Patent ID: 7340033

Claim:
An X-ray unit for generating imagings of a body, comprising: a) an X-ray source ( 7 ); b) an automatically adjustable collimator ( 6 ) including diaphragm and filter elements for limiting, locally attenuating and/or filtering an X-ray beam output from the X-ray source; c) an X-ray detector ( 4 ) for detecting X-rays; and d) a data processing unit ( 2 ) coupled to the collimator ( 6 ) and to the X-ray detector ( 4 ), wherein the data processing unit is designed to localize a region of interest ( 9 ) inside the body on at least a first X-ray picture of the body transmitted by the X-ray detector ( 4 ) and to transmit commands to the collimator to adjust the diaphragm and filter elements of the collimator ( 6 ) in accordance with a restriction of subsequent X-ray beams to the localized region of interest such that the subsequent X-ray beams and corresponding detected X-rays result in subsequent X-ray pictures that are concentrated on the localized region ( 9 ) of interest, wherein a concentration of the subsequent X-ray pictures includes (i) a best possible display of the localized region of interest and (ii) a blocking-out of all body regions not belonging to the localized region of interest, further including a smooth transition zone between the display of the localized region of interest and the blocking-out so that certain residual information remains detectable in the transition zone with reduced radiation exposure.