Plural source computerized tomography device with improved resolution

An apparatus for examining a body by means of penetrating radiation such as X-ray radiation comprising:

• (a) a source of penetrating radiation for transmitting radiation through a body, said source including at least two distinct points sources of radiation;
• (b) said source comprising means for emitting a fan beam of radiation from each of said at least two point sources of radiation, each said fan beam having an apical angle .alpha. which is less than the apical angle .beta. which defines the reconstruction circle;
• (c) detector means for detecting said radiation after passage through the body;
• (d) means for causing radiation emitted by said source to traverse a plurality of paths through the body and to be detected by said detector means;
• (e) means for causing said at least two distinct sources of radiation to alternately emit radiation;
• and
• (f) a rotatable gantry on which said source and said detector means are mounted, and wherein said means for causing radiation emitted by said source to traverse a plurality of paths comprises means for angularly displacing said gantry.

In a rotate-rotate CT scanner having a source of pentetrating radiation for transmitting, radiation through a substantially planar section of a body, said source being mounted on a gantry for rotation and including at least two distinct point sources of radiation beams, detector means mounted on said gantry, means for angularly displacing said source and said detector means about the body to cause the radiation beams to traverse a the plurality of coplanar paths in said section, said detector means including a plurality of individual detectors disposed substantially uniformly along an arc on said gantry to detect radiation beams from all of said distinct point sources after passage through the body;

• a method of improving the spatial resolution of images constructed by said scanner, said method comprising the steps of:
• (a) increasing the sampling density by interleaving radiation beams between adjacent radiation beams continuously as said radiation source and said detector means are rotated about the body;
• (b) said step of increasing the sampling density comprising alternately emitting radiation from each of said at least two point sources of radiation as said radiation source and said detector means are rotated about said body;
• and
• (c) processing the detected radiation of increased sampling density to provide increased spatial resolution.