Patent ID: 8708561

Claim:
An imaging apparatus comprising: a movable base; an arm assembly coupled to said movable base, said arm assembly comprising; a shoulder joint; a first arm coupled to said shoulder joint, wherein said shoulder joint is configured to provide vertical movement and rotational movement; a second arm coupled to said first arm at an elbow joint; and an imaging arm coupled to said second arm at an articulation assembly, wherein said imaging arm comprises a first generally linear segment and a second generally linear segment operably connected to an arcuate segment, the first generally linear segment extending generally parallel to the second generally linear segment, wherein the first generally linear segment, second generally linear segment, and arcuate segment substantially form a U-shape, wherein an arc depth of the U-shape comprises an arc depth greater than an arc depth of a circle having a radius equal to the radius of the arcuate segment, wherein said imaging arm further comprises an x-ray source coupled to an end of the first generally linear segment, and an x-ray sensor coupled to an end of the second generally linear segment, wherein the first generally linear segment, the second generally linear segment, the x-ray source, and the x-ray sensor are permanently fixed with respect to the arcuate segment.