Patent ID: 8618471

Claim:
An apparatus for detecting X-ray photons in a computer tomography scanner, comprising: an electrical network, including: a sensor adapted to convert a photon into a charge pulse; a first preamplifier adapted to convert the charge pulse into an electrical signal; a first shaper adapted to convert the electrical signal into an electrical pulse; a first discriminator adapted to compare the electrical pulse against a threshold; and an electrical path of the electrical network from an output of the sensor to an output of the discriminator, including: a switching element adapted to be actuated in response to an electrical trigger signal derived from an electrical state of the electrical path, said actuated switching element is adapted to disconnect the sensor from the electrical path after a detection of the photon, which is indicated by the trigger signal, which indicates that the electrical path has received an electrical signal caused by the photon; and a time delay element that routes the electrical trigger signal to the switching element.