Imaging, data acquisition, data transmission, and data distribution methods and systems for high data rate tomographic X-ray scanners

• US 9,183,647 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2014
• Issued: 11/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rapiscan Systems Incorporated (OSI Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Rapiscan Systems Incorporated (OSI Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Morton, Edward James
• Primary Examiner(s): THOMAS, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US14/312,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20150071399A1
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4028 resulting in acquisition of views from substantially different positions, e.g. EBCT
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4085 Cone-beams
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/542 involving control of exposure
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/17 Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular type of detector pulse-selection circuits H03K, G01R
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/2985 In depth localisation, e.g. using positron emitters; Tomographic imaging (longitudinal and transverse section imaging; apparatus for radiation diagnosis sequentially in different planes, steroscopic radiation diagnosis); using external radiation sources A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/005 Specific pre-processing for tomographic reconstruction, e.g. calibration, source positioning, rebinning, scatter correction, retrospective gating
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2211/421 Filtered back projection [FBP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

The present invention is an X-ray system having a source-detector module, which includes X-ray sources and detectors, for scanning an object being inspected, a scan engine coupled to the source-detector module for collecting scan data from the source detector module, an image reconstruction engine coupled to the scan engine for converting the collected scan data into one or more X-ray images, and a scan controller coupled with at least one of the source detector module, the scan engine, and the image reconstruction engine optimize operations of the X-ray system.

Claims

1. An X-ray system comprising:

a plurality of detectors for detecting and generating X-ray data;

a scan controller coupled to the plurality of detectors, wherein the scan controller is configured to identify from the X-ray data, regions having required information and regions not having required information;

a scan engine coupled to the plurality of detectors and the scan controller, wherein the scan engine receives the X-ray data and calibrates the X-ray data, based on regions identified by the scan controller that comprise required information; and

an image reconstruction engine coupled to the scan engine and the scan controller, wherein the image reconstruction engine converts the calibrated X-ray data into one or more processed X-ray images.

2. The X-ray system of claim 1 further comprising a user input wherein the user input receives control information from a user and wherein the scan controller uses the control information to dynamically modulate processing of at least one of the X-ray data by the scan engine and of the calibrated X-ray data by the image reconstruction engine.

3. The X-ray system of claim 1 wherein the X-ray data is transmission data.

4. The X-ray system of claim 1 wherein the X-ray data is backscatter data.

5. The X-ray system of claim 1 further comprising a data visualization engine coupled to the image reconstruction engine for rendering the processed X-ray images to a human readable screen.

6. The X-ray system of claim 1 further comprising one or more storage devices coupled to one or more of the plurality of detectors, the scan engine, and the image reconstruction engine for storing data obtained from the plurality of detectors, the scan engine, and the image reconstruction engine.

7. The X-ray system of claim 1 wherein the scan controller issues instructions to the image reconstruction engine to process calibrated X-ray data from detectors corresponding to the regions comprising required information.

8. The X-ray system of claim 7 further comprising a data visualization engine wherein the data visualization engine receives from the image reconstruction engine a plurality of coordinates corresponding to the regions comprising required information.

9. The X-ray system of claim 1 wherein the scan controller issues instructions to the scan engine to modify a spatial resolution of a scan based upon the X-ray data.

10. The X-ray system of claim 9 wherein the spatial resolution is modified by generating a first spatial resolution in a scan direction and a second spatial resolution in a scan plane, the first spatial resolution being different than the second spatial resolution.

11. The X-ray system of claim 1 wherein the scan controller issues instructions to the scan engine to generate a first resolution and a second resolution in a scan, wherein the first resolution and the second resolution are different.

12. The X-ray system of claim 11 wherein the scan engine transmits the scan having the first resolution and the second resolution to the image reconstruction engine.

13. The X-ray system of claim 12 wherein the image reconstruction engine generates image data having variable resolution based on the scan having the first resolution and the second resolution.

14. The X-ray system of claim 12 wherein the image reconstruction engine generates image data having at least one of:

an area of coarse pixelation, an area of medium granularity pixelation, and an area of high granularity pixelation.

15. A method for processing X-ray data, comprising:

identifying, from the X-ray data, regions having required information and regions not having required information;

calibrating the X-ray data based only on regions having the identified information and not on the regions not having required information;

processing the calibrated X-ray data into one or more processed X-ray images; and

issuing instructions to a scan engine to modify a spatial resolution of a scan based upon the X-ray data, wherein the spatial resolution is modified by generating a first spatial resolution in a scan direction and a second spatial resolution in a scan plane, the first spatial resolution being different than the second spatial resolution.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising dynamically modulating processing of at least one of the X-ray data by a scan engine and of the calibrated X-ray data by an image reconstruction engine based on user inputted control information.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising issuing instructions to an image reconstruction engine to process calibrated X-ray data from detectors corresponding to the regions having required information.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising causing the scan engine to transmit the scan having the first resolution and the second resolution to an image reconstruction engine.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the image reconstruction engine generates image data having variable resolution based on the scan having the first resolution and the second resolution.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the image reconstruction engine generates image data having at least one of an area of coarse pixelation, an area of medium granularity pixelation, or an area of high granularity pixelation.