{"search_session":{},"preferences":{"l":"en","queryLanguage":"en"},"patentId":"US_2009_0022264_A1","frontPageModel":{"patentViewModel":{"ref":{"entityRefId":"128-670-179-868-584","entityRefType":"PATENT"},"entityMetadata":{"linkedIds":{"empty":true},"tags":[],"collections":[{"id":11696,"type":"PATENT","title":"North Carolina State University - Raleigh - Patent Portfolio","description":"","access":"OPEN_ACCESS","displayAvatar":true,"attested":false,"itemCount":5900,"tags":[],"user":{"id":91044780,"username":"Cambialens","firstName":"","lastName":"","created":"2015-05-04T00:55:26.000Z","displayName":"Cambialens","preferences":"{\"usage\":\"public\",\"beta\":false}","accountType":"PERSONAL","isOauthOnly":false},"notes":[{"id":8351,"type":"COLLECTION","user":{"id":91044780,"username":"Cambialens","firstName":"","lastName":"","created":"2015-05-04T00:55:26.000Z","displayName":"Cambialens","preferences":"{\"usage\":\"public\",\"beta\":false}","accountType":"PERSONAL","isOauthOnly":false},"text":"
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an x-ray source that generates x-ray radiation from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots configured to image a human breast from different viewing angles for reconstruction without moving any of the source, the object, or the detector;\n
an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images of the breast;\n
an electronic controller for activating the x-ray radiation from the different x-ray focal spots in the x-ray source in a sequence and for synchronizing x-ray exposure from a given focal spot with image collection by the x-ray detector; and\n
wherein tomography images of the breast can be reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the breast collected from different viewing angles."],"number":1,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source includes a plurality of focal spots arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector."],"number":2,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source includes a plurality of focal spots arranged substantially along an arc, wherein the focal spots define a plane that is substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector, wherein all the x-ray focal spots are equal distance to an iso-center."],"number":3,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source includes a plurality of focal spots arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on an x-ray anode."],"number":4,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source includes focal spots of substantially the same size."],"number":5,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source includes focal spots having sizes ranging between about 0.05 mm and about 2 mm."],"number":6,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source is configured to generate cone-shaped x-ray beams, and wherein central axes of the x-ray beams are substantially directed towards an iso-center."],"number":7,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, further comprising an electronic circuit to individually control the x-ray intensities from the different x-ray focal spots such that they can either be the same or be modulated to deliver a desired intensity or intensity distribution on the object to be imaged."],"number":8,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots in the x-ray source comprises between about 10 and 100 x-ray focal spots covering viewing angles of between 10° and 100° degrees."],"number":9,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, comprising a plurality of individually controllable electron field emission cathodes, one or more x-ray anodes, and an electron focusing lens that focuses the electron beam from a cathode to a desired area on an x-ray anode."],"number":10,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the electron focusing lens is a modified Einzel type lens with a plurality of electrostatic focusing electrodes."],"number":11,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 10, wherein the electron field emission cathodes include at least one of the following: nanowires, nanotubes, and carbon nanotubes."],"number":12,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, comprising a controller configured to adjust focal spot sizes of different x-ray beams."],"number":13,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, comprising a controller including a field-effect-transistor based electronic circuit configured to activate the x-ray sources."],"number":14,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, comprising an anti-scattering component positioned between the x-ray detector and the location for positioning the object."],"number":15,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 15, wherein the anti-scattering component is adjustable based on a position of one or more of the x-ray sources being activated."],"number":16,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1, wherein the x-ray source comprises x-ray anodes configured at different voltages to produce x-ray radiation with two energies."],"number":17,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 17, wherein the x-ray source comprises 12 anodes configured at low voltage and 13 anodes configured at high voltage to enable the system for dual-energy imaging."],"number":18,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A stationary x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system configured to image a human breast from different viewing angles for reconstruction without moving any of the source, the object, or the detector, the system comprising:\n
an x-ray source that generates x-ray radiation from an array of x-ray focal spots that are spatially distributed in a substantially straight line parallel to the imaging plane of the x-ray detector;\n
an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images of the breast;\n
an electronic controller for sequentially activating the x-ray radiation from the different x-ray focal spots and varying the intensity of the x-ray radiation based on the distance between the x-ray focal spot and the object to be imaged such that the x-ray dose delivered to the object from every viewing angle is substantially the same; and\n
wherein tomography images of the object can be reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object collected from different viewing angles."],"number":19,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 19, wherein the x-ray source is configured to generate cone-shaped x-ray beams, and wherein a central axis of each of the x-ray beams is substantially directed towards an iso-center."],"number":20,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 19, wherein adjacent focal spots of the x-ray source have substantially the same angular spacing with respect to an iso-center."],"number":21,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 19, wherein the adjacent focal spots of the x-ray source have substantially the same linear spacing."],"number":22,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A stationary x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system configured to image a human breast from different viewing angles for reconstruction without moving any of the source, the object, or the detector, the system comprising:\n
an x-ray source that generates x-ray radiation from an array of x-ray focal spots that are spatially distributed along an arc substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector, wherein the focal spots are equal distance to the object to be imaged;\n
an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images of the breast;\n
an electronic controller for sequentially activating the x-ray beam from the different x-ray focal spots and delivering the same x-ray tube current to each focal spot; and\n
wherein tomography images of the object can be reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object collected from different viewing angles."],"number":23,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A quasi-monochromatic x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system configured to image a human breast, the system comprising:\n
an x-ray source that generates scanning cone-beam x-ray radiation from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots;\n
an energy filter;\n
an x-ray detector configured to collect projection images of an object;\n
an electronic control circuit that allows imaging of the object by simultaneously activating a plurality of x-ray beams at a given time based on a multiplexing imaging scheme, and synchronizes x-ray exposure with data collection by the x-ray detector; and\n
a computer program to de-multiplex the projection images;\n
wherein tomography images of the object can be reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object collected from different viewing angles."],"number":24,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 24, wherein the energy filters are the same such that the x-ray radiations from each focal spots have substantially the same energy spectrum."],"number":25,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The device of claim 24, wherein energy filters are varied such that energy spectra from the x-ray focal spots can be individually controlled."],"number":26,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 24, wherein the projection images are collected by the binary multiplexing scheme."],"number":27,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 24, wherein the projection images are collected by the frequency division multiplexing scheme."],"number":28,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 24, wherein the energy filter comprises Cerium and wherein the x-ray source comprises an x-ray anode that operates on a voltage in the range of 60-80 kV."],"number":29,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 24, wherein the projection images from the different viewing angles are generated by electronically switching the x-ray beams from different focal spots without moving any of the x-ray source, the detector, or the patient."],"number":30,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A x-ray digital tomosynthesis system comprising:\n
a field emission x-ray source that generates a scanning x-ray beam from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots configured to image an object from different viewing angles for tomosynthesis reconstruction;\n
an area x-ray detector configured to detect projection images of the object;\n
an electronic controller for activating the x-ray beam from different x-ray focal spots in a sequence, either one beam or a plurality of the beams simultaneously, and for synchronizing x-ray exposure with image collection by the x-ray detector; and\n
wherein tomography images of the object can be reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object from different viewing angles."],"number":31,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A multiplexing x-ray digital tomosynthesis system comprising:\n
a field emission x-ray source for generating a scanning x-ray beam from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots configured to image an object from different viewing angles for tomosynthesis reconstruction;\n
an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images;\n
an electronic controller for imaging of the object by simultaneously activating a plurality of the x-ray beams at a given time based on a multiplexing imaging scheme, and for synchronizing x-ray exposure with data collection by the x-ray detector;\n
wherein the projection images can be de-multiplexed; and\n
wherein tomography images of the object can be reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object from different viewing angles."],"number":32,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The x-ray digital tomosynthesis system of claim 32, further comprising a controller for varying the x-ray intensity from each focal spot by controlling the field emission current from a field emission cathode and adjusting the focal spot size by varying the voltage applied to an electron focusing lenses."],"number":33,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A method of producing tomography images of an object, the method comprising:\n
providing a plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources spatially distributed with respect to an object to be imaged;\n
irradiating the object with x-ray beams produced by the x-ray sources to generate projection images of the object;\n
detecting the projection images of the object; and\n
reconstructing tomography images of the object based on the projection images of the object."],"number":34,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 34, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector."],"number":35,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 34, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged substantially along an arc, wherein the focal spots define a plane that is substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector."],"number":36,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 34, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on an anode."],"number":37,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A method of producing images of an object using at least one of monochromatic and quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams, the method comprising:\n
providing a plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources spatially distributed with respect to an object to be imaged;\n
irradiating the object with at least one of monochromatic and quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams produced by the x-ray sources to generate projection images of the object;\n
detecting the projection images of the object; and\n
reconstructing displayable images of the object based on the projection images of the object."],"number":38,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 38, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector."],"number":39,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 38, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged substantially along an arc, wherein the focal spots define a plane that is substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector."],"number":40,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 38, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on an anode."],"number":41,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 38, wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of individually controllable electron field emission cathodes and one or more x-ray anodes."],"number":42,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["The method of claim 42, wherein the electron field emission cathodes include at least one of the following: nanowires, nanotubes, and carbon nanotubes."],"number":43,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false},{"lines":["A method of producing fan-beam reconstructed tomography images of an object using a cone beam x-ray source, the method comprising:\n
providing a plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources spatially distributed in a substantially linear array;\n
irradiating the object with x-ray cone beams produced by the x-ray sources to generate two-dimensional projection images of the object;\n
placing a linear anti-scattering grid between the object and the detector to reduce scatter of the x-ray cone beams;\n
detecting the two-dimensional projection images of the object;\n
dividing the two-dimensional projection images into groups of one-dimensional data;\n
reconstructing slice images of the object from the groups of one-dimensional data; and\n
merging the slice images of the object to form a three-dimensional image of the object."],"number":44,"annotation":false,"claim":true,"title":false}]}},"filters":{"npl":[],"notNpl":[],"applicant":[],"notApplicant":[],"inventor":[],"notInventor":[],"owner":[],"notOwner":[],"tags":[],"dates":[],"types":[],"notTypes":[],"j":[],"notJ":[],"fj":[],"notFj":[],"classIpcr":[],"notClassIpcr":[],"classNat":[],"notClassNat":[],"classCpc":[],"notClassCpc":[],"so":[],"notSo":[],"sat":[]},"sequenceFilters":{"s":"SEQIDNO","d":"ASCENDING","p":0,"n":10,"sp":[],"si":[],"len":[],"t":[],"loc":[]}}