Patent ID: 8023619

Claim:
An imaging system for adaptively scanning a region with a beam of radiation, the imaging system comprising: a source of radiation configured to: produce a beam of penetrating radiation, and scan an object included in a region with the beam of penetrating radiation; a sensor configured to: sense radiation of the beam of penetrating radiation that passes through the object, and produce a representation of the sensed radiation; a controller coupled to the source of radiation; and a scattered radiation detector coupled to the controller, the scattered radiation detector configured to sense scattered radiation from the region, wherein the controller is configured to: receive the representation of the sensed radiation, determine an attenuation of the beam of penetrating radiation caused by the object based on the representation; compare the attenuation to a threshold, if the attenuation meets or exceeds the threshold, adjust a parameter of the beam of penetrating radiation based on the attenuation, receive a representation of the sensed scattered radiation, determine an amount of scattered radiation based on the representation of the sensed scattered radiation, compare the amount of scattered radiation to a threshold, and cause the source to reduce an intensity of the beam if the amount of scattered radiation exceeds the threshold.