Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.V.

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.v.

Randall Peter Luhta

Marc Anthony Chappo

Rodney Arnold Mattson

Brian E Harwood

Chris Vrettos

Dominic J Heuscher

Lester Donald Miller

Scott Kenneth Pohlman

Paul Klahr

Ekta Dhawal Dharaiya

Christopher J Vrettos

Steven J Utrup

Roland Proksa

Christoph Herrmann

Roger Steadman Booker

William Charles Brunnett

Kevin Martin Brown

Rainer Pietig

Douglas B McKnight

Ronald Bryan Sharpless

Pieter Gerhard Roos

Janardhan K Kamath

William J Brunnett

Chris John Vrettos

Lester M Miller

William C Brunnett

A one-dimensional multi-element photo detector includes a photodiode array with a first upper row of photodiode pixels and a second lower row of photodiode pixels. The photodiode array is part of the photo detector. A scintillator array includes a first upper row and a second lower row of scintillator pixels. The first upper and second lower rows of scintillator pixels are respectively optically coupled to the first upper and second lower rows of photodiode pixels. The photo detector also includes readout electronics, which are also part of the photo detector. Electrical traces interconnect the photodiode pixels and the readout electronics.

Spectral imaging detector

A method includes performing a contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan of tissue of interest of a subject, with an imaging system having a radiation source and a detector array, in which a peak contrast enhancement of the tissue of interest, a full range of motion of the tissue of interest, and an entire volume of interest of the tissue of interest are concurrently imaged during a single rotation of the radiation source and the detector array of the imaging system over an entire or a predetermined sub-portion of a breathing cycle.

4D contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT)

A method includes performing a contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan of tissue of interest of a subject, with an imaging system () having a radiation source () and a detector array (), in which a peak contrast enhancement of the tissue of interest, a full range of motion of the tissue of interest, and an entire volume of interest of the tissue of interest are concurrently imaged during a single rotation of the radiation source and the detector array of the imaging system over an entire or a predetermined sub-portion of a breathing cycle.

A detector array () includes at least one detector pixel () with a cavity () that defines a three dimensional volume. A surface of the cavity includes at least two photosensitive regions and a non-photosensitive region there between, defining at least two sub-pixels () which detect light photons traversing within the three dimensional cavity and produce respective signals indicative thereof. The detector array further includes a scintillator (), including a first sub-portion that is located in the cavity and which emits the light photons in response to absorbing x-ray photons. Light photons emitted by the first sub-portion are detected by both of the at least two sub-pixels

Imaging detector

A method includes obtaining a photosensor substrate () having two opposing major surfaces. One of the two opposing major surfaces includes at least one photosensor row () of at least one photosensor element (), and the obtained photosensor substrate has a thickness equal to or greater than one hundred microns. The method further includes optically coupling a scintillator array () to the photosensor substrate. The scintillator array includes at least one complementary scintillator row () of at least one complementary scintillator element (), and the at least one complementary scintillator row is optically coupled to the at least one photosensor row () and the at least one complementary scintillator element is optically coupled to the at least one photosensor element. The method further includes thinning the photosensor substrate optically coupled to the scintillator producing a thinned photosensor substrate that is optically coupled to the scintillator and that has a thickness on the order of less than one hundred microns.

An imaging system () includes a radiation source () that emits radiation from a focal spot () in a direction of an examination region. The imaging system further includes a beam shaper (), located between the focal spot and the examination region, that shapes an x-ray transmission profile of the radiation emitted from the source and incident on the beam shaper such that the radiation leaving the beam shaper has a pre-determined transmission profile.

X-ray beam transmission profile shaper

An imaging apparatus () includes a detector array () with at least one detector tile (). The detector tile includes a photosensor array () with a two dimensional array of individual photosensitive detector pixels () located within a non-photosensitive area (). The imaging apparatus also includes readout electronics () coupled to the photosensor array and including individual readout channel wells () corresponding to the individual detector pixels. The imaging apparatus also includes an anti-aliasing filter () for a detector pixel that is located in at least one of a region of the photosensor array corresponding to the detector pixel or a region of the readout electronics corresponding to the detector pixel.

Imaging detector with anti-aliasing filter in the readout electronics and/or photosensor

An imaging apparatus () includes a detector array () with at least one detector tile (). The detector tile includes a photosensor array () with a two dimensional array of individual photosensitive detector pixels () located within a non-photosensitive area () and readout electronics () coupled to the photosensor array. The readout electronics includes individual analog readout channel wells () corresponding to the individual detector pixels, wherein an analog readout channel well electrically isolates analog electrical components therein from analog electrical components in other analog readout channel wells. Decoupling circuitry optionally is located in at least one of metal layers of the individual analog readout channels or in the individual analog readout channel wells.

Imaging detector with per pixel analog channel well isolation with decoupling

The invention relates to a rotor comprising a radiation source having a focal spot for radiating beam towards a subject, detection means for generating signals responsive to energy attenuation of said beam and a circular body having a cavity for housing the radiation source, and a circle arc-shaped surface on which the detection means are mounted. The circle arc-shaped surface is placed opposite to the cavity with respect to the subject, said cavity comprising an inside surface mounted with a shield for shielding the radiation not towards the subject. In this way, the conventional housing for radiation source and shielding are removed, resulting in reduction of focal spot motion caused by motion of the conventional housing. Furthermore, this invention proposes to mount the detection means directly on the circular body without an intermediate structural housing that reduces the detector modules motion relative to the focal spot.

Rotor and X-ray CT scanners

An imaging system () includes a detector array () with direct conversion detector pixels that detect radiation traversing an examination region of the imaging system and generate a signal indicative of the detected radiation, a pulse shaper () configured to alternatively process the signal indicative of detected radiation generated by the detector array or a set of test pulses having different and known heights that correspond to different and known energy levels and to generate output pulses having heights indicative of the energy of the processed detected radiation or set of test pulses, and a thresholds adjuster () configured to analyze the heights of the output pulses corresponding to the set of test pulses in connection with the heights of set of test pulses and a set of predetermined fixed energy thresholds and generate a threshold adjustment signal indicative of a baseline based on a result of the analysis.

Photon counting detector

An imaging detector () includes a scintillator array () including a scintillator element () and a material () and a photosensor array () including a detector element () having a light sensitive region () and a non-sensitive region (). The light sensitive region is separated from the scintillator element by a gap, the light sensitive region is in one-to-one mechanical alignment with the scintillator element, and the non-sensitive region is in mechanical alignment with the material. The detector further includes structure () that includes one or more material free channels. The structure is located between the non-sensitive region and the material and not between the light sensitive region and the scintillator element. An optical adhesive () is located in the gap, filling the entire gap, and mechanically and optically coupling the light sensitive region and the scintillator element.

A one-dimensional multi-element photo detector () includes a photodiode array () with a first upper row of photodiode pixels and a second lower row of photodiode pixels. The photodiode array () is part of the photo detector (). A scintillator array () includes a first upper row and a second lower row of scintillator pixels. The first upper and second lower rows of scintillator pixels are respectively optically coupled to the first upper and second lower rows of photodiode pixels. The photo detector () also includes readout electronics (), which are also part of the photo detector (). Electrical traces () interconnect the photodiode pixels and the readout electronics ().

A detector tile () of an imaging system () includes a photosensor array () and electronics () electrically coupled to the photosensor array (), wherein the electronics includes a dose determiner () that determines a deposited dose for the detector tile () and generates a signal indicative thereof. In one non-limiting instance, this signal is utilized to correct parameters such as gain and thermal coefficients, which may vary with radiation dose.

Radiation dose based imaging detector tile parameter compensation

An imaging detector includes a scintillator array (), a photosensor array () optically coupled to the scintillator array (), a current-to-frequency (I/F) converter (), and logic (). The I/F converter () includes an integrator () and a comparator (), and converts, during a current integration period, charge output by the photosensor array () into a digital signal having a frequency indicative of the charge. The logic () sets a gain of the integrator () for a next integration period based on the digital signal for the current integration period. In one instance, the gain is increased for the next integration period, relative to the gain for the current integration period, which allows for reducing an amount of bias current injected at an input of the I/F converter () to generate a measurable signal in the absence of radiation, which may reduce noise such as shot noise, flicker noise, and/or other noise.

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Highland Heights, OH, United States of America

Randall Peter Luhta