Patent ID: 7826587

Claim:
A CT system comprising: a rotatable gantry having an opening for receiving an object to be scanned; an x-ray source coupled to the gantry and configured to project x-rays through the opening; a generator configured to energize the x-ray source to a first kVp and to a second kVp that is lower than the first kVp; a detector attached to the gantry and positioned to receive x-rays from the x-ray source that pass through the opening; and a controller configured to: energize the x-ray source to the first kVp for a first time period; subsequently energize the x-ray source to the second kVp for a second time period different from the first; integrate data from the detector for a first integration period that includes a portion of a steady-state period of the x-ray source at the first kVp; integrate data from the detector for a second integration period that includes a portion of a steady-state period of the x-ray source at the second kVp; compare a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) during the first integration period (SNR H ) and the second integration period (SNR L ); adjust an operating parameter of the CT system to optimize an SNR H with SNR L ; and generate an image using the integrated data.