Rotating union for a liquid cooled rotating X-ray target

An X-ray source, comprising:

• a rotating union comprising:
• a housing;
• a coolant-slinging device disposed within the housing, comprising:
• a rotating shaft having an inner diameter and an outer diameter, a proximal end and a distal end, and a bore therein;
• one or more slingers coupled to a proximal end of the rotating shaft;
• a drain annulus coupled to the one or more slingers,
• wherein the one or more slingers are configured to direct a coolant to the drain annulus, and wherein the drain annulus is configured to direct the coolant through a primary coolant outlet;
• a stationary tube having a first end and a second end, wherein at least a portion of the stationary tube is disposed within the bore of the rotating shaft;
• and
• a target operationally coupled to the distal end of the rotating shaft via a rotating hollow shaft.

A computed tomography system comprising:

• an X-ray source for generating an X-ray beam, wherein the X-ray source comprises:
• an X-ray target;
• and
• a rotating union comprising:
• a housing;
• a coolant-slinging device disposed within the housing, comprising:
• a rotating shaft having an inner diameter and an outer diameter, a proximal end and a distal end, and a bore therein;
• one or more slingers coupled to a proximal end of the rotating shaft;
• a drain annulus coupled to the one or more slingers,
• wherein the one or more slingers are configured to direct a coolant to the drain annulus, and wherein the drain annulus is configured to direct the coolant through a primary coolant outlet;
• a stationary tube having a first end and a second end, wherein at least a portion of the stationary tube is disposed within the bore of the rotating shaft;
• an array of detector elements for detecting attenuated X-ray beam from an imaging object;
• and
• a display for displaying an image of the imaging object.