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US 7,127,029 B2Granted
Arrangement and method for obtaining tomosynthesis data
AssigneeXCounter AB
InventorTom Francke
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AssigneeXCounter AB
InventorTom Francke
Estimating the term…
A scanning-based arrangement for obtaining tomosynthesis data of an object (5) at high repetition rate comprises a support structure (11); scanning-based apparatuses (10) fixedly arranged on the support structure and each including (i) radiation source (1), and (ii) a radiation detector (6) comprising a stack of line detectors (6a), each being directed towards the radiation source to allow a ray bundle (b1, . . . , bn, . . . , bN) of radiation that propagates in a respective one of various different angles (α1, . . . , αn, . . . , αN) to enter the line detector; an object table (13) arranged in the radiation path of one of the scanning-based apparatuses; and a device (14) provided for rotating the support structure relative the object table so that the object table will successively be arranged in the radiation path of each of the scanning-based apparatuses, during which rotation each of the line detectors of each of the scanning-based apparatuses is adapted to record a plurality of line images of radiation as transmitted through the object.
A scanning-based arrangement for obtaining tomosynthesis data of an object at high repetition rate comprising:
A scanning-based method for obtaining tomosynthesis data of an object at high repetition rate using a scanning-based arrangement comprising a support structure having an axis of rotation;
A scanning-based arrangement for obtaining tomosynthesis data of an object comprising:
A method for obtaining tomosynthesis data of an object at using a plurality of scanning-based apparatuses arranged at an essentially similar distance from an axis of rotation for said plurality of scanning-based apparatuses, each of said plurality of scanning-based apparatuses comprising a radiation source emitting radiation centered around an axis of symmetry and a stack of line detectors, each of which being directed towards the radiation source to allow a ray bundle of radiation that propagates in a respective one of a plurality of different angles to enter the line detector to be detected therein, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Constructional features of apparatus for radiation diagnosis: related to the mounting of source units and detector units
Arrangements for diagnosis sequentially in different planes; Stereoscopic radiation diagnosis: tomosynthesis
And forming images of the material: using laminography or tomosynthesis
And forming images of the material: using tomography, e.g. computed tomography [CT]
Term ended 18 Oct 2024 (estimated)
The invention relates generally to scanning-based arrangements and methods for obtaining tomosynthesis data at high repetition rates for time-resolved examination of an object.
An X-ray medical diagnostic method such as mammography is a low-dose procedure that creates one or more images of a part of a patient such as a breast thereof, which is to be examined, e.g. for detection of early stages of cancer.
The mammography diagnostic procedure generally includes obtaining two images of each of the patient's breasts, one from above and one from the side. A physician or radiologist then reviews the images of the breast, i.e., mammograms, to identify any breast cancer.
FIG. 1 illustrates schematically, in a side view, an apparatus for obtaining tomosynthesis data for x-ray examination of an object.
FIGS. 2a–c illustrate each schematically, in a side view, a particular X-ray bundle as it traverses the examination object during scanning by the apparatus of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3–4 illustrate each schematically, in a top view, an arrangement for obtaining tomosynthesis data at a high repetition rate for x-ray examination of an object according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the arrangement comprising a plurality of the apparatus of FIG. 1.
An apparatus 10 for obtaining tomosynthesis data for x-ray examination of an object 5 is shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus 10 comprises a divergent X-ray source 1, which produces X-rays 2 centered around an axis of symmetry 3, which is parallel with the z axis, a collimator 4, a radiation detector 6, and a structure 7 for rigidly connecting the X-ray source 1, the collimator 4, and the radiation detector 6 to each other.
The radiation detector 6 comprises a stack of line detectors 6a, each being directed towards the divergent radiation source 1 to allow a respective ray bundle b1, . . . , bn, . . . , bN of the radiation 2 that propagates in a respective one of a plurality of different angles α1, . . . , αn, . . . , αN with respect to the front surface of the radiation detector 6 to enter the respective line detector 6a.
The collimator 4 may be a thin foil of e.g. tungsten with narrow radiation transparent slits cut or etched away, the number of which corresponds to the number of line detectors 6a of the radiation detector 6. The slits are aligned with the line detectors 6a so that X-rays passing through the slits of the collimator 4 will reach the detector units 6a, i.e. as the respective ray bundles b1, . . . , bn, . . . , bN. The collimator 4, which is optional, prevents radiation, which is not directed directly towards the line detectors 6a, from impinging on the object 5 to be examined, thereby reducing the radiation dose to the object. This is advantageous in all applications where the object is a human or an animal, or parts thereof.