Systems and methods for an integrated filter assembly with two carriages
AssigneeGE Precision Healthcare LLC
InventorsTimothy Behlmer, Brandon Smith, Changlyong Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Various systems and methods are provided for an integrated filter assembly including at least one bowtie filter and at least one beam hardening filter mounted on a carriage. In one embodiment, an imaging system may include a first carriage including at least one beam hardening filter and at least one bowtie filter, a second carriage including at least two additional bowtie filters, and a carriage driving system for moving the carriages to selectively position the at least one beam hardening filter and one of the bowtie filters in a path of an X-ray beam. The at least one beam hardening filter may overlap with at least one of the bowtie filters.
Claims21
An imaging system, comprising:
- a collimator assembly, the collimator assembly positioned adjacent to an X-ray source, the X-ray source generating an x-ray beam through the collimator assembly, wherein the collimator assembly includes:
- at least one carriage including at least one beam hardening filter and at least one bowtie filter, wherein the beam hardening filter is coupled to an edge of the carriage and extends away from the at least one bowtie filter, wherein the beam hardening filter includes one or more metal sheets and a support structure having a window frame member and a bottom support member, wherein the one or more metal sheets are positioned between the window frame member and the bottom support member.
A method for an imaging system, comprising:
- during a first imaging, moving a first carriage to position a beam hardening filter coupled to an edge of the first carriage in a path of an X-ray beam and moving a second carriage to position a second bowtie filter housed in the second carriage in the path of the X-ray beam;
- and
- during a second imaging, moving the first carriage to move the beam hardening filter out of the path of the X-ray beam, wherein the beam hardening filter includes one or more metal sheets and a support structure having a window frame member and a bottom support member, wherein the one or more metal sheets are positioned between the window frame member and the bottom support member.
A computed tomography (CT) imaging system, comprising:
- a gantry;
- an X-ray source positioned in the gantry for emitting X-rays;
- an X-ray detector positioned in the gantry opposite the X-ray source;
- a first carriage including a first bowtie filter and a first beam hardening filter, wherein the first beam hardening filter is coupled to an edge of the first carriage and wherein the first beam hardening filter includes one or more metal sheets and a support structure having a window frame member and a bottom support member, wherein the one or more metal sheets are positioned between the window frame member and the bottom support member;
- a second carriage including a second bowtie filter and a third bowtie filter with a second beam hardening filter positioned between the second bowtie filter and the third bowtie filter;
- and
- a carriage driving system for switching filters by moving one or more of the first bowtie filter, the second bowtie filter, the third bowtie filter, and the first beam hardening filter, the second beam hardening filter into or out of an X-ray beam.
A pre-patient collimator assembly for a computed tomography (CT) imaging system, the pre-patient collimator assembly comprising:
- a first carriage including a beam hardening filter and a first bowtie filter;
- a first carriage driving system coupled to the first carriage for moving the first carriage and thus the beam hardening filter and the first bowtie filter in and out of an X-ray beam path;
- a second carriage including a second bowtie filter and a third bowtie filter;
- and
- a second carriage driving system coupled to the second carriage for moving the second carriage and thus the second bowtie filter and the third bowtie filter in and out of the X-ray beam path;
- wherein the beam hardening filter is positioned along and coupled to an outer edge of the first carriage using a support structure, wherein the support structure includes a window frame member and a bottom support member;
- and
- wherein the beam hardening filter may be positioned in the X-ray beam path alone or in combination with one of the second bowtie filter or the third bowtie filter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.