization reduces a time required to complete the X-ray diffraction scan.

3. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 2, further comprising merging at least two of the one or more planiform suspect regions which lie closely alongside each other or overlap to form a single examination area.

4. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 2, further comprising breaking at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions into several examination areas.

5. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 2, further comprising optimizing the size of at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions.

6. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, further comprising subjecting at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions to a contents-based optimization in which an expected X-ray flow is determined.

7. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 6, further comprising fixing a scanning time for the at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions according to the expected X-ray flow.

8. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 6, further comprising omitting the at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions from the X-ray diffraction image if the at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions is determined to be impenetrable.

9. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 2, further comprising subjecting at least one of the one or more planiform suspect regions to a contents-based optimization in which an expected X-ray flow is determined, and optimizing the travel path based on the geometric optimization and the contents-based optimization.

10. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, wherein said identifying one or more planiform suspect regions comprises comparing a second X-ray fluoroscopic image with the first X-ray fluoroscopic image, wherein one of the first X-ray fluoroscopic image and the second X-ray fluoroscopic image is obtained by an upstream luggage checking unit.

11. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, wherein said identifying one or more planiform suspect regions comprises using information relating to one or more extractable objects from the first X-ray fluoroscopic image.

12. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining three-dimensionally resolved density information from an upstream luggage checking unit with CT, wherein the scanning speed depends on the three-dimensionally resolved density information.

13. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, wherein the first X-ray fluoroscopic image is produced by a line scanner, using a fan beam.

14. Method of examining an item of luggage according to claim 1, wherein the first X-ray fluoroscopic image is one of a monoenergetic and a double-energy fluoroscopic image.