Patent ID: 7027554

Claim:
An x-ray based non-intrusive inspection apparatus, comprising: a support frame; an object support secured to the support frame; a gantry mounted to the support frame and being rotatable about a center axis (C) relative to an object held by the object support; an x-ray source mounted to the gantry and providing x-rays that transmit through the object, the x-rays having an included angle between first and second shadow lines (L 1 ; L 2 ) such that a circle of reconstruction is formed upon rotation of the gantry having a radius (R) from the center axis (C) to a closest point (P 1 ) on the first shadow line, a distance from the center axis (C) to a closest point (P 2 ) on the second shadow line (L 2 ) being less than the radius (R); and a plurality of detectors located in a position to detect the x-rays after leaving the object, wherein the detectors are on a curve having a center axis that is not at the x-ray source.