Portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system

• US 9,057,680 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2011
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company Limited (Government of South Korea), Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Government of The Republic of Korea)
• Original Assignee: Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company Limited (Government of South Korea), Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Government of The Republic of Korea)
• Inventors: Jung, Sung-Hee, Kim, Jong-bum, Moon, Jinho
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Toan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sanei, Mona M
• Application Number:
  US13/277,536
• Publication Number:
  US 20120140876A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 378/20, 378/54, 378/57, 378/58, 378/59, 378/60, 378/61, 378/146, 378/147, 378/11
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/419 computed tomograph
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/612 biological material
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/046 using tomography, e.g. computed tomography [CT]

Abstract

Provided is a diagnostic method and system capable of applying tomography to industrial long cylindrical process systems, such as a pipe line, which are difficult to diagnose using existing medical or industrial computed tomography (CT) scanners. Existing industrial X-ray CT scanners cannot be used for such a pipe that is attached to the process system and thus cannot be placed on the turntable, and existing image diagnostic apparatuses of a fan beam type, a collimated beam type, etc. having a stereotyped structure are next to impossible to move and use for undetachable process systems and their peripheral devices. To solve these problems, there is provided a gamma-ray tomography scanning system that is capable of being directly attached to a pipe in operation and measuring a cross section of the pipe.

Claims

1. A portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system comprising:

a scanning part for tomography scanning; and

a clamping part for attaching the scanning part to an object to be measured,

an image reconstructing part for performing cross-sectional reconstruction using an image reconstruction program to perform cross-sectional reconstruction of limited angle data on the basis of measured data,

wherein the scanning part includes;

a source assembly generating radiation of gamma-ray;

a driving device rotating the source assembly; and

a detector assembly detecting the radiation generated from the radiation source,

and the source assembly includes;

a source moving slide comprises two parts, a first part being disposed along a base plate having a C-shaped structure and a second part being detachable from the first part and filling an open part of the base plate;

a source moving track that is coupled to the source moving slide; and

a source collimator that is coupled to the source moving track,

wherein said two parts of the source moving slide forms a closed circular structure.

2. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the detector assembly is configured to be fixed, and the source assembly is configured to be displaced.

3. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the source moving track includes teeth formed on a lateral face thereof so as to be engaged with the gear, whereby when the motor is driven to rotate the gear, the source collimator is displaced with the source moving track.

4. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the source moving slide coupled to the base plate is configured to have a detachable structure.

5. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the detector assembly is configured so that multiple detecting units are arranged in a circular arc shape.

6. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the detecting unit employs a CsI gamma-ray detecting unit.

7. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the source assembly employs a sealed gamma-ray source, and is configured to use ¹³⁷Cs or ⁶⁰Co as a radioactive isotope that emits gamma rays.

8. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the clamping part is manufactured depending on a size of the object to be measured, whereby measurement is possible for objects of various sizes.

9. The portable industrial limited angle gamma-ray tomography scanning system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the image reconstruction program is configured to use an iterative algorithm such as a maximum likelihood-expectation maximization (ML-EM) algorithm, a total variation (TV) algorithm, or an algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) algorithm.