Rapiscan Systems, Inc.

Cxr Corporation

Paul De Antonis

Edward James Morton

Russell David Luggar

Michael Cunningham

Russelll David Luggar

An improved X-ray source is disclosed. The improved X-ray source has an enclosure, electron guns, a first set of address lines extending through the enclosure, a second set of address lines extending through the enclosure, and nodes defined by the intersection of the first and second set of address lines. Each of the electron guns is coupled to one of the nodes such that a state of each electron gun is uniquely controlled by modulating a state of one of the first set of address lines and one of the second set of address lines.

Multiplexed drive systems and methods for a multi-emitter X-ray source

The present invention is a shielded anode having an anode with a surface facing an electron beam and a shield configured to encompass the anode surface. The shield has at least one aperture and an internal surface facing the anode surface. The shield internal surface and anode surface are separated by a gap in the range of 1 mm to 10 mm. The shield of the present invention is fabricated from a material, such as graphite, that is substantially transmissive to X-ray photons.

Graphite backscattered electron shield for use in an X-ray tube

An electron source for an X-ray scanner includes an emitter support block, an electron-emitting region formed on the support block and arranged to emit electrons, an electrical connector arranged to connect a source of electric current to the electron-emitting region, and heating structure arranged to heat the support block.

X-ray tube electron sources

An X-ray tube includes an emitter wire enclosed in a suppressor. An extraction grid comprises a number of parallel wires extending perpendicular to the emitter wire, and a focusing grid comprises a number of wires parallel to the grid wires and spaced apart at equal spacing to the grid wires. The grid wire are connected by means of switches to a positive extracting potential or a negative inhibiting potential, and the switches are controlled so that at any one time a pair of adjacent grid wires are connected together to form an extracting pair, which produce an electron beam. The position of the beam is moved by switching different pairs of grid wires to the extracting potential.

An X-ray scanner comprises an array () of X-ray detectors () arranged in cylindrical configuration around an imaging volume (), and a multi-focus X-ray source () which extends in a helical configuration around the outside of the detector array (). A helical gap () in the detector array () allows X-rays from the source () to pass through the patient () in the imaging volume (), and onto the detectors () on the opposite side of the scanner. The source () is controlled so that the X-rays are produced from a number of source points along the helical locus () to produce a tomographic image. As the patient is stationary and the source point varied electrically, the scanning rate is sufficient to produce a series of images which can be displayed as a real time three-dimensional video image.

X-ray scanning system

The present invention is directed to an X-ray tube that has an electron source in the form of a cathode and an anode within a housing. The anode is a thin film anode, so that most of the electrons which do not interact with it to produce X-rays pass directly through it. A retardation electrode is located behind the anode and is held at a potential which is negative with respect to the anode and slightly positive with respect to the cathode.

X-ray tubes

An X-ray scanning apparatus comprises a number of multi-focus X-ray tubes () spaced around an axis X and arranged to emit X-rays through an object on the axis which are detected by sensors (). Each tube () can emit X-rays from a plurality of source positions. In each scanning cycle, in which each of the source positions in each of the tubes is used once, the ordering of the positions used is arranged so as to minimize the thermal load on the tubes (). This is achieved by ensuring that each source position is non-adjacent to the previously active one and the next active one.

Control means for heat load in X-ray scanning apparatus

An X-ray tube includes an emitter wire () enclosed in a suppressor(). An extraction grid comprises a number of parallel wires () extending perpendicular to the emitter wire, and a focusing grid comprises a number of wires () parallel to the grid wires () and spaced apart at equal spacing to the grid wires (). The grid wire are connected by means of switches to a positive extracting potential or a negative inhibiting potential, and the switches are controlled so that at any one time a pair of adjacent grid wires () are connected together to form an extracting pair, which produce an electron beam. The position of the beam is moved by switching different pairs of grid wires to the extracting potential.

An anode for an X-ray source is formed in two parts, a main part and a collimating part. The main part has the target region formed on it. The two parts between them define an electron aperture through which electrons pass to reach the target region, and an X-ray aperture through which the X-rays produced at the target leave the anode. The anode produces at least the first stage of collimation of the X-ray beam produced.

X-ray sources

An anode for an X-ray source is formed in two parts, a main part () and a collimating part (). The main part () has the target region () formed on it. The two parts between them define an electron aperture () through which electrons pass reach the target region (), and an X-ray aperture through which the X-rays produced at the target leave the anode. The anode produces at least the first stage of collimation of the X-ray beam produced.

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Horsham, United Kingdom

Paul De Antonis