Patent Number: 049842587
Section: summary

The present invention relates to an apparatus for slit radiography. Such an apparatus, comprising discrete, controllable attenuation elements coacting with a slit diaphragm, is described in the copending Dutch patent application 8400845, which is incorporated herein by reference. Dutch patent application 8400845 describes various embodiments of suitable attenuation elements. Most of the attenuation methods described in Dutch patent application 8400845 are based on the use of juxtaposed, discrete elements made of X-ray attenuating material or coated with such a material, and which can each be moved, under the control of suitable control signals, at least partly into the X-ray beam passed through or to to be passed through the slit diaphragm and to a greater or lesser extent so as to attenuate said X-ray beam locally. If use is made of such discrete elements, there is the risk that under the influence of the control signals, the elements get into a state of vibration in an undesirable manner or that the elements will overshoot their position when this is changed. Consequently, there is a need for means for damping oscillation or slipping of discrete attenuation elements. It is an object of the present invention to satisfy this need. To this effect, according to the present invention, an apparatus of the above described type is characterized in that each controllable attenuation element is affixed to a damping member.