A medical imaging device including an imaging gantry supported in a medical facility and movable relative to a patient positioning device. The imaging device may further include a drive system coupled to the imaging gantry and operable to effect movement of the imaging gantry. The medical imaging device may further include a control system in communication with the drive system and configured to control movement of the imaging gantry.

A system for detecting a scanning beam of x-rays includes one or more scintillator volumes oriented along an x-ray scan axis. The scintillator volume(s) receive x-rays transmitted through a target and produce scintillation photons responsively. Two or more ribbons of wavelength-shifting fibers (WSFs) are optically coupled to the scintillator volume(s) along the axis via a spatial periodic adjacency of the ribbons to the axis. The ribbons receive scintillation photons from the scintillator volume(s) via the spatial periodic adjacency as the x-ray beam scans over the scan axis. At least one respective photodetector coupled to an end of each respective ribbon detects the scintillation photons carried by the respective ribbon produces a respective signal. A signal combiner selectively combines signals from one or more ribbons, for beam positions along the scan axis, to create a combined signal representing a scan of the target. The scan can have enhanced spatial resolution.

An x-ray imaging apparatus and associated methods are provided to execute multi-pass imaging scans for improved quality and workflow. An imaging scan can be segmented into multiple passes that are faster than the full imaging scan. Data received by an initial scan pass can be utilized early in the workflow and of sufficient quality for treatment setup, including while the another scan pass is executed to generate data needed for higher quality images, which may be needed for treatment planning. In one embodiment, a data acquisition and reconstruction technique is used when the detector is offset in the channel and/or axial direction for a large FOV during multiple passes.

A method includes providing a target object and acquiring measured images of the target object. Each of the measured images is acquired by filtering radiation from the target object by a mask having multiple holes and detecting filtered radiation by a detector. The method further includes providing an estimated image of the target object and calculating an updating factor for each of the measured images. The calculating of the updating factor includes partitioning a mathematical representation of the mask into multiple first regions; for each of the first regions, deriving a separate forward projection from the estimated image of the target object and the respective first region; and comparing the respective measured image of the target object with the forward projections. The method further includes updating the estimated image of the target object based on the updating factors.

Multimodal imaging apparatus and methods include a rotatable gantry system with multiple sources of radiation comprising different energy levels (for example, kV and MV). Fast slip-ring technology and helical scans allow data from multiple sources of radiation to be combined or utilized to generate improved images and workflows, including for IGRT. Features include large field-of-view (LFOV) MV imaging, kV region-of-interest (ROI) imaging, and scalable field-of-view (SFOV) dual energy imaging.

A radiotherapy delivery device is provided. The device includes a source of therapeutic radiation and a first detector positioned to receive radiation from the source of therapeutic radiation. The device also includes a source of imaging radiation and a second detector positioned to receive radiation from the source of imaging radiation. A collimator assembly is positioned relative to the second source of radiation to selectively control a shape of a radiation beam emitted by the second radiation source to selectively expose part or the whole of the second radiation detector. A reconstruction processor can be operatively coupled to the detector and configured to generate patient images based on radiation received by the second detector from the second source of radiation. The device is configured to move from one imaging geometry to another using all or part of the second detector.

A computed tomography (CT) system and method is provided. The CT system is used to carry out an image improvement method in which a prior or previously-acquired patient image can be used to supplement or otherwise improve an acquired CT image, wherein the acquired projection data representative of the acquired CT image might be truncated or otherwise incomplete/insufficient to accurately and stably recover the scanned object/patient.

A multi-spectral tomography imaging system includes one or more source devices configured to direct beams of radiation in multiple spectra to a region of interest (ROI), and one or more detectors configured to receive the beams of radiation. The system includes a processor configured to cause movement in at least one of the components such that a first beam of radiation with a first spectrum is directed to the ROI for less than 360 degrees of movement of the ROI. The processor is also configured to process data detected by the one or more detectors, where the data results at least in part from the first beam of radiation with the first spectrum that is directed to the ROI for less than the 360 degrees of movement of the ROI. The processor is further configured to generate an image of the ROI based on the processed data.

A multi-spectral tomography imaging system includes one or more source devices configured to direct beams of radiation in multiple spectra to a region of interest (ROI), and one or more detectors configured to receive the beams of radiation. The system includes a processor configured to cause movement in at least one of the components such that a first beam of radiation with a first spectrum is directed to the ROI for less than 360 degrees of movement of the ROI. The processor is also configured to process data detected by the one or more detectors, where the data results at least in part from the first beam of radiation with the first spectrum that is directed to the ROI for less than the 360 degrees of movement of the ROI. The processor is further configured to generate an image of the ROI based on the processed data.

A method of scanning parameter optimization, which method may be useful with image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), allows for controlling exposure of a beam from an x-ray source and/or controlling the detection mechanism for an x-ray detector of imaging radiation of a radiation-delivery device based on one or more parameters of a region of interest of a patient. The one or more parameters of the region of interest may include a dimension, outer contour, density, location relative to an outlet of the beam, location relative to isocenter, location to the whole patient body, etc. Exposure of the patient to the beam may be varied via modulation of one or more scanning parameters for controlling an aspect of the beam and/or the detector to provide for targeted and or reduced radiation exposure of the patient or portion of the patient, and/or for improved quality of guiding images. The modulation may be varied depending on a view angle of the region of interest from a portion of the radiation-delivery device.