Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.V.

Thorben Repenning

Rolf Karl Otto Behling

Tobias Schlenk

Christoph Helmut Bathe

A cathode assembly component (CC) for X-ray imaging, comprising a monolithic outer shell (OS) with electron optical functionality and, insertable in said shell, an insulator structure (INS) for two or more electrodes.

Cathode assembly component for X-ray imaging

The invention proposes an insulator within an X-ray tube having a vacuum side and an ambient side and a feedthrough substantially coinciding with an axis of symmetry at the vacuum side and an axis of symmetry at the ambient side. The axis of symmetry at the vacuum side and the axis of symmetry at the ambient side have an angle of at least 5&#xb0;, preferably 90&#xb0;, with respect to each other. An X-ray source comprising such an insulator is presented as well and the present invention also extends to a medical imaging apparatus for generating X-ray images of a patient thereby using an X-ray source with such an insulator. In an embodiment, an X-ray source is provided wherein the insulator is plugged to an electrical connector at the ambient surface.

X-ray tube insulator

An X-ray source () for generating X-rays () is provided. The X-ray source () comprises an emitter arrangement () for generating electrons or for generating X-rays, at least one feedthrough () for supplying electrical power to the emitter arrangement (), and an insulator () configured for isolating an electrical potential of the at least one feedthrough () from a ground potential. Therein, the at least one feedthrough () extends at least partly through the insulator (), and at least a part of the insulator () is in thermal contact with at least a part of the emitter arrangement (). Further, the insulator () comprises at least one cooling channel () formed completely in an interior volume () of the insulator () and configured to dissipate heat from the emitter arrangement (), wherein a distance () between an outer surface () of the insulator () and the cooling channel () is at least as large as half of a thickness () of the cooling channel ().

X-ray source and method for manufacturing an X-ray source

The invention relates to an X-ray unit, an X-ray system, and a method for manufacturing an X-ray system. The X-ray system comprises an X-ray unit, a cathode, and an anode. The X-ray unit comprises a vacuum tube and a magnet system. The vacuum tube is configured to encase a cathode, an anode, and a drift way for an electron beam moving between the cathode and the anode. The magnet system is configured to focus the electron beam and the magnet system is fused to the vacuum tube.

X-ray unit

An apparatus () and method for total or partial blanking of an electron beam (e) during a jump between the 2 or more positions of a dynamic focal spot (FP) movement in circumferential direction of the electron beam impinging on the focal track (FPTR) of a rotating target disk () of a X-ray tube (). Alternatively the focal spot size can be increased during this short time interval. Overheating of the anode at the focal spot can be prevented.

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Thorben Repenning