X-ray inspection system

An X-ray inspection system, comprising:

• an X-ray source located at an inspection region that exposes an item under inspection to X-ray radiation, and that is constructed and arranged to be movable in any of the first dimension, a second dimension and a third dimension;
• an X-ray detector located at the inspection region that detects X-ray radiation as modified by the item under inspection, and that is constructed and arranged to be movable in the first dimension and the second dimension;
• a controller coupled to each of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector, that controls movement of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector in the first and second dimensions;
• and
• a processor coupled to the controller that receives detection information from the X-ray detector, to process the detection information, and to provide processed information;
• wherein the controller is also configured to control movement of the X-ray source in the third dimension so as to provide varying levels of zoom of the processed information;
• wherein the processor further receives information about the item under inspection from a remote inspection device and to locate a region of interest in the item under inspection based on the information received.

A high resolution X-ray inspection system constructed and arranged to examine an item under inspection located at an inspection region, the high resolution X-ray inspection system comprising:

• a high resolution X-ray source located at the inspection region that exposes the item under inspection to X-ray radiation, the X-ray source having a focal spot size that is less than 100 μm, the X-ray source being constructed and arranged to be movable in any of a first dimension, a second dimension, and a third dimension;
• an X-ray detector located at the inspection region that detects X-ray radiation as modified by the item under inspection, and that is constructed and arranged to be movable in the first dimension and the second dimension;
• a controller coupled to each of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector, controlling movement of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector in the first and second dimensions;
• and
• a processor that:
• i) receives information on a region of interest in the item under inspection from a remote inspection system;
• ii) provides input to the controller whereby the controller positions the x-ray source and x-ray detector to image the region of interest;
• and
• iii) receives detection information from the X-ray detector on the region of interest, processes the detection information, and provides processed information.

A method of inspecting an item with an X-ray system, the method comprising acts of:

• receiving from a remote inspection device information about the item;
• locating a region of interest in the item based on the information received;
• exposing the item to X-ray radiation from an X-ray source;
• detecting the X-ray radiation modified by the item with an X-ray detector;
• processing information provided by the X-ray detector to provide processed information;
• moving the X-ray source in any of a first dimension and a second dimension to expose the item to X-ray radiation at a plurality of positions;
• and
• moving the X-ray detector, independently of the X-ray source, in any of the first dimension and the second dimension to detect the X-ray radiation at a plurality of examination angles.

A method of operating an inspection system to form an image of an item, the system having a conveyor moving in a first direction and a source and detector that can be controlled such that the point at which a path of radiation between the source and detector intersects an item on the conveyor moves in a second direction, transverse to the first direction, the method comprising:

• a) gathering image data from a plurality of regions of the item in successive time intervals;
• b) between successive time intervals moving the conveyor in the first direction and the point at which the path intersects the item in the second direction;
• c) displaying a first image of at least a portion of the item with a first resolution using the gathered image data;
• d) selecting a region of the item appearing in the first image;
• e) using data acquired with the source and detector to display to a second image of the region of the portion of the item, the second image having a higher resolution than the first image;
• wherein the source is a microfocus x-ray source.