The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 10, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 22, 1998
James A. Blake, Franklin, WI (US);
Jonathan R. Schmidt, Wales, WI (US);
Alexander M. Blok, Milwaukee, WI (US);
General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention, in one form, includes methods and apparatus for reducing the x-ray dosage to a patient in a medical imaging system. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a switching unit, or circuit, is coupled to a x-ray tube and a power supply to control the emission of x-ray beams from the x-ray tube. The switching unit is configured to alter a voltage and current signal applied to the x-ray tube control grid so that the magnitude of the x-ray beams is modified, or altered. By utilizing the switching unit the patient x-ray dosage is reduced and the magnitude of the x-ray beams may be configured to match the requirements of the application.