Intraoral tomosynthesis systems, methods, and computer readable media for dental imaging
First Claim
1. An intraoral tomosynthesis system for three dimensional imaging, the system comprising:
- an x-ray source array containing multiple x-ray focal spots spatially distributed on one or multiple anodes in an evacuated chamber;
a high frame rate x-ray detector for positioning inside a mouth of a patient;
a mechanical fixture for attaching the x-ray source to the x-ray detector in a known and fixed position;
an x-ray collimator to confine x-ray radiation from all of the x-ray focal spots in the x-ray source array to a common region of interest and to a surface of the x-ray detector without mechanical movement;
an electronic controller configured to sequentially activate x-ray exposure from individual x-ray focal spots and to synchronize onset and duration of the exposure with a detector integration time to produce a series of projection images of a region of interest from a range of viewing angles without moving the x-ray source, the detector, or the patient;
wherein each projection image corresponds to one specific x-ray focal spot and a specific viewing angle; and
a computer processor for tomosynthesis image reconstruction using specific imaging geometries of projection images determined from a position of the x-ray source array with respect to the detector, and prior knowledge of positions of the individual x-ray focal spots with respect to the x-ray source array.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Intraoral tomosynthesis systems, methods, and computer readable media for dental imaging can include an x-ray source containing multiple focal spots spatially distributed on one or multiple anodes in an evacuated chamber, an x-ray detector for positioning inside a mouth of a patient, a device for determining imaging geometry of the intraoral tomosynthesis system; and control electronics configured to regulate the x-ray source, by sequentially activating each of the multiple focal spots, such that multiple two dimensional (2D) projection images of the mouth of the patient are acquired from multiple viewing angles. In some aspects, the device for determining the imaging geometry can comprise a plate connectedly attached to the x-ray detector, at least one light source connectedly attached to the x-ray source, and a camera configured to capture at least one light spot produced by a projection of at least one light beam onto the plate.
109 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An intraoral tomosynthesis system for three dimensional imaging, the system comprising:
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an x-ray source array containing multiple x-ray focal spots spatially distributed on one or multiple anodes in an evacuated chamber; a high frame rate x-ray detector for positioning inside a mouth of a patient; a mechanical fixture for attaching the x-ray source to the x-ray detector in a known and fixed position; an x-ray collimator to confine x-ray radiation from all of the x-ray focal spots in the x-ray source array to a common region of interest and to a surface of the x-ray detector without mechanical movement; an electronic controller configured to sequentially activate x-ray exposure from individual x-ray focal spots and to synchronize onset and duration of the exposure with a detector integration time to produce a series of projection images of a region of interest from a range of viewing angles without moving the x-ray source, the detector, or the patient; wherein each projection image corresponds to one specific x-ray focal spot and a specific viewing angle; and a computer processor for tomosynthesis image reconstruction using specific imaging geometries of projection images determined from a position of the x-ray source array with respect to the detector, and prior knowledge of positions of the individual x-ray focal spots with respect to the x-ray source array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of intraoral three dimensional imaging using an intraoral tomosynthesis system including a device for determining imaging geometry, the method comprising:
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positioning an x-ray source of the intraoral tomosynthesis system outside a mouth of a patient, wherein the x-ray source contains multiple focal spots spatially distributed on one or more anodes in an evacuated chamber; positioning an x-ray detector inside the mouth of the patient; collimating x-ray beams from all of the multiple x-ray focal spots to a region of interest; using a mechanical fixture to attach the x-ray source to the x-ray detector with a known and fixed position; and acquiring multiple two dimensional projection images of the mouth of the patient from multiple viewing angles by sequentially activating each of the multiple focal spots for a pre-set exposure time, radiation dose, and x-ray energy. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor of a computer control the computer to perform a method, the method comprising:
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positioning an x-ray source of an intraoral tomosynthesis system outside a mouth of a patient, wherein the x-ray source contains multiple focal spots spatially distributed on one or multiple anodes in an evacuated chamber; positioning an x-ray detector inside the mouth of the patient, wherein the detector is mechanically connected to the x-ray source in a known and fixed position; determining, using a device for determining imaging geometry of the intraoral tomosynthesis system, a position of the x-ray detector relative to the x-ray source; and acquiring multiple two dimensional projection images of the mouth of the patient from multiple viewing angles by sequentially activating each of the multiple focal spots for a pre-set exposure time, radiation dose, and x-ray energy. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. An intraoral three dimensional imaging system comprising:
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an x-ray source array for positioning outside a mouth of a patient, wherein the array contains 3 to 25 x-ray focal spots that are spatially distributed on an anode, each spot being approximately between 0.2 and 2 mm in size; an area digital x-ray detector for positioning inside the mouth of the patient; a geometry calibration mechanism connectable to the area digital x-ray detector; an x-ray collimator to confine x-ray beams to a region of interest; an electronic controller configured to regulate x-ray radiation and synchronization of the x-ray radiation with the x-ray detector such that multiple two dimensional projection images of the region of interest can be acquired without mechanical motion of any of the x-ray source, the detector, or the mouth of the patient; and a computer processor with executable programs for geometry calibration, tomosynthesis reconstruction, and image display. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification