Patent ID: 8270566

Claim:
An imaging system for adaptively scanning a region with a beam of radiation, the imaging system comprising: a source system comprising: a first source of radiation configured to direct a pre-screen beam toward a region, and a second source of radiation configured to direct a main beam toward the region after the first source directs the pre-screen beam toward the region, the pre-screen beam and the main beam being spatially separated with respect to the region such that the pre-screen beam scans a portion of the region before the main beam scans the portion of the region; a sensor configured to: sense radiation from the pre-screen beam, and produce a representation of the sensed radiation; a controller coupled to the source system and configured to: receive the representation of the sensed radiation, determine, from the representation, an amount of attenuation of the pre-screen beam caused by the region, adjust a parameter of the main beam based on the determined attenuation prior to directing the main beam toward the region; receive a representation of the sensed scattered radiation, determine an amount of scattered radiation based on the representation, compare the amount of scattered radiation to a threshold, and if the amount of scattered radiation meets or exceeds the threshold, reduce an intensity of one or more of the pre-screen beam or the main beam.