Patent ID: 6157696
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
An X-ray CT scanner in which an X-ray beam is radiated and scanned in a predetermined slice-thickness direction, a direction orthogonal to the slice-thickness direction being defined as a channel direction, an object being placed in a position to be radiated by the X-ray beam, the scanner comprising:a two-dimensional X-ray detector having a plurality of X-ray detecting elements arranged in a two-dimensional array constituting both rows arranged along the slice-thickness direction and columns arranged along the channel direction, each X-ray detecting element providing a detected signal, X-ray detecting elements constituting each row of the two-dimensional array being formed on unequal element pitches;a data acquisition system having a plurality of data acquiring elements arranged in a two-dimensional array of rows corresponding to the slice-thickness direction and columns corresponding to the channel direction, configured to acquire signals detected by the two-dimensional X-ray detector and to produce digital data based on the detected signals, each row of the two-dimensional array of data acquiring elements has fewer number of elements than each row of the two-dimensional array of X-ray detecting elements;switching means comprising a group of switches electrically intervening between the X-ray detector and the data acquiring system, each switch being on/off switchable, said group of switches electrically independently connecting each of the X-ray detecting elements of each row of detecting elements to all the data acquiring elements of a respective row of data acquiring elements;means for electrically combining the detected signals provided by X-ray detecting elements residing in at least two columns designated in the array of the X-ray detecting elements row by row into a signal corresponding to multiple slices and for providing the combined signal to a particular data acquiring element of the respective row in the array of the data acquiring elements by controlling the switch means in accordance with a designated slice-thickness condition relating to the multiple slices; andmeans for producing multiple slice images from the digital data provided by the data acquisition system in response to the slice-thickness condition.