Aerostatic rotor bearing
AssigneePhilips Medical Systems (Cleveland), Inc.
InventorsRonald Bryan Sharpless, William Charles Brunnett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A CT scanner (10) for obtaining a medical diagnostic image of a subject includes a stationary gantry (12), and a rotating gantry (14) rotatably supported on the stationary gantry (12) for rotation about the subject. A fluid bearing is interposed between the stationary gantry (12) and the rotating gantry (14) by means of radial and axial fluid bearing pads, (100) and (102) respectively. The fluid bearing provides a fluid barrier which separates the rotating gantry (14) from the stationary gantry (12). In a preferred embodiment, the fluid bearing provides for quieter CT scanner operation at high rotational speeds. Moreover, eliminating the physical contact between the gantries minimizes wear and optimizes longevity.
Claims20
A diagnostic imaging apparatus comprising:
- a rotating gantry;
- an x-ray source mounted on the rotating gantry;
- a stationary gantry;
- at least one smooth, annular bearing race disposed on one of the rotating and stationary gantries;
- a plurality of fluid bearing pads mounted to the other of the rotating and stationary gantries, each pad having a porous contact portion, the porous contact portion of each fluid bearing pad disposed contiguous to the bearing race;
- a fluid pump for supplying a fluid to the fluid bearing pads, the fluid being ejected from the porous contact portions forming a rotating gantry supporting fluid layer between the bearing race and the bearing pads.
A diagnostic imaging apparatus comprising:
- a stationary gantry;
- a plurality of individual bearing pads mounted to the stationary gantry, at least some of the bearing pads being mounted for individual radial adjustment;
- a rotating gantry having at least one annular bearing race, the bearing race being disposed closely adjacent the bearing pads and separated therefrom by a thin layer of air as the rotating gantry rotates relative to the stationary gantry;
- an x-ray tube mounted on the rotating gantry.
A method of diagnostic imaging comprising:
- rotating a rotating gantry about an imaging region;
- creating fluid bearings between the rotating gantry and a plurality of fluid bearing pads by pumping a fluid to a fluid reservoir, to the bearing pads, and ejecting the fluid from the bearing pads;
- adjusting a bias on at least some of the bearing pads;
- creating an image representation of a subject in the imaging region by irradiating the subject and reconstructing detected radiation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.