Patent ID: 9709514
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. A method for detecting foreign object debris in an item comprising: directing, with an emitter of a scanner system, an x-ray fan beam at the item during a scan along a single scan axis, wherein the x-ray fan beam is oriented along an axis that is orthogonal to the single scan axis, and wherein the x-ray fan beam penetrates the item and a portion of energy from the x-ray fan beam is backscattered from the item; detecting, with a detector of the scanner system, energy intensities of the portion of the energy from the x-ray fan beam backscattered from the item while scanning along the single scan axis; forming, with an image-former, a one-dimensional image of the item, wherein the one-dimensional image includes a correspondence between a plurality of different points along the single scan axis and the energy intensities detected at each of the plurality of different points along the single scan axis; and comparing, with a comparator, the one-dimensional image with a reference one-dimensional image to determine whether foreign object debris is present behind or within the item, wherein the comparing includes determining a difference between each point of the reference image and a corresponding different point of the plurality of different points along the single scan axis.