Non-circular C-arm for fluoroscopic imaging equipment

A method for manufacturing a non-circular C-arm for use in an x-ray imaging system comprising:

• designating a reference linear spiral about an arbitrary origin point;
• defining radii from the origin point for initial and ending points on the reference linear spiral with respect to initial and ending rotation angles of said radii relative to a reference rotation angle;
• constructing a C-arm of described length;
• conforming the C-arm to the shape of the reference linear spiral where one end of the C-arm is located at the initial point on the reference linear spiral and an opposite end of the C-arm is located at the ending point on the reference linear spiral, such that the C-arm is configured to rotate through a non-circular arc;
• and
• fixing an x-ray source and detector to the C-arm.

A fluoroscopic imaging system including:

• a support base;
• a bearing assembly supported by said support base;
• a non-circular positioning arm rotating in a non-circular, semi-elliptical path relative to said support base through said bearing assembly, said non-circular positioning arm having first and second distal ends and a shape conforming to a portion of a linear spiral, said non-circular positioning arm being shaped as a portion of a linear spiral;
• an x-ray source located at said first distal end of said positioning arm;
• an x-ray detector located at said second distal end of said positioning arm, said x-ray source emitting a central beam passing through an origin of said linear spiral;
• and
• an imaging isocentric area located between said x-ray source and said x-ray detector, said imaging isocentric area remaining substantially constant when said non-circular positioning arm rotates relative to said support base.

A method for manufacturing a non-circular C-arm for use in a fluoroscopic imaging system including the steps of:

• designating an arbitrary point as an origin of a linear spiral, wherein said linear spiral is non-circular;
• forming the linear spiral from the origin of the linear spiral according to the equation R=kθ, wherein θ is an angle of rotation, wherein R is a radius of said non-circular positioning arm at angle of rotation θ and wherein k is a constant;
• determining a suitable size for a C-arm based on a suitable imaging space for imaging an anatomical structure of a human being;
• constructing the C-arm through a portion of the linear spiral;
• conforming the C-arm to the portion of the linear spiral;
• fixing an x-ray source to a first distal end of the C-arm, and fixing an x-ray detector to a second distal end of the C-arm;
• and
• aligning the x-ray source so that a central beam emitted from the x-ray source passes through the origin of the linear spiral and impinges on the center of the x-ray detector.

A method for obtaining images from an x-ray system having a non-circular C-arm operating within a patient coordinate system, said non-circular C-arm carrying an x-ray source at one end and an x-ray detector at an opposite end, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning the non-circular C-arm at a first imaging position at which the x-ray source and x-ray detector are oriented at a first angle with respect to the patient coordinate system;
• obtaining a first image at the first imaging position;
• rotating the non-circular C-arm along a path defined by a portion of a linear spiral from the first imaging position to a second imaging position at which the x-ray source and x-ray detector are oriented at a second angle with respect to the patient coordinate system;
• and
• obtaining a second image at the second imaging position,
• said rotating step moving the x-ray source and x-ray detector along a non-circular, pseudo-elliptical path based on a shape of the non-circular C-arm.

An x-ray imaging system including:

• a bearing assembly;
• a non-circular positioning arm having first and second distal ends;
• an x-ray source located at a terminal portion of said first distal end of said positioning arm;
• and
• an x-ray detector located at a terminal portion of said second distal end of said positioning arm;
• said non-circular positioning arm moving arcuately through said bearing assembly to rotate said x-ray source and said x-ray detector in a non-circular, semi-elliptical path defined by a portion of a linear spiral.