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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsJonathan Short, John Eric Tkaczyk, Brian David Yanoff, Loucas Tsakalakos
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A technique for selectively attenuating a radiation exposure in which a configurable collimator is employed between the radiation source and the radiation target. The configurable collimator typically comprises an array of independently addressable elements each of which has at least a high and a low attenuation state, though intermediate states may also be accommodated. The elements of the array may be selectively addressed to determine their state and to determine the attenuation profile of the collimator. One embodiment of the technique employs an array of microactuated attenuating louvers which may be selectively actuated to determine their radiation transmittance. A second embodiment of the technique employs a suspension of attenuating nematic colloids which may be ordered by the application of an electric or magnetic field. The ordered state of the nematic colloids within an element determine the radiation transmittance of that element. A third embodiment of the technique employs microfluidics to fill an array of fluid chambers with an attenuating fluid. The level of filling within each chamber determines the attenuation produced by that array element.
A method for selectively attenuating a radiation stream, comprising:
A selective attenuation system for a radiation stream, comprising:
A selective attenuation system for a radiation stream, comprising:
A method for selectively attenuating an X-ray stream, comprising:
An X-ray attenuation system, comprising:
An attenuation system comprising a configurable collimator wherein the configurable collimator comprises at least one array of independently configurable attenuating elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.