High voltage x-ray and conventional radiography imaging apparatus and method

US6167110A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• General Electric Company · US

Inventors

• Gerorge Edward Possin · Niskayuna, US
• Andrew Joseph Galish · Sharonville, US
• Ralph Gerald Isaacs · Cincinnati, US
• Douglas Albagli · Clifton Park, US
• Ching-Yeu Wei · Niskayuna, US
• Thomas William Birdwell · Middletown, US
• Francis Howard Little · Cincinnati, US
• Sung Su Han · Goyang-si, KR

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 3, 1997
• Grant date: Dec 26, 2000
• Expiry date: Nov 3, 2017

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01T1/201
• WIPO field: Environmental technology
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A detector (20) for high voltage x-rays includes a plurality of sensor elements (22) with each sensor element being aligned along a respective focal axis (25) with respect to a high voltage x-ray source (24). A fiber optic scintillator (34) is optically coupled to each of said sensor elements and is disposed to receive incident x-ray radiation passing from the object to be imaged. Optical fibers of the scintillator are positioned such that their optical axes are perpendicular to incident x-rays. Each sensor element has a length along the focal axis sufficiently long for the fibers to absorb substantially all incident x-rays. Each sensor element comprises an array of amorphous silicon photosensors disposed to detect light generated by the scintillator.