US 12,461,046 B2
X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner
Nathan Hermony, Caesarea (IL)
Assigned to MULTICT IMAGING LTD, Caesarea (IL)
Appl. No. 18/278,744
Filed by MULTICT IMAGING LTD, Caesarea (IL)
PCT Filed Mar. 2, 2022, PCT No. PCT/IB2022/051841
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 24, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/185231, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 9, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/156,382, filed on Mar. 4, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0142392 A1, May 2, 2024
Int. Cl. G01N 23/046 (2018.01); A61B 6/03 (2006.01); A61B 6/40 (2024.01)
CPC G01N 23/046 (2013.01) [A61B 6/032 (2013.01); A61B 6/035 (2013.01); A61B 6/4007 (2013.01); A61B 6/4014 (2013.01); G01N 2223/3303 (2013.01); G01N 2223/3308 (2013.01); G01N 2223/419 (2013.01)] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner comprising a scanning setup comprising more than two X-Ray sources and more than two detectors mounted about an opening defining a volume useful field of view (FOV) where scanning takes place,
the X-ray sources being distributed to provide substantially uniform coverage of the FOV by being arranged at angular positions to collectively span 360 degrees around the FOV,
wherein a scanning setup is arranged to rotate about an axis of rotation of the scanner in order to generate scanned slice data of an object located within the opening, wherein
the X-Ray sources are arranged in sets and all X-Ray sources in a certain set are arranged to emit X-ray radiation towards a similar common detector, and wherein
at least some of the detectors are of inverse-geometry CT architecture in that they are sized to be smaller than the scanner's FOV, and wherein
some X-Ray sources are arranged to be sequentially activated during rotation, and during each activation only one X-Ray source in a set is activated, and wherein
the CT scanner is controlled to activate at least some of the X-Ray sources at different powers in order to reduce radiation to a scanned object while obtaining scanned slice data of the object, by determining instances during a CT examination where certain X-Ray sources of the CT scanner are activated at different powers, and wherein a different power comprises providing to the X-Ray source with different current and/or voltage.