Detector assemblies and methods for helical CT scanning

1. A helical CT scanner for imaging an object as the object moves through said helical CT scanner in a z-direction, said helical CT scanner comprising:

an X-ray emitter configured to emit X-ray beams towards the object;

a detector array positioned opposite said X-ray emitter and rotatable about an axis parallel to the z-direction, said detector array comprising:

a plurality of discrete detector blocks arranged in a two-dimensional grid, each detector block comprising a plurality of pixels, wherein at least one first gap is defined between adjacent detector blocks in a first direction corresponding to the z-direction, and wherein at least one second gap is defined between adjacent detector blocks in a second direction; and

a processing device communicatively coupled to said detector array, said processing device configured to reconstruct an image of the object based on image data acquired using said detector array.

2. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one first gap includes a plurality of first gaps, the plurality of first zaps including a centermost first gap relative to the z-direction, the centermost first gap having a width smaller than a width of at least one other first gap of the plurality of first gaps.

3. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one first gap and the at least one second gap are filled with an x-ray shielding material.

4. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 1 , wherein each first gap and each second gap has a width approximately equal to a multiple of a width of a pixel in said detector block.

5. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said processing device is further configured to generate interpolated image data corresponding to the first and second gaps based on the acquired image data.

6. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 5 , wherein to reconstruct an image of the object, said processing device is configured to reconstruct the image based on the acquired image data and the interpolated image data.

7. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 1 , wherein to reconstruct an image of the object, said processing device is configured to reconstruct the image based on the acquired image data without using interpolated image data.

8. A helical CT scanner in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a substantially arcuate substrate, wherein said plurality of discrete detector blocks are arranged on the substrate.

9. A method for imaging an object as the object moves through a gantry in a z-direction, said method comprising:

positioning the object between an X-ray emitter and a detector array of the gantry, the detector array rotatable about an axis parallel to the z-direction and including a plurality of discrete detector blocks arranged in a two-dimensional grid, each detector block including a plurality of pixels, wherein at least one first gap is defined between adjacent detector blocks in a first direction corresponding to the z-direction, and wherein at least one second gap is defined between adjacent detector blocks in a second direction;

acquiring image data from the detector array using a processing device communicatively coupled to the detector array; and

reconstructing, using the processing device, an image of the object based on the acquired image data.

10. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein positioning the object comprises positioning the object between an X-ray emitter and a detector array that includes detector blocks each having two-hundred fifty-six pixels.

11. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein positioning the object comprises positioning the object between an X-ray emitter and a detector array that includes six columns and twelve rows of detector blocks.

12. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein positioning the object comprises positioning the object between an X-ray emitter and a detector array that includes first and second gaps each having a width approximately equal to a multiple of a width of a pixel in said detector block.

13. A method in accordance with claim 9 , further comprising, generating, using the processing device, interpolated image data corresponding to the first and second gaps based on the acquired image data.

14. A method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein reconstructing an image of the object comprises reconstructing the image based on the acquired image data and the interpolated image data.

15. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein reconstructing an image of the object comprises reconstructing the image based on the acquired image data without using interpolated image data.

16. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein positioning the object comprises positioning the object between an X-ray emitter and a detector array that includes a plurality of discrete detector blocks arranged on a substantially arcuate substrate.

17. A detector array for a helical CT scanner configured to image an object as the object moves through the helical CT scanner in a z-direction, said detector array rotatable about an axis parallel to the z-direction, said detector array comprising a plurality of discrete detector blocks arranged in a two-dimensional grid on a substrate, each detector block comprising a plurality of pixels, wherein at least one first gap is defined between adjacent detector blocks in a first direction corresponding to the z-direction, and wherein at least one second gap is defined between adjacent detector blocks in a second direction.

18. A detector array in accordance with claim 17 , wherein each detector block comprises two-hundred fifty-six pixels.

19. A detector array in accordance with claim 17 , wherein said detector array comprises six columns and twelve rows of detector blocks.

20. A detector array in accordance with claim 17 , wherein each first and second gap has a width approximately equal to a multiple of a width of a pixel in said detector block.