Computerized tomographic scanner having a toroidal x-ray tube with a stationary annular anode and a rotating cathode assembly
US5305363A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 1992 |
| Grant date | Apr 19, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05G1/025
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A toroidal x-ray tube (I) is supported (II) for rotation about a horizontal axis (170), translation along a vertical axis (172), and translation along a horizontal axis (174). The x-ray tube includes a toroidal housing (A), an annular anode (B), and a cathode (0) which rotates a beam of electrons around the annular anode. A plurality of parallel connected voltage sources (90.sub.1, 90.sub.2, . . . , 90.sub.n) provide a sufficiently high bias voltage between the electron source and the anode that x-rays are generated. The x-ray beam passes through a compensator crystal (62), an annular window (20), a collimator (132), through a subject received in a central bore (26) of the x-ray tube, and impacts an arc segment of radiation detectors (130). The x-ray detectors are stationarily mounted outside of the plane of the annular window (FIGS. 2 and 7), nutate into the plane of the windows opposite of the origin of the x-ray beam (FIG. 6 ), rotate in part (FIG. 9 ) or rotate in full (FIG. 8 ) Angular position monitors (58, 154) determine the angular position of the cathode assembly, hence the x-ray beam, and the angular position of the detectors in the rotating detector embodiment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.