Patent ID: 7440543

Claim:
An apparatus for monitoring in real time the movement of a plurality of substances in a mixture, having at least one fluid layer, along an axis of flow within a tube, the apparatus comprising: an X-ray scanner, wherein said X-ray scanner performs a plurality of scans of the mixture over a monitoring period to produce a plurality of scans, wherein a plurality of scan data sets are derived from said scans and wherein said X-ray scanner comprises an annular X-ray tube positioned radially outward from said tube wherein said annular X-ray tube has a plurality of X-ray sources; an annular sensor array radially positioned between said annular X-ray tube and said tube wherein said annular sensor array comprises a plurality of sensors arranged in a plurality of rings, wherein said X-ray sources sequentially emit radiation and wherein each X-ray source directs said emitted radiation toward a portion of said sensor array positioned furthest from said X-ray source and past a portion of said sensor array positioned nearest to said X-ray source; and control means arranged to analyze the scan data sets to identify volumes of each of the substances and to measure their movement.