Patent ID: 6968040

Claim:
An X-ray device comprising: an X-ray source for emitting a beam of X-rays towards an associated object to be examined; an X-ray detector having a plurality of pixels sized for receiving the beam of X-rays passed through the object; means for image processing connected to the X-ray detector for forming an image of said object; means for collimating X-rays between the X-ray source and the object, such that only a fraction of the beam reaches the object and the detector and such that some pixels of the detector detect radiation that has passed directly from the source through the object to the detector and other pixels receive only scattered radiation, the means for collimating X-rays comprising at least one area having a fan shape for narrowing the beam; and means for rotating the at least one area through the beam for exposing the object to the narrowed beam such that the detector pixels that detect radiation directly from the source and the pixels that receive only scattered radiation change as the at least one area rotates wherein the means for image processing forms the object image based on the highest intensity value received by the detector for each pixel during the rotation of the at least one area.