Evaluation unit for an x-ray detector, x-ray detector, medical imaging device and method for operating an x-ray detector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12099151-B2
Application number	US-202117409973-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 24, 2021
Priority date	Aug 31, 2020
Publication date	Sep 24, 2024
Grant date	Sep 24, 2024

Abstract

An evaluation circuit for an x-ray detector for signaling coupling to a converter, designed to convert incident x-radiation into electrical signals. In at least one embodiment, the evaluation circuit includes a multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules. A respective pixel-electronics module is designed to process electrical signals fed into the respective pixel-electronics module from the converter, order to produce a respective digital pixel-measurement signal. Further, each of the respective pixel-electronics modules has at least one respective settable digital signal-processor, designed to adapt a respective processed digital pixel-measurement signal in a respective pixel-electronics module.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An evaluation circuit for an x-ray detector for signaling coupling to a converter, the converter being configured to convert incident x-radiation into electrical signals, and the evaluation circuit comprising:
a multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules, each respective pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules including at least one counter or at least one integrating pixel-electronics module, the at least one counter or the at least one integrating pixel-electronics module configured to process the electrical signals to produce a corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal, the electrical signals being fed into the respective pixel-electronics module from the converter, each respective pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules including at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor configured to adapt the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal in the respective pixel-electronics module by performing at least one operation on the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal, and the at least one operation being set based on at least one configuration parameter input to the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor.

2. The evaluation circuit of claim 1 , wherein the evaluation circuit includes an application-specific integrated readout circuit.

3. The evaluation circuit of claim 2 , wherein
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor of the respective pixel-electronics module comprises a respective measurement value store, the respective measurement value store being configured to receive the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal; and
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor is configured to adapt the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal received by the respective measurement value store.

4. The evaluation circuit of claim 2 , wherein
the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal is a corresponding current digital pixel-measurement signal; and
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor is configured to adapt the corresponding current digital pixel-measurement signal based on
at least one corresponding previously processed digital pixel-measurement signal, or
at least one digital pixel-measurement signal of an adjacent pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules.

5. The evaluation circuit of claim 2 , wherein the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor comprises a digital circuit element including at least one of
an adding element,
a multiplying element,
a dividing element,
a calculation element for an exponential function, or
a multiplexer.

6. The evaluation circuit of claim 2 , wherein the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor comprises a storage element for at least one adaptation parameter or the at least one configuration parameter, the at least one adaptation parameter or the at least one configuration parameter being for adjusting the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor.

7. The evaluation circuit of claim 2 , further comprising:
a storage element for at least one adaptation parameter or the at least one configuration parameter, the at least one adaptation parameter or the at least one configuration parameter being for adjusting the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor of each respective pixel-electronics module among a plurality of the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules.

8. The evaluation circuit of claim 2 , wherein
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor comprises a processor core including an arithmetic-logic unit; and
the at least one operation includes at least one of an arithmetic operation or a logic operation.

9. The evaluation circuit of claim 8 , further comprising:
a program store to store a program code for setting the processor core of the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor of a first respective pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules.

10. The evaluation circuit of claim 9 , wherein the program store is configured for the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor of each respective pixel-electronics module among a plurality of the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules.

11. An x-ray detector, comprising:
the evaluation circuit of claim 8 ; and
the converter, each respective pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules being coupled in an electrically conductive manner to the converter to feed the electrical signals into the respective pixel-electronics module.

12. A medical imaging device, comprising:
at least one of the x-ray detector of claim 11 ; and
an x-ray source situated opposite the at least one x-ray detector, the x-ray source being configured to expose the at least one x-ray detector to x-radiation.

13. The medical imaging device of claim 12 , wherein the medical imaging device comprises a computed tomography apparatus.

14. An x-ray detector, comprising:
the evaluation circuit of claim 2 ; and
the converter, each respective pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules being coupled in an electrically conductive manner to the converter to feed the electrical signals into the respective pixel-electronics module.

15. A medical imaging device, comprising:
at least one of the x-ray detector of claim 14 ; and
an x-ray source situated opposite the at least one x-ray detector, the x-ray source being configured to expose the at least one x-ray detector to x-radiation.

16. The medical imaging device of claim 15 , wherein the medical imaging device comprises a computed tomography apparatus.

17. The evaluation circuit of claim 1 , wherein
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor of the respective pixel-electronics module comprises a respective measurement value store, the respective measurement value store being configured to receive the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal; and
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor is configured to adapt the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal received by the respective measurement value store.

18. The evaluation circuit of claim 1 , wherein
the corresponding processed digital pixel-measurement signal is a corresponding current digital pixel-measurement signal; and
the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor is configured to adapt the corresponding current digital pixel-measurement signal based on
at least one corresponding previously processed digital pixel-measurement signal, or
at least one digital pixel-measurement signal of an adjacent pixel-electronics module among the multiplicity of pixel-electronics modules.

19. The evaluation circuit of claim 1 , wherein the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor comprises a digital circuit element including at least one of
an adding element,
a multiplying element,
a dividing element,
a calculation element for an exponential function, or
a multiplexer.

20. The evaluation circuit of claim 1 , wherein the at least one corresponding settable digital signal-processor comprises a storage element for at least one adaptation parameter or the at least on

Assignees

• Siemens Healthcare Gmbh
• Siemens Healthineers Ag

Inventors

• Hosemann Michael

Classifications

• H04N23/30

  for generating image signals from X-rays · CPC title

• A61B6/032

  Transmission computed tomography [CT] · CPC title

• H04N25/78

  Readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters · CPC title

• H04N25/79

  Arrangements of circuitry being divided between different or multiple substrates, chips or circuit boards, e.g. stacked image sensors · CPC title

• A61B6/4233

  using matrix detectors · CPC title