Strategy for controlling cathode width voltage

An interventional imaging system, comprising:

• an X-ray source including a unipolar cathode and a gridding electrode;
• a multi-stage switching unit including a first control circuit having a plurality of stages configured to generate a first, gridding voltage at the gridding electrode of the unipolar cathode via the plurality of stages of the multi-stage switching unit, and a second control circuit configured to generate a second, bias voltage at the gridding electrode;
• and
• a controller operably connected to the X-ray source and configured to:
• when transitioning from the first, gridding voltage to the second, bias voltage, selectively bypass the plurality of stages of the first control circuit sequentially in a first non-consecutive order to decrease a voltage applied to the gridding electrode;
• and
• when transitioning from the bias voltage to the gridding voltage, selectively engage the plurality of stages of the first control circuit sequentially in a second non-consecutive order to increase the voltage applied to the gridding electrode, the second non-consecutive order being a reverse of the first non-consecutive order.

A method for an interventional imaging system, the method comprising:

• in response to receiving an instruction to switch on a cathode of the interventional imaging system:
• retrieving a first stage engagement matrix from a memory of the interventional imaging system, the first stage engagement matrix including a binary encoding indicating a first non-consecutive order for bypassing and/or engaging a plurality of stages of a first control circuit of a multi-stage switching unit of the interventional imaging system;
• generating a first protocol for controlling the first control circuit based on the first stage engagement matrix;
• decreasing a voltage supplied to a gridding electrode of the cathode from a first, gridding voltage of the interventional imaging system to a common voltage of the interventional imaging system in accordance with the first protocol;
• and
• increasing the voltage from the common voltage to a second, bias voltage of the interventional imaging system via a second control circuit of the multi-stage switching unit;
• and
• in response to receiving an instruction to switch the cathode off:
• generating a second protocol for controlling the first control circuit based on a second non-consecutive order, the second non-consecutive order being a reverse of the first non-consecutive order;
• decreasing the voltage supplied to the gridding electrode from the second, bias voltage to the common voltage via the second control circuit;
• and
• increasing the voltage from the common voltage to the first, gridding voltage in accordance with the second protocol.