Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An X-ray anti-scatter device, comprising:an X-ray transparent dielectric material having a first lateral extent in a first direction, a second lateral extent in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first and second directions defining a plane, the X-ray transparent dielectric material having a thickness orthogonal to the plane; anda set of X-ray opaque tubes extending at least partially through the X-ray transparent dielectric material, each of the X-ray opaque tubes having a selected axial orientation, a selected outside width and a selected inside width;wherein the X-ray opaque tubes comprise tungsten and the X-ray transparent dielectric material comprises at least one of borosilicate glass and anodic aluminum oxide. 2. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the X-ray transparent dielectric material is substantially uniform across the first and second lateral extents. 3. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 2, wherein the set of X-ray opaque tubes extends substantially entirely through the plane. 4. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 2, wherein the set of X-ray opaque tubes have a cross sectional shape including at least one of circular, elliptical, oval, hexagonal and polygonal. 5. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 1, wherein the selected outside width and the selected inside width of each of the X-ray opaque tubes are selected to obtain an X-ray open area ratio of greater than 80%. 6. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 1, wherein the selected inside width of the X-ray opaque tubes and the thickness of the X-ray transparent dielectric material are selected to obtain a thickness to width ratio of greater than 100/1. 7. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 6, wherein the X-ray opaque tubes are straight and hollow. 8. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 1, wherein the tungsten comprises a conformal layer on an inside surface of a hollow capillary tube, and extends substantially an entire length of the hollow capillary tube. 9. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 1, wherein the selected axial orientation for each individual one of the set of X-ray opaque tubes is substantially directed towards a point a selected distance from the plane of the X-ray anti-scatter device. 10. A method of forming an X-ray anti-scatter device, comprising:forming a block from a set of parallel straight hollow capillary tubes, each hollow capillary tube comprising an X-ray transparent dielectric material having a selected inner diameter, a selected outer diameter, and a selected length;opening a first end and a second end of substantially each one of the set of parallel straight hollow capillary tubes; andforming an X-ray opaque material layer having a selected thickness on a surface of each one of the set of parallel straight hollow capillary tubes;wherein forming the X-ray opaque material includes depositing a first layer having a selected layer thickness formed by a set of thin layers of a first material;depositing a second layer having a selected layer thickness formed by a set of thin layers of a second material on the first layer; andalternately depositing additional layers of the first material and the second material, each individual first and second material layer having a separate selected thickness, to form the X-ray opaque layer having a selected X-ray opaque material layer thickness and a selected composition. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first material is comprised substantially of alumina and the second material is comprised substantially of tungsten. 12. The method of claim 10, further including selecting each first material and second material layer thickness to provide a specified X-ray opaque material composition for each of a set of thickness locations in the X-ray opaque layer. 13. The method of claim 10, wherein forming the layer of the X-ray opaque material includes atomic layer deposition. 14. The method of claim 10, wherein forming the layer of the X-ray opaque material includes forming a layer having composition selected for thermal stress relief with the X-ray transparent dielectric material. 15. The method of claim 10, wherein forming the block further includes at least some of the straight hollow capillary tubes having an elliptical cross section. 16. The method of claim 10, further including modifying the block to direct one end of each one of the straight hollow capillary tubes towards a point at a selected distance from a center point of the block. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein modifying the block further includes forming a substantially circular curve having a selected radius of curvature from the block having the set of parallel straight hollow capillary tubes. 18. The method of claim 16, wherein modifying the block includes at least one of thermal flowing the X-ray transparent dielectric material over a form, and cutting slices from the block. 19. A system for forming X-ray images, comprising:a source of X-rays;an X-ray anti-scatter device including a set of straight X-ray transparent hollow tubes, each tube including an X-ray opaque layer inside the hollow tube and a longitudinal axis directed at the source of the X-rays; andan X-ray detector attached to an X-ray imaging device;wherein the source of X-rays provides X-rays having a selected energy;and wherein the set of straight X-ray transparent hollow tubes comprise a borosilicate glass, and the X-ray opaque layer comprises a layer of tungsten having a thickness sufficient to block greater than 90% of X-rays from the source of X-rays. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the X-ray imaging device comprises a scintillating material fixed adjacent to the X-ray anti-scatter device and a solid state imaging device fixed adjacent to the scintillating material. 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the X-ray anti-scatter device comprises a substantially flat plane having a substantially uniform thickness. 22. An X-ray anti-scatter device, comprising:a set of straight hollow open ended tubes formed of an X-ray transparent dielectric material, each straight hollow open ended tube including a layer of X-ray opaque material covering an inside surface;substantially all of the straight hollow open ended tubes aligned towards a selected point; andthe set of straight hollow open ended tubes physically connected to each other at one end of each tube to form a conic section curved surface;wherein the thickness of the X-ray opaque material is selected to obtain an X-ray open area ratio of greater than 80% and an X-ray stopping power greater than 90% for X-rays under a selected energy. 23. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 22, wherein each one of the set of straight hollow open ended tubes have a circular cross section. 24. The X-ray anti-scatter device of claim 22, wherein the X-ray transparent dielectric material comprises borosilicate glass and the X-ray opaque tubes comprises tungsten.