Patent ID: 7448802

Claim:
A radiation-shielded X-ray module comprising: an X-ray tube that emits X-rays; a high voltage power supply coupled to said X-ray tube that supplies a high voltage for use with said X-ray tube; and electrical connection that connects the X-ray tube to the high voltage power supply, wherein the X-ray tube and the high voltage power supply are encapsulated in a solid, electrically-insulating encapsulant containing a radio-opaque material distributed within the encapsulant, the encapsulant being in direct contact with substantially the entire X-ray tube and the high voltage power supply, the encapsulant being substantially free from entrained air, said radio-opaque material including a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten, lead, calcium, tantalum, tin, molybdenum, copper, strontium, aluminum, bismuth and compounds and mixtures containing any of the above materials.