Double-pulsed X-ray source and applications
Inventors
Singh, Bipin • Nagarkar, Vivek V.
Assignees
Radiation Monitorng Devices Inc • Radiation Monitoring Devices Inc
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Publication Number
US-11103207-B1
Publication Date
2021-08-31
Expiration Date
Abstract
Systems that can overcome the limitations of current blood flow measurement systems and systems that can track in 3D the explosively driven fragments traveling at 1,000 m/s or faster, will provide temporal resolution of 1 μs, spatial resolution of 50 μm to 1 mm (or finer based on geometry), and allow imaging over at least 122×122 cm2 area are disclosed hereinbelow. These systems use a double-pulsed X-ray generator.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a double pulsed X-ray source that includes an X-ray tube driven by a high-voltage source comprising a plurality of circuits. Each circuit includes a two terminal input port supplied by a DC voltage source, first and second high-voltage switches, and a transformer with a predetermined turn ratio. A first capacitor is connected between the output terminal of the first high-voltage switch and the primary winding, where the first capacitor and transformer leakage inductance constitute a resonant circuit.
The resonant circuit is combined with a second capacitor connected from a first terminal of the secondary winding to a second terminal of the secondary winding, and a resistor in parallel with the second capacitor configured to extinguish an output in a predetermined time. A controller unit is operatively connected to the first high-voltage switch and the second high-voltage switch and is configured to provide pulses that, when provided to the X-ray tube, result in the double pulsed X-ray source.
The high-voltage source is organized such that, in a first circuit from the plurality of circuits, a secondary-winding terminal is connected to a corresponding terminal of a subsequent circuit, and in intermediate circuits the terminal connections alternate between preceding and subsequent circuits. In a last circuit, the remaining secondary-winding terminal is connected to a terminal of a preceding circuit. The invention further provides an imaging system and a method in which the double pulsed X-ray source illuminates a section of fluid flow, and x-rays received after propagating through the flowing fluid are processed by one or more scintillators and detectors to obtain preselected characteristics of the flowing fluid.
Claims Coverage
The partial content includes two independent claims: a system claim directed to a double pulsed X-ray source, and a method claim directed to measurements of a flowing fluid using that source with a specified pulse separation range. Across these independent claims, the main inventive features are the multi-circuit, controller-driven resonant double-pulse X-ray source and the flowing-fluid measurement method using double-pulsed illumination with pulse separation between 25 μs and 100 μs, scintillator conversion, and detector output used to obtain preselected characteristics.
Multi-circuit controller-driven double pulsed X-ray source with resonant circuitry
A double pulsed X-ray source comprising an X-ray tube; a high-voltage source comprising a plurality of circuits, each circuit having a DC voltage supply connected to a two terminal input port; first and second high-voltage switches connected to the input port to generate pulses; a transformer having a predetermined turn ratio; a first capacitor connected between an output of the first high-voltage switch and a primary winding terminal, where the first capacitor and a leakage inductance of the transformer constitute a resonant circuit; and a second capacitor with a parallel resistor connected to extinguish an output in a predetermined time; and a controller unit operatively connected to the first and second high-voltage switches and configured to provide pulses that result in the double pulsed X-ray source.
Serially interconnected transformer secondary terminals across plural circuits sequenced by a controller
The controller unit provides pulses to the X-ray tube, and the plurality of circuits are interconnected so that in a first circuit a secondary winding terminal is connected to a terminal of a subsequent circuit; in every subsequent circuit except a last circuit the secondary winding terminals are cross-connected between a subsequent circuit and a preceding circuit; and in the last circuit the secondary winding terminal is connected to a terminal of a preceding circuit.
Flowing fluid measurement using double pulsed illumination with 25–100 μs separation, scintillators, and detector outputs
A method for measurements of a flowing fluid comprising illuminating a section of fluid flow with at least one double pulsed X-ray source where two pulses are separated by between 25 μs and 100 μs; receiving x-rays after illuminating and propagating through the flowing fluid at one or more scintillators; providing an output of the one or more scintillators to one or more detectors; and using an output from the one or more detectors to obtain preselected characteristics of the flowing fluid.
The independent claims collectively cover a double pulsed X-ray source architecture implemented with a multi-circuit high-voltage system, controller sequencing, and resonant double-pulse generation using transformer leakage inductance plus an extinguishing capacitor/resistor network, and a flowing-fluid measurement method that uses the double pulsed illumination with a defined 25–100 μs pulse separation, scintillator conversion, and detector outputs to obtain preselected characteristics of the flowing fluid.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
An imaging system that uses a double pulsed x-ray source to illuminate a flowing fluid, with resulting x-rays passed through a scintillator and delivered by an optical unit to a detector [imaging system context provided in the partial content].
Measurements of flowing fluid, where x-rays are received after propagating through the flowing fluid at one or more scintillators, and detector outputs are used to obtain preselected characteristics of the flowing fluid [method claim context provided in the partial content].
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