Patent ID: 8094782

Claim:
A backscatter scan system for imaging a soft tissue region of an object, said system comprising: (a) in order from back to front, a high power x-ray source emitting a cone beam with an axis, a rotating x-ray blocking disk having a plurality of radial disc slots and rotating perpendicularly to said cone beam axis, an x-ray blocking plate with a plate slit, an x-ray detector with a detector slit that is slightly larger than and aligned with said plate slit, and an object space having a length and a width and adapted to receive said object; (b) said x-ray source emitting said cone beam to said disc with a peak energy of greater than 50 keV, said disc slots emitting a moving fan beam to said plate, said plate slit emitting a scanning pencil beam as said disc slots traverse said plate slit, said pencil beam passing through said detector slit into said object space; (c) an assemblage of said x-ray source, said disk, said plate, and said detector moving slowly in a first direction said width of said object space; (d) said pencil beam traversing across said object space in a line in a second direction and for a distance equal to said length of said object space, said second direction being generally orthogonal to said first direction, said pencil beam traversing said object space a plurality of times in a plurality of said lines as said assemblage moves said width of said object space; (e) said detector receiving backscattered x-rays from said object space to produce a plurality of line signals from said plurality of pencil beam lines; and (f) a processor that forms a plurality of line images from said plurality of line signals.