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AssigneeDigirad Corporation
InventorsClinton L. Lingren, Stanley J. Friesenhahn, Jack F. Butler, F. Patrick Doty, William L. Ashburn, Frank L. Augustine, Boris Apotovsky
Estimating the term…
A high-energy photon imaging system including an imaging head, a signal processor, a data acquisition system and an image processing computer. The imaging head includes a detector comprising a plurality of closely-packed detection modules. Each detection module comprises a plurality of detection elements mounted to a circuit carrier. The detection elements produce electrical pulses having amplitudes indicative of the magnitude of radiation absorbed by the detection elements. The circuit carrier includes channels for conditioning and processing the signals generated by corresponding detection elements and for preparing the processed signals for further processing by a signal processor. Each conditioning and processing channel stores the amplitudes of the detection element electrical pulses exceeding a predetermined threshold. The detection modules employ a fall-through circuit which automatically finds only those detection elements that have a stored pulse amplitude exceeding the threshold. The fall-through circuit searches for the next detection element and associated channel having a valid event. The signal processor performs diagnostics, gain normalization, and response efficiency normalization functions. The data acquisition system controls the acquisition and processing of data received from the conditioning and processing channels, produces image data based upon the data in a format that is compatible with existing imaging cameras, and transmits the data to the image processing computer. The image processing computer formulates images based upon the processed signals and displays the formulated images on a display device.
A nuclear imaging system, comprising:
A nuclear medicine imaging system for imaging radiation emitted by an object under test, comprising:
A camera for imaging radiation emitted by an object under test, comprising:
An imaging system for obtaining an image of the location and intensity of radiation emitted by a source, comprising an imaging detector for sensing energy and position-of-incidence of radiation, comprising a plurality of detection modules, each having an exposure surface, a surface opposite the exposure surface, and a plurality of sides, the exposure surface being substantially covered with radiation detecting material, wherein the detection modules are configurable in an N.times.M array, and wherein each detection module is buttable on all sides with adjacent detection modules such that the imaging detector has substantially no dead regions between butted detection modules, and wherein each detection module further includes a plurality of semiconductor detection elements for producing electrical pulses indicative of the energy of radiation from high-energy photons impinging on the exposure surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.