Patent ID: 8995610
Filing Date: 2015-03-31
Classification: A61B,G01N,G01T,G01V

Abstract:
1. A CT scanning system for generating a CT image of an object, the system comprising: a multi-pixel x-ray source including a plurality of pixels disposed along a z-axis and operative to be sequentially activated, each pixel operative to controllably emit x-rays in response to incident electrons, when activated; a detector array including one or more rows of x-ray detectors, the detectors operative to detect x-rays that are emitted from the pixels and that have traversed the object, and to generate data from detected x-rays; wherein each pixel is operative, when activated, to produce x-ray beam coverage of the entire detector array; an image reconstruction system operative to generate the CT image of the object from the data generated by the x-ray detectors; and a support for the multi-pixel x-ray source and the detector array, the support operative to rotate the source and the detector array about the z-axis while the object is being scanned by the CT scanning system; wherein the multi-pixel x-ray source and the detector rows are positionable and the sequential activation of the multi-pixel x-ray source is controllable; and wherein the sequential activating implements a scanning geometry in which a saddle trajectory is implemented for the multi-pixel x-ray source, and in which neither the x-ray source, nor the detector array, nor the scanned object engages in any motion along the z-axis during scanning.