Stationary x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis systems and related methods

1. A stationary x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system comprising:

an field emission x-ray source that generates x-ray radiation from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots configured to image a human breast from different viewing angles by electronically activating a corresponding array of spatially distributed field emission cathodes;

an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images of the breast;

an electronic controller for activating the x-ray radiation from the different x-ray focal spots in the x-ray source in a sequence and for synchronizing x-ray exposure from a given focal spot with image collection by the x-ray detector; and

wherein tomography images of the breast are reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the breast collected from different viewing angles without moving any of the x-ray source, the breast, or the x-ray detector.

2. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source includes a plurality of focal spots arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector.

3. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source includes a plurality of focal spots arranged substantially along an arc, wherein the focal spots define a plane that is substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector, wherein all the x-ray focal spots are equal distance to an iso-center.

4. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source includes a plurality of focal spots arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on an x-ray anode.

5. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source includes focal spots of substantially the same size.

6. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source includes focal spots having sizes ranging between about 0.05 mm and about 2 mm.

7. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source is configured to generate cone-shaped x-ray beams, and wherein central axes of the x-ray beams are substantially directed towards an iso-center.

8. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic circuit to individually control the x-ray intensities from the different x-ray focal spots such that they can either be the same or be modulated to deliver a desired intensity or intensity distribution on the breast to be imaged.

9. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots in the x-ray source comprises between about 10 and 100 x-ray focal spots covering viewing angles of between 10° and 100° degrees.

10. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of individually controllable electron field emission cathodes, one or more x-ray anodes, and an electron focusing lens that focuses the electron beam from a cathode to a desired area on an x-ray anode.

11. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 10 , wherein the electron focusing lens is a modified Einzel type lens with a plurality of electrostatic focusing electrodes.

12. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 10 , wherein the electron field emission cathodes include at least one of the following: nanowires, nanotubes, and carbon nanotubes.

13. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , comprising a controller configured to adjust focal spot sizes of different x-ray beams.

14. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , comprising a controller including a field-effect-transistor based electronic circuit configured to activate the x-ray sources.

15. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , comprising an anti-scattering component positioned between the x-ray detector and the location for positioning the breast.

16. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 15 , wherein the anti-scattering component is adjustable based on a position of one or more of the x-ray sources being activated.

17. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray source comprises x-ray anodes configured at different voltages to produce x-ray radiation with two energies.

18. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 17 , wherein the x-ray source comprises 12 anodes configured at low voltage and 13 anodes configured at high voltage to enable the system for dual-energy imaging.

19. The electronic circuit of claim 8 , further comprising an array of variable resistors which are calibrated to compensate for variations in the performance of the cathodes.

20. A stationary x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system configured to image a human breast from different viewing angles for reconstruction without moving any of the source, the breast, or the detector, the system comprising:

a field emission x-ray source that generates x-ray radiation from an array of x-ray focal spots that are spatially distributed in a substantially straight line parallel to the imaging plane of the x-ray detector by electronically activating a corresponding array of spatially distributed field emission cathodes;

an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images of the breast;

an electronic controller for sequentially activating the x-ray radiation from the different x-ray focal spots and varying the intensity of the x-ray radiation based on the distance between the x-ray focal spot and the object breast to be imaged such that the x-ray dose delivered to the breast from every viewing angle is substantially the same; and

wherein tomography images of the breast are reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the breast collected from different viewing angles.

21. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 20 , wherein the x-ray source is configured to generate cone-shaped x-ray beams, and wherein a central axis of each of the x-ray beams is substantially directed towards an iso-center.

22. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 20 , wherein adjacent focal spots of the x-ray source have substantially the same angular spacing with respect to an iso-center.

23. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 20 , wherein the adjacent focal spots of the x-ray source have substantially the same linear spacing.

24. A stationary x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system configured to image a human breast from different viewing angles for reconstruction without moving any of the source, the breast, or the detector, the system comprising:

a field emission x-ray source that generates x-ray radiation from an array of x-ray focal spots that are spatially distributed along an arc substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector, wherein the focal spots are equal distance to the breast to be imaged by electronically activating a corresponding array of spatially distributed field emission cathodes;

an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images of the breast;

an electronic controller for sequentially activating the x-ray beam from the different x-ray focal spots and delivering the same x-ray tube current to each focal spot; and

wherein tomography images of the breast are reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the breast collected from different viewing angles.

25. A quasi-monochromatic x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system configured to image a human breast, the system comprising:

an x-ray source that generates scanning cone-beam x-ray radiation from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots;

one or more energy filters positioned between the x-ray source and an object to be, imaged;

an x-ray detector configured to collect projection images of the object;

an electronic control circuit that allows imaging of the object by simultaneously activating a plurality of x-ray beams at a given time based on a multiplexing imaging scheme, and synchronizes x-ray exposure with data collection by the x-ray detector; and

a computer in communication with the electronic control circuit for de-multiplexing the projection images;

wherein tomography images of the object are reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object collected from different viewing angles.

26. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 25 , wherein the one or more energy filters comprise a plurality of energy filters that are the same such that the x-ray radiations from each focal spots have substantially the same energy spectrum.

27. The device of claim 25 , wherein the one or more energy filters comprise a plurality of energy filters that are varied such that energy spectra from the x-ray focal spots are individually controlled.

28. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 25 , wherein the projection images are collected by the binary multiplexing scheme.

29. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 25 , wherein the projection images are collected by the frequency division multiplexing scheme.

30. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 25 , wherein the energy filter comprises Cerium and wherein the x-ray source comprises an x-ray anode that operates on a voltage in the range of 60-80 kV.

31. The x-ray digital breast tomosynthesis system of claim 25 , wherein the projection images from the different viewing angles are generated by electronically switching the x-ray beams from different focal spots without moving any of the x-ray source, the detector, or the patient.

32. A x-ray digital tomosynthesis system comprising:

a field emission x-ray source that generates a scanning x-ray beam from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots configured to image an object from different viewing angles for tomosynthesis reconstruction;

an array of energy filters positioned between the x-ray source and the object such that each of energy filters in the array filters the x-ray radiation from a corresponding x-ray focal spot;

an area x-ray detector configured to detect projection images of the object;

an electronic controller for activating the x-ray beam from different x-ray focal spots in a sequence, either one beam or a plurality of the beams simultaneously, and for synchronizing x-ray exposure with image collection by the x-ray detector; and

wherein tomography images of the object are reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object from different viewing angles.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein a dual energy tomosynthesis scan is generated without changing a voltage applied to the field emission x-ray source by varying the energy filters used for each of the x-ray focal spots.

34. A multiplexing x-ray digital tomosynthesis system comprising:

a field emission x-ray source for generating a scanning x-ray beam from an array of spatially distributed x-ray focal spots configured to image an object from different viewing angles for tomosynthesis reconstruction;

an energy filter positioned between the x-ray source and the object;

an area x-ray detector configured to detect the projection images;

an electronic controller for imaging of the object by simultaneously activating a plurality of the x-ray beams at a given time based on a multiplexing imaging scheme, and for synchronizing x-ray exposure with data collection by the x-ray detector;

wherein the projection images are de-multiplexed; and

wherein tomography images of the object are reconstructed using a plurality of projection images of the object from different viewing angles.

35. The x-ray digital tomosynthesis system of claim 34 , further comprising a controller for varying the x-ray intensity from each focal spot by controlling the field emission current from a field emission cathode and adjusting the focal spot size by varying the voltage applied to an electron focusing lenses.

36. A method of producing tomography images of an object, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources spatially distributed with respect to an object to be imaged;

generating a plurality of x-ray beams from the plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources;

filtering the x-ray beams produced by the x-ray sources to generate at least one of monochromatic or quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams;

irradiating the object with the monochromatic or quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams to generate projection images of the object;

detecting the projection images of the object; and

reconstructing tomography images of the object based on the projection images of the object.

37. The method of claim 36 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector.

38. The method of claim 36 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged substantially along an arc, wherein the focal spots define a plane that is substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector.

39. The method of claim 36 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on an anode.

40. A method of producing images of an object using at least one of monochromatic and quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources spatially distributed with respect to an object to be imaged;

irradiating the object with at least one of monochromatic and quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams produced by the x-ray sources to generate projection images of the object;

detecting the projection images of the object; and

reconstructing displayable images of the object based on the projection images of the object.

41. The method of claim 40 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector.

42. The method of claim 40 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged substantially along an arc, wherein the focal spots define a plane that is substantially perpendicular to an imaging plane of the x-ray detector.

43. The method of claim 40 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of focal spots arranged in a two-dimensional matrix on an anode.

44. The method of claim 40 , wherein the x-ray sources include a plurality of individually controllable electron field emission cathodes and one or more x-ray anodes.

45. The method of claim 44 , wherein the electron field emission cathodes include at least one of the following: nanowires, nanotubes, and carbon nanotubes.

46. A method of producing fan-beam reconstructed tomography images of an object using a cone beam x-ray source, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of stationary field emission x-ray sources spatially distributed in a substantially linear array;

irradiating the object with at least one of monochromatic or quasi-monochromatic x-ray cone beams produced by the x-ray sources to generate two-dimensional projection images of the object;

placing a linear anti-scattering grid between the object and the detector to reduce scatter of the x-ray cone beams;

detecting the two-dimensional projection images of the object;

dividing the two-dimensional projection images into groups of one-dimensional data;

reconstructing slice images of the object from the groups of one-dimensional data; and

merging the slice images of the object to form a three-dimensional image of the object.