Scanners to characterize and distinguish anomalies based on multiple mode scans

A method to characterize an anomaly, comprising:

• obtaining, by a scanner, information representing a first mode scan of an item;
• detecting whether the item contains an anomaly based on the information representing the first mode scan;
• determining an area of interest of the item corresponding to a location of the anomaly, responsive to detecting the anomaly;
• determining a strategy to obtain other information relevant to characterizing the anomaly;
• interposing, according to the strategy, at least one diffraction grating in a beam path of the scanner;
• obtaining, by the scanner according to the strategy, other information representing a second mode scan of the area of interest while using the at least one diffraction grating, the second mode scan being a phase contrast scan;
• characterizing the anomaly based on the second mode scan;
• and
• differentiating whether the anomaly constitutes a security risk based on comparing an anomaly characteristic to a predetermined criterion;
• the method further comprising, while obtaining the second mode scan of the area of interest using the at least one diffraction grating according to the strategy, obtaining a partial first mode scan of the area of interest that is subject to the second mode scan;
• comparing information from the first mode scan with corresponding partial first information from the partial first mode scan;
• determining whether there is difference information, representing a difference between the information and the partial first information;
• comparing the difference information to an alert threshold;
• and
• generating an alert responsive to the difference information exceeding the alert threshold;
• the alert indicating that there is a potential problem with the first mode scan or the second mode scan.

An apparatus comprising:

• a mechanism configured to convey an item to be scanned;
• a scanner configured to:
• operate in a first mode to obtain information representing a first mode scan of the item, the information usable by a controller to detect whether the item contains an anomaly and determine an area of interest of the item corresponding to the anomaly;
• determine, by the controller, a strategy to obtain other information relevant to characterizing the anomaly;
• and
• operate according to the strategy in a second mode to obtain, responsive to the anomaly being detected in the first mode scan, the other information representing a second mode scan of the area of interest of the item, the other information usable by the controller to characterize the anomaly;
• the controller being configured to fuse the information with the other information to further characterize the anomaly and differentiate whether the anomaly constitutes a security risk based on a predetermined criterion;
• the controller further being configured to:
• compare information from the first mode scan with corresponding other information from the second mode scan;
• determine whether there is difference information, representing a difference between the information and the other information;
• compare the difference information to an alert threshold;
• and
• generate an alert responsive to the difference information exceeding the alert threshold;
• the alert indicating that there is a potential problem with the first mode scan or the second mode scan.

An apparatus comprising:

• a controller communicatively coupled to a first scanner and a second scanner, the controller being configured to:
• cause an emitter and a sensor of the first scanner to obtain information by scanning a container that includes one or more items;
• detect whether at least one of the one or more items is an anomaly when it meets a predefined criterion based on the information;
• determine, based on the information, a strategy to obtain other information relevant to characterizing the anomaly;
• align another emitter and another sensor of the second scanner, according to the strategy based on at least part of the information, to direct a beam of energy to intercept the anomaly, the second scanner being oriented with respect to the anomaly according to the strategy to minimize adverse impacts to properties of the beam;
• obtain other information about the anomaly by detecting energy from the beam influenced by the anomaly;
• fuse the information and the other information to differentiate whether the anomaly constitutes a security risk based on a predetermined criterion;
• compare the information with corresponding other information;
• determine whether there is difference information, representing a difference between the information and the other information;
• compare the difference information to an alert threshold;
• and
• generate an alert responsive to the difference information exceeding the alert threshold;
• the alert indicating that there is a potential problem with obtaining the information or the other information.

An apparatus comprising:

• a first scanner mounted to a gantry and configured to obtain a first mode scan of an item, the first scanner including an emitter and a sensor configured to enable the first scanner to scan the item and generate an electronic signal corresponding to information representing the first mode scan;
• a controller configured to:
• detect, in the information representing the first mode scan, whether the item contains an anomaly,
• determine an area of interest of the item corresponding to a location of the anomaly, and
• determine, based on the first mode scan, a strategy to obtain other information relevant to characterizing the anomaly and representing a second mode scan of the area of interest;
• and
• a second scanner mounted to the gantry and configured to be operated by the controller according to the strategy to obtain the second mode scan of the area of interest under direction of the controller, the second scanner including an emitter and a sensor configured to enable the second scanner to scan the item and generate an other electronic signal corresponding to other information representing the second mode scan, responsive to the controller detecting the anomaly in the information representing the first mode scan;
• the controller being configured to characterize the anomaly based on the other information from the second mode scan obtained according to the strategy, and differentiate whether the anomaly constitutes a security risk based on comparing the other information to a predetermined criterion;
• the controller further being configured to:
• compare information from the first mode scan with corresponding other information from the second mode scan;
• determine whether there is difference information, representing a difference between the information and the other information;
• compare the difference information to an alert threshold;
• and
• generate an alert responsive to the difference information exceeding the alert threshold;
• the alert indicating that there is a potential problem with the first mode scan or the second mode scan.