An imaging system (IS) including device (G, IFD) for phase contrast and/or dark field imaging such as a grating (G). The device has a periodic structure with a spatial period p. The imaging system (IS) further includes a phase stepping mechanism (PSM) configured to facilitate a relative phase stepping motion between the device (G, IFD) and a focal spot (FS) of an X-ray source (XS) of the imaging system (IS). The relative phase stepping motion covers a distance greater than the said spatial period to reduce artifacts in dark-field or phase contrast imagery caused by defects in the grating.

A mask for use in compressed sensing of incoming radiation includes a material that modulates an intensity of incoming radiation, a plurality of mask aperture regions, and one or more axes of rotational symmetry with respect to the mask aperture regions. Each mask aperture region includes at least one mask aperture that allows a higher transmission of the incoming radiation relative to other portions of the mask aperture region. The relative transmission sufficient to allow a reconstruction of compressed sensing measurements and has a shape that provides a symmetry under rotation about the one or more axes of rotational symmetry. A mutual coherence of a sensing matrix generated by a rotation of the plurality of mask aperture regions is less than one. An imaging system for compressed sensing of incoming radiation including such a mask is also provided.

The disclosure provides systems and methods for adjusting a multi-leaf collimator (MLC). The MLC includes a plurality of cross-layer leaf pairs, each cross-layer leaf pair of the plurality of cross-layer leaf pairs includes a first leaf located in a first layer of leaves and a second leaf opposingly located in a second layer of leaves. For at least one cross-layer leaf pair, an effective cross-layer leaf gap to be formed between the first leaf and the second leaf may be determined; at least one of the first leaf or the second leaf may be caused to move to form the effective cross-layer leaf gap; and an in-layer leaf gap may be caused, based on the effective cross-layer leaf gap, to be formed between the first leaf and an opposing first leaf in the first layer. A size of the in-layer leaf gap may be no less than a threshold.

An x-ray scanning system includes an x-ray source that produces a collimated fan beam of incident x-ray radiation. The system also includes a chopper wheel that can be irradiated by the collimated fan beam. The chopper wheel is oriented with a wheel plane containing the chopper wheel substantially non-perpendicular relative to a beam plane containing the collimated fan beam. In various embodiments, a disk chopper wheel's effective thickness is increased, allowing x-ray scanning with end point energies of hundreds of keV using relatively thinner, lighter, and less costly chopper wheel disks. Backscatter detectors can be mounted to an exterior surface of a vehicle housing the x-ray source, and slits in the disk chopper wheel can be tapered for more uniform target irradiation.

The disclosure provides systems and methods for adjusting a multi-leaf collimator (MLC). The MLC includes a plurality of cross-layer leaf pairs, each cross-layer leaf pair of the plurality of cross-layer leaf pairs includes a first leaf located in a first layer of leaves and a second leaf opposingly located in a second layer of leaves. For at least one cross-layer leaf pair, an effective cross-layer leaf gap to be formed between the first leaf and the second leaf may be determined; at least one of the first leaf or the second leaf may be caused to move to form the effective cross-layer leaf gap; and an in-layer leaf gap may be caused, based on the effective cross-layer leaf gap, to be formed between the first leaf and an opposing first leaf in the first layer. A size of the in-layer leaf gap may be no less than a threshold.

Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a combined scanning X-ray generator, a composite inspection apparatus and an inspection method. The combined scanning X-ray generator includes: a housing; an anode arranged in the housing, the anode including a first end of the anode and a second end of the anode opposite the first end of the anode; a pencil beam radiation source arranged at the first end of the anode and configured to emit a pencil X-ray beam; and a fan beam radiation source arranged at the second end of the anode and configured to emit a fan X-ray beam; wherein the pencil beam radiation source and the fan beam radiation source are operated independently.

A chopper wheel assembly includes a collimator configured to narrow an x-ray beam, a chopper wheel has a planar surface configured to face in a direction of the collimator and a housing configured to receive the chopper wheel. The chopper wheel includes a central axis, a plurality of slits in the planar surface, a first projection extending from the planar surface in a direction of the collimator and a second projection extending from the planar surface in the direction of the collimator. The slits extend in radially-outward direction relative to the central axis. The first projection is located radially outward of the plurality of slits and the second projection is located radially inward of the plurality of slits. Each projection is provided for 360 degrees about the central axis. The housing includes an interior wall including a first groove configured to receive the first projection and a second groove configured to receive the second projection with the chopper wheel received within the housing.

An x-ray scanning system, and corresponding method, includes an x-ray source that produces incident x-ray radiation having end-point x-ray energy, which, in various embodiments, can be greater than about 200 keV, between about 200 keV and about 500 keV, or greater than about 500 keV. The system also includes a disk chopper wheel that can be irradiated by and attenuate the incident x-ray radiation. The disk chopper wheel further defines one or more slits configured to pass the incident x-ray radiation through the disk chopper wheel for scanning a target. In some embodiments, the high end-point x-ray energies with disk chopper wheels are facilitated by forming the incident x-ray radiation as a collimated fan beam and/or orienting the chopper wheel with a wheel plane substantially non-perpendicular to a fan beam plane, increasing effective thickness of a disk chopper wheel to attenuate incident x-rays of higher energies.

An x-ray scanning system includes an x-ray source that produces a collimated fan beam of incident x-ray radiation. The system also includes a chopper wheel that can be irradiated by the collimated fan beam. The chopper wheel is oriented with a wheel plane containing the chopper wheel substantially non-perpendicular relative to a beam plane containing the collimated fan beam. In various embodiments, a disk chopper wheel's effective thickness is increased, allowing x-ray scanning with end point energies of hundreds of keV using relatively thinner, lighter, and less costly chopper wheel disks. Backscatter detectors can be mounted to an exterior surface of a vehicle housing the x-ray source, and slits in the disk chopper wheel can be tapered for more uniform target irradiation.

The present disclosure provides a computed tomography apparatus and a method for capturing a tomographic image by the same. The device includes: a radiation source configured to emit X rays; a radiation source window; a baffle having a through-hole therein; a control module connected to the baffle via a drive device, configured to control a rotation center of a rotation arm of the apparatus according to a preset photographing condition to determine a photographing position to be captured, and to regulate the baffle via the drive device according to a position of a partial area of a target object when the photographing position is the partial area; and the area array detector configured to convert received X rays penetrating through the through-hole and the partial area to a projection image.