Patent ID: 8009052

Claim:
A method for monitoring a power state of at least one of an x-ray radiator and an x-ray detector, said method comprising steps of: for an x-ray radiator, selecting a set of test parameters that define operation of said x-ray radiator; operating said x-ray radiator according to said test parameters to emit x-rays, and causing said x-rays to strike at least a portion of a detector region of an x-ray detector, and detecting said x-rays that strike said portion of said detector region of said x-ray detector; during emission of said x-rays and detection of said x-rays, detecting at least one parameter, as a detected parameter that characterizes an operational feature of at least one of said x-ray radiator and said x-ray detector; automatically comparing said detected parameter to a reference parameter that represents a reference value for said operational feature to identify a deviation between said detected parameter and said reference parameter; and dependent on a magnitude of said deviation, automatically identifying a power state of at least one of said x-ray radiator and said x-ray detector, and providing a humanly perceptible indication of said power state dependent on the identified power state.