Systems and methods of determining x-ray tube life

Abstract

A method and apparatus to facilitate avoiding failure of a computed tomography x-ray source while performing a patient scan permits detection of the onset of a potential x-ray source failure and estimation of the x-ray source life expectancy. The information obtained can be used in deciding whether to repair or replace an x-ray source prior to failure. In one embodiment, signals I(x,y) representative of the x-ray beam optical focal spot detected by a detector array are sampled, and a wavelet transform is applied to the sampled signals I(x,y) to generate at least one energy level F.sub.new for a wavelet band. The energy level P.sub.new is compared with stored energy levels P.sub.stored to identify one of the energy levels P.sub.stored which, when subtracted from energy level P.sub.new, results in a statistically non-significant value. The remaining life of the x-ray source is estimated as being equal to the life expectancy value corresponding to the identified energy level P.sub.stored.