Patent ID: 7653176

Claim:
An inspection system, comprising: a) a conveyor adapted to move items in a first direction; b) a source assembly comprising: i) an x-ray source adapted to irradiate an item on the conveyor; and ii) a source collimator positioned between the x-ray source and the conveyor; c) a first positioning mechanism adapted and arranged to move the source assembly in a second direction, transverse to the first direction; d) a detector assembly comprising: i) a detector; and ii) a detector collimator positioned between the detector and the conveyor; e) a second positioning mechanism adapted and arranged to move the detector assembly in the second direction, the second positioning mechanism adapted and arranged to be controlled in at least one direction independently of the first positioning mechanism; and f) a controller adapted to control the first and second positioning mechanisms to independently position the source and detector assemblies relative to the item to focus the inspection system on a region within the item on the conveyor and to move the source and detector assemblies in the first direction in synchrony with the conveyor, thereby maintaining the focus on the region as the item moves on the conveyor.