METHOD OF PRODUCING 3D TOMOSYNTHESIS IMAGES OF A COMPOSITE MATERIAL

Abstract

To identify and/or assess structural integrity of a composite material comprising fiduciary markers which attenuate x-rays to an extent greater than the rest of the material, a method is provided wherein x-ray 3D tomosynthesis images of the composite material are created using an array of x-ray emitters and a digital x-ray detector wherein the array of x-ray emitters and the digital x-ray detector are maintained in fixed relation to one another and to the composite material, the 3D tomosynthesis images being used to determine the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another; a database is provided for storing the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another, further x-ray 3D tomosynthesis images of the same, or a different, composite material may be checked against the data in the database to ascertain structural integrity and/or identity of the material.

Claims

1. A method of producing 3D tomosynthesis images of at least a portion of a composite material, the composite material including fiber mixed with resinous material, and a plurality of fiduciary markers, the fiduciary markers comprising elements which attenuate x-rays to an extent greater than the fiber and resinous material such that their location within the portion of composite material is determinable by x-ray imaging, the method comprising the step of providing a composite material, providing an array of x-ray emitters and a digital x-ray detector wherein the array of x-ray emitters and the digital x-ray detector are maintained in fixed relation to one another and to the composite material, x-ray imaging at least a portion of the composite material to provide a first set of 3D tomosynthesis images to determine the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another, providing a database and storing the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another in the database.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of comparing the relative locations of the at least some of the fiduciary markers with a predetermined set of locations to evaluate the quality of the composite material.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of x-ray imaging the portion of composite material at a point in time after the initial imaging to provide a second set of 3D tomosynthesis images to determine the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another; and comparing the relative locations of the fiduciary markers in the first and second sets of 3D tomosynthesis images to evaluate the occurrence of change in the structural integrity of the portion of composite material.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of x-ray imaging at least a portion of another composite material to provide another set of 3D tomosynthesis images to determine the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another; and comparing the relative locations of the fiduciary markers in the first set and other set of 3D tomosynthesis images to evaluate the identity of the other composite material.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of evaluating the identity of the other composite material includes the step of determining if the other composite material is a counterfeit product.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of evaluating the identity of the other composite material includes the step of interrogating the database.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing 2D x-ray imaging apparatus and x-ray imaging at least a portion of the composite material to provide a 2D x-ray image to determine the relative location of at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another; and comparing the relative locations of the fiduciary markers in the 2D image with the first set of images to evaluate the identity of the other composite material.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of evaluating the identity of the other composite material includes the step of determining if the other composite material is a counterfeit product.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of evaluating the identity of the other composite material includes the step of interrogating the database.

10. The method of claim 1, further including the step of providing a processor and using the processor to determine the relative location of the at least some of the fiduciary markers with respect to one another.

11. The method of claim 1, further including the step of repeatedly moving either or both of the array of x-ray emitters and the digital x-ray detector to a different portion of the composite material for x-ray imaging thereof, so as to x-ray image multiple portions of a composite material, wherein the array of x-ray emitters and the digital x-ray detector are maintained in fixed relation to one another and to the composite material at the time of x-ray imaging.

12. The method of claim 11, further including the step of processing the various sets of x-ray images obtained for each portion of the composite material to create a single set of contiguous images of the composite material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] The above and other characteristics, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. This description is given for the sake of example only, without limiting the scope of the invention. The reference figures quoted below refer to the attached drawings.

[0061] FIG. 1 is flow chart showing a series of steps for producing a composite material and for generating and checking keys;

[0062] FIG. 2 is an x-ray image of a composite material;

[0063] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an x-ray imaging system; and

[0064] FIG. 4 is an x-ray image of another composite material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] The present invention will be described with respect to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. Each drawing may not include all of the features of the invention and therefore should not necessarily be considered to be an embodiment of the invention. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

[0066] Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking or in any other manner. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that operation is capable in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. Likewise, method steps described or claimed in a particular sequence may be understood to operate in a different sequence.

[0067] Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that operation is capable in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

[0068] It is to be noticed that the term “comprising”, used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It is thus to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device comprising means A and B” should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.

[0069] Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term “connected”, used in the description, should not be interpreted as being restricted to direct connections only. Thus, the scope of the expression “a device A connected to a device B” should not be limited to devices or systems wherein an output of device A is directly connected to an input of device B. It means that there exists a path between an output of A and an input of B which may be a path including other devices or means. “Connected” may mean that two or more elements are either in direct physical or electrical contact, or that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. For instance, wireless connectivity is contemplated.

[0070] Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment” or “an aspect” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or aspect is included in at least one embodiment or aspect of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in an aspect” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or aspect, but may refer to different embodiments or aspects. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics of any one embodiment or aspect of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner with any other particular feature, structure or characteristic of another embodiment or aspect of the invention, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, in one or more embodiments or aspects.

[0071] Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Moreover, the description of any individual drawing or aspect should not necessarily be considered to be an embodiment of the invention. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in fewer than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

[0072] Furthermore, while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention, and form yet further embodiments, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. For example, in the following claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0073] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

[0074] In the discussion of the invention, unless stated to the contrary, the disclosure of alternative values for the upper or lower limit of the permitted range of a parameter, coupled with an indication that one of said values is more highly preferred than the other, is to be construed as an implied statement that each intermediate value of said parameter, lying between the more preferred and the less preferred of said alternatives, is itself preferred to said less preferred value and also to each value lying between said less preferred value and said intermediate value.

[0075] The use of the term “at least one” may mean only one in certain circumstances. The use of the term “any” may mean “all” and/or “each” in certain circumstances.

[0076] The principles of the invention will now be described by a detailed description of at least one drawing relating to exemplary features. It is clear that other arrangements can be configured according to the knowledge of persons skilled in the art without departing from the underlying concept or technical teaching, the invention being limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

[0077] FIG. 1 portrays the basic method steps 100 in a typical process of manufacture including checking the identity and/or structural integrity of the composite material.

[0078] In the first step 10, the resinous material is mixed with the fiduciary markers. In the second step 20, the mixed resinous material and fiduciary markers is applied to fibers. A mold may be employed to form a specific shape. The resulting composite material is then cured in the third step 30. Vacuum forming and the application of heat may be employed in the forming and curing steps.

[0079] The resulting composite material is then x-ray imaged in the fourth step 40. The x-ray images are then processed in the fifth step 50 to generate a unique key based on the location of the fiduciary markers relative to one another.

[0080] This key is then recorded in a database 65 in the sixth step 60.

[0081] At this point the key may be compared to a “standard” key, possibly stored in the database to check the integrity of the material. In other words, to check that its structure complies with pre-determined quality control requirements.

[0082] At a later time, the composite material may also be x-ray imaged in the seventh step 70. The x-ray images may then be processed in the eighth step 80 to generate a key based on the location of the fiduciary markers relative to one another.

[0083] This key may then be compared in the ninth step 90 to various keys stored in the database 65 from the sixth step 60. The comparison may confirm the identity of the composite material or may reveal that it is counterfeit, in that no such key exists. Alternatively, or additionally, the comparison of the later key with a previous key for the same composite material may be used to assess its structural integrity in that the markers are in the same place or have moved indicating failure within the material.

[0084] It is to be understood that the material imaged in the seventh step 70 may be different from the material imaged in the fourth step 40. This may allow the determination of the identity of the new material and/or to determine if it is counterfeit.

[0085] The key may be a set of co-ordinates of the location of all or some of the fiduciary markers identified in the images.

[0086] FIG. 2 shows an example of an x-ray image of a composite material 200. Within the image various speckles are visible. Some speckles 210 may relate to the fiduciary markers. Other speckles 220 may relate to material sensitive to ionizing radiation. Further speckles 230 may relate to carbon nanotubes with metallic cores. The location of the markers relative to one another may be determined. Alternatively, and/or additionally, the location of at least some of the markers may be determined relative to a datum, such as the base 240 of the material 200.

[0087] An example x-ray imaging system 300 is shown in FIG. 3. It comprises x-ray emitters 305, which may be one or more flat panel arrays, and a detector 310. A composite material 200 is arranged between the two and is subjected to x-rays 320. The resultant images are processed in a processor 330 to generate keys. The processor may be connected to a database 65 for storing images and/or the keys generated therefore. It will be understood that the processor 330 and/or database 65 may be located distal from the x-ray emitters 305 and detector 310.

[0088] A monitor 340 is provided for controlling the system 300.

[0089] FIG. 4 is a depiction of an example composite material 400 wherein the fiduciary markers 410 are arranged in a regular pattern. This pattern may also be the result of the markers being arranged at defined intervals on a fiber within the material. This view is a 2D slice through the material. It is to be understood that the regular pattern may be arranged in more than one plane through the material.