Apparatus for and method of adjustably precalibrating the position of

Abstract

The invention provides a system for and method of precalibrating the position of the focal spot of an X-ray tube before its installation in a CT scanner system so that the focal spot of the tube is properly aligned with the off-focal aperture, slice-defining aperture and detectors of the scanner system. The precalibration is performed using an interface registration support that receives the X-ray tube and supports the X-ray tube on a mount provided in either the precalibration system or the scanner system. The mount of the precalibration system duplicates the mount of the scanner system, so that desired position of the focal spot in the scanner system relative to the scanner system mount is duplicated in the precalibration system relative to the precalibration system mount. Adjustments in the position of the focal spot are carried out by measuring any displacement of the focal spot of the X-ray tube relative to an interface registration support which is referenced to the desired position of the focal spot by registering the registration support to the mount of the precalibration system. The as-adjusted X-ray tube and its interface registration support can then be installed in the CT scanner without the need for subsequent calibration adjustments. Additional testing of the X-ray tube can also be provided.