Methods for x-ray tube rotors with speed and/or position control
AssigneeGE Precision Healthcare LLC
InventorsCarey Rogers, Vasile Bogdan Neculaes, Nidhishri Tapadia, Andrew Thomas Cross, Uwe Wiedmann
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various methods and systems are provided for an x-ray imaging system. In one example, a method for decelerating a rotor of an x-ray tube of an imaging system includes controlling and/or monitoring a speed and position of the rotor, passing the rotor through a first position where a force exerted on the rotor, is less than Earth's gravitational pull, the force due to a combination of gravity and radial acceleration, and initiating a predefined deceleration profile to decelerate the rotor to a halt when the x-ray tube passes through the first position.
Claims12
A method for operating an x-ray tube, comprising:
- controlling and/or monitoring a speed and position of a rotor of the x-ray tube, the speed and position of the rotor provided by configuring the x-ray tube with permanent magnets, and of a target of the x-ray tube;
- and
- using the monitored speed and position of the target to perform operations to increase useful x-ray tube life, increase image resolution, and/or increase x-ray flux.
A CT imaging system, comprising:
- a rotating gantry;
- an x-ray tube coupled to the gantry and having a rotor driving rotation of a target of the x-ray tube;
- and
- a control unit including executable instructions stored in non-transitory memory causing the control unit to:
- control and/or monitor a speed and a position of a rotor of the x-ray tube as provided by configuring the x-ray tube with permanent magnets;
- control deceleration of the rotor based on the monitored speed and the monitored position;
- and
- use the monitored speed and the monitored position of the rotor to conduct operations to enhance image quality and/or increase rotor life.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.