Design and characterization of electron beam focusing for X-ray generation in novel medical imaging architecture.
A novel electron beam focusing scheme for medical X-ray sources is described in this paper. Most vacuum based medical X-ray sources today employ a tungsten filament operated in temperature limited regime, with electrostatic focusing tabs for limited range beam optics. This paper presents the electron beam optics designed for the first distributed X-ray source in the world for Computed Tomography (CT) applications. This distributed source includes 32 electron beamlets in a common vacuum chamber, with 32 circular dispenser cathodes operated in space charge limited regime, where the initial circular beam is transformed into an elliptical beam before being collected at the anode. The electron beam optics designed and validated here are at the heart of the first Inverse Geometry CT system, with potential benefits in terms of improved image quality and dramatic X-ray dose reduction for the patient.
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
V
V
Bogdan Neculaes
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Yun
Y
Zou
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Peter
P
Zavodszky
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Louis
L
Inzinna
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Xi
X
Zhang
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Kenneth
K
Conway
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Antonio
A
Caiafa
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Kristopher
K
Frutschy
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
William
W
Waters
GE Global Research, Niskayuna, New York 12309, USA.
Bruno
B
De Man