Patent · US Expired

Variable aperture z-axis tracking collimator for a computed tomograph system

US6298117A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
12References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 20, 2000
Grant dateOct 2, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 20, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B6/4021
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for dose reduction in a computed tomography (CT) system are described. In one embodiment, the CT system includes a pre-patient collimator and a configurable multislice detector array. The pre-patient collimator includes a plurality of eccentric cams and a filtration device for altering the x-ray beam radiated from a x-ray source. The eccentric cams are positioned to collimate the x-ray beam and may be independently positioned to provide z-axis correction of the x-ray beam. The filtration device includes a plurality of filters for altering the x-ray beam. In operation, an operator selects the type of test and the quantity and thickness of the slices. After altering the detector and collimator configuration, slice data for each slice is gathered.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.