Patent ID: 8681930

Claim:
A medical imaging apparatus, comprising: a stationary gantry; a generally spool-shaped rotating gantry, which rotates about an examination region about a longitudinal axis, the rotating gantry including: a first flange that is rotatably coupled to the stationary gantry; a second flange that extends radially in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, thereby providing radial stiffness for the rotating gantry; and a plurality of elongate structural support elements that are disposed between and couple the first and second flanges; and a data acquisition system mounted to the generally spool-shaped rotating gantry, wherein the plurality of elongate structural support elements are not part of the data acquisition system, the data acquisition system at least comprising: an x-ray radiation source affixed to the rotating gantry between the first and second flanges; and a detector array affixed to the rotating gantry between the first and second flanges, opposite the examination region from the x-ray radiation source.