General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Haochuan Jiang

David Michael Hoffman

James Scott Vartuli

Anant Achyut Setlur

John Eric Tkaczyk

James Wilson Rose

Kevin Matthew Durocher

James Edward Murphy

Xiaoye Wu

Joseph James Lacey

Daniel David Harrison

Richard Louis Hart

Abdelaziz Ikhlef

Robert Joseph Lyons

Chang Wei

Zhaoping Wu

Kun Tao

Qun Deng

Zhaohui Yang

Vladimir Anatolievich Lobastov

Jaime Andres Echeverry

David Gerard Mliner

Kevin Alan David

A detector for detecting high-energy radiation is disclosed. The detector includes scintillating material with a garnet structure includes gadolinium, yttrium, cerium, gallium, and aluminum. The scintillating material is expressed as (GdYACe)(GaAlD)O:wFO, wherein A is lutetium, lanthanum, terbium, dysprosium, or a combination thereof; D is indium, scandium, or a combination thereof; F is a divalent ion; 0&#x2266;x&#x3c;0.2, 0&#x3c;y&#x3c;0.5, 0.001&#x3c;z&#x3c;0.05, 0&#x3c;u&#x3c;0.1, 0&#x2266;n&#x3c;0.2, 0.3&#x3c;m&#x3c;0.6, and 10 ppm&#x2266;w&#x2266;300 ppm; and y/x&#x3e;1.

Rare earth garnet scintillator and method of making same

Detector modules for an imaging system and methods of manufacturing are provided. One detector module includes a substrate, a direct conversion sensor material coupled to the substrate and a flexible interconnect electrically coupled to the direct conversion sensor material and configured to provide readout of electrical signals generated by the direct conversion sensor material. The detector module also includes at least one illumination source for illuminating the direct conversion sensor material.

Detector modules for imaging systems and methods of manufacturing

A two dimensional collimator assembly and method of manufacturing thereof is disclosed. The collimator assembly includes a wall structure constructed to form a two dimensional array of channels to collimate x-rays. The wall structure further includes a first portion positioned proximate the object to be scanned and configured to absorb scattered x-rays and a second portion formed integrally with the first portion and extending out from the first portion away from the object to be scanned. The first portion of the wall structure has a height greater than a height of the second portion of the wall structure. The second portion of the wall structure includes a reflective material coated thereon in each of the channels forming the two dimensional array of channels.

2D reflector and collimator structure and method of manufacturing thereof

A method of fabricating a scintillator includes forming a green part comprised of a nanometer-sized powder, sintering the green part at a first temperature for a first time period, and sintering the green part at a second temperature for a second time period.

X-ray detector fabrication methods and apparatus therefrom

A method includes fabricating an energy detector using a sol-gel process.

The present invention is a directed to a non-pixelated scintillator array for a CT detector as well as an apparatus and method of manufacturing same. The scintillator array is comprised of a number of ceramic fibers or single crystal fibers that are aligned in parallel with respect to one another. As a result, the pack has very high dose efficiency. Furthermore, each fiber is designed to direct light out to a photodiode with very low scattering loss. The fiber size (cross-sectional diameter) may be controlled such that smaller fibers may be fabricated for higher resolution applications. Moreover, because the fiber size can be controlled to be consistent throughout the scintillator array and the fibers are aligned in parallel with one another, the scintillator array, as a whole, also is uniform. Therefore, precise alignment with the photodiode array or the collimator assembly is not necessary.

CT detector array having non-pixelated scintillator array

A detector includes a reflector and a scintillator in optical communication with the reflector, wherein both the reflector and the scintillator are fabricated from the same material.

A multi-layer reflector for a CT detector is disclosed. The reflector includes an x-ray absorption component that is sandwiched between a pair of highly reflective components. Such a reflector is formed between adjacent scintillators of a CT detector so as to reduce cross-talk between adjacent scintillators as well as maintain a relatively high light output for signal detection. Moreover, the multi-layer reflectors may be disposed one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally across a scintillator array. A method of manufacturing such a reflector and incorporating same into a CT detector is also disclosed.

Multi-layer reflector for CT detector

A composition including at least one of a glass composition and a glass ceramic composition, the composition includes a plurality of scintillator crystals.

Compositions and methods for scintillator arrays

A scintillator array for use in a CT imaging system and a method for making the scintillator array are provided. The scintillator array includes a plurality of projecting elements disposed proximate one another. The scintillator array further includes a glass compound containing a plurality of reflective particles being disposed on the plurality of projecting elements, wherein the projecting elements emit light in response to receiving x-rays.

Scintillator array for use in a CT imaging system and method for making the scintillator array

The present invention is a directed to a non-pixelated scintillator array for a CT detector as well as an apparatus and method of manufacturing same. The scintillator array is comprised of a number of ceramic fibers or single crystal fibers that are aligned in parallel with respect to one another. As a result, the pack has very high dose efficiency. Furthermore, each fiber is designed to direct light out to a photodiode with very low scattering loss. The fiber size (cross-sectional diameter) may be controlled such that smaller fibers may be fabricated for higher resolution applications. Moreover, because the fiber size can be controlled to be consistent throughout the scintillator may and the fibers are aligned in parallel with one another, the scintillator array, as a whole, also is uniform. Therefore, precise alignment with the photodiode array or the collimator assembly is not necessary.

CT detector array having non pixelated scintillator array

A pixilated scintillator array for a radiation detector of an imaging system includes a plurality of scintillator pixels arranged side by side in an array. The scintillator pixels are separated from adjacent scintillator pixels by gaps. Each scintillator pixels includes a top surface, a plurality of side surfaces, and a first layer covering the top surface and the side surfaces of each scintillator pixel. The first layer is formed from a smoothing coating. A second layer formed from a reflective metal coating covers the first layer, and a third layer formed from a barrier coating covers the second layer.

Scintillator arrays for radiation detectors and methods of manufacture

The present invention discloses a method of aligning scintillator crystalline structures for computed tomography imaging and a system of use. Crystal seeds are deposited inside a glass melt and are then grown to form a plurality of layer crystallites. While growing the crystallites, a field is applied to align each crystallite structure in a uniform orientation. As a result, the crystallites are configured to reduce light scattering and improve the overall efficiency of the CT system. A CT system is disclosed implementing a scintillator array having a plurality of scintillators, each scintillator being formed of a plurality of uniformly aligned crystallites. Each crystallite includes a receiving surface and an exiting surface configured perpendicular to an x-ray beam. Further, the receiving surface and the exiting surface are connected by a plurality of surface walls arranged parallel to the x-ray beam.

System and method of aligning scintillator crystalline structures for computed tomography imaging

A system and method of computer tomography imaging using a cerium-doped lutetium orthosilicate scintillator are provided. The system includes a high frequency electromagnetic energy projection source to project high frequency energy toward an object, such as a patient. A scintillator array having a plurality of cerium-doped lutetium orthosilicate scintillators therein receives the high frequency energy attenuated by the object and emits light energy based on the attenuated energy received. A photodiode array including a plurality of photodiodes is optically-coupled to the scintillator array and configured to detect the light energy and discharge output to a data processing system to produce a visual display. Each scintillator of the scintillator array is formed into a transparent glass ceramic having a high crystalline phase by combing glass-forming compounds in a glass forming system. A method of combining glass-forming compounds to form the cerium-doped lutetium orthosilicate into a transparent glass ceramic is also provided.

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Brookfield, WI, United States of America

Haochuan Jiang