Radiographic imaging apparatus and method of controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9844357-B2
Application number	US-201514695170-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 24, 2015
Priority date	Oct 28, 2014
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

A radiographic imaging apparatus includes a radiation irradiator configured to irradiate radiation to an object; a radiation detector configured to detect an intensity of the radiation passing through the object; and a loader configured to load the object, and at least one of a movement speed of the loader and a range of radiation irradiation of the radiation irradiator is changed according to a change in the intensity of the radiation, when the change in the intensity of the radiation is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A radiographic imaging apparatus, comprising:
a radiation irradiator configured to irradiate radiation to an object;
a radiation detector configured to detect an intensity of the radiation passing through the object;
a loader configured to load the object;
a controller configured to divide the object into one or more zones based on the intensity of the radiation, and
wherein the controller is further configured to change at least one of a movement speed of the loader and a range of radiation irradiation of the radiation irradiator according to a change in the intensity of the radiation with respect to a zone of the object, when the change in the intensity of the radiation in the zone is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain a current tube current with respect to the one or more zones of the object, based on the intensity of the radiation in the one or more zones of the object.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the controller is further configured to determine a next tube current of a zone, in which the change in the intensity of the radiation is greater than or equal to the threshold value, according to the change in the intensity of the radiation; and
the radiation irradiator is further configured to irradiate the radiation to the object corresponding to the next tube current of the zone.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the controller determines one or more equivalent objects corresponding to the one or more zones of the object based on the intensity of the radiation passing through the object, a width of the one or more zones being determined based on a width of a corresponding equivalent object.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain an average value of the current tube current obtained with respect to one or more zones, and the controller is further configured to determine a next tube current of a zone based on the average value of the current tube current when the change in the intensity of the radiation is smaller than the threshold value.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller changes at least one of the movement speed of the loader and the range of the radiation irradiation while maintaining a substantially constant ratio of a value of the movement speed of the loader to a value of the range of the radiation irradiation.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a next tube current with respect to one or more zones of the object, wherein:
the radiation irradiator is further configured to irradiate the radiation to a zone of the object according to a next tube current determined with respect to the zone; and
the controller is further configured to maintain a total amount of the next tube current with respect to the one or more zones to be substantially constant.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller changes the movement speed of the loader inversely proportional to the change in the intensity of the radiation, when the change in the intensity of the radiation is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller changes the range of the radiation irradiation of the radiation irradiator inversely proportional to the change in the intensity of the radiation, when the change in the intensity of the radiation is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller changes a number of rotations of the radiation irradiator according to the change in the intensity of the radiation, when the change in the intensity of the radiation is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain one or more zones of the object by dividing the object based on the intensity of the radiation.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an input unit configured to receive, from a user, an input of at least one of an image quality, the range of the radiation irradiation, the movement speed of the loader, and a pitch.

13. A method of controlling a radiographic imaging apparatus, the method comprising:
irradiating radiation to an object;
detecting an intensity of the radiation passing through the object;
dividing the object into one or more zones based on the intensity of the radiation; and
controlling at least one of a movement speed of a loader configured to load the object and a range of radiation irradiation according to a change in the intensity of the radiation with respect to a zone of the object, when the change in the intensity of the radiation in the zone is greater than or equal to a zone threshold value.

14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising:
obtaining a current tube current with respect to one or more zones of the object based on the intensity of the radiation; and
determining a next tube current of a zone, in which the change in the intensity of the radiation is greater than or equal to the threshold value, according to the change in the intensity of the radiation.

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the controlling further comprises controlling at least one of the movement speed of the loader configured to load the object and the range of the radiation irradiation according to the change in the intensity of the radiation, while maintaining a substantially constant ratio of a value of the movement speed of the loader to a value of the range of the radiation irradiation.

16. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising obtaining a current tube current of each zone of the object based on an average value of the intensity of the radiation in the each zone of the object.

17. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the controlling further comprises performing control such that the movement speed of the loader is changed inversely proportional to the change in the intensity of the radiation with respect to a zone of the object, when the change in the intensity of the radiation in the zone is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

18. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the controlling comprises performing control such that the range of the radiation irradiation is changed inversely proportional to the change in the intensity of the radiation with respect to a zone of the object, when the change in the intensity of the radiation in the zone is greater than or equal to the threshold value.

19. A radiographic imaging apparatus, comprising:
a radiographic imaging unit configured to obtain a radiographic image with respect to an object; and
a processor configured to obtain attenuation information of the object based on the radiographic image and obtain one or more zones of the object by dividing the object based on the attenuation information,
wherein the processor is configured to change at least one of a plurality of parameters for driving the radiographic imaging unit with respect to a zone of the object based on a change in the attenuation information in a corresponding zone,
wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain a current tube current with respect to the one or more zones based on the attenuation information,
when the change in the attenuation information in a first zone of the object is smaller than a threshold, determine a next tub

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Chang Lae
• Toshihiro Rifu
• Jung Ji Young
• Yi Jong Hyon

Classifications

• A61B6/06

  Diaphragms · CPC title

• A61B6/405

  Source units specially adapted to modify characteristics of the beam during the data acquisition process (A61B6/4021, A61B6/4035 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01N23/04 Primary

  and forming images of the material · CPC title

• A61B6/10

  Safety means specially adapted therefor · CPC title

• A61B6/4291

  the detector being combined with a grid or grating · CPC title