Imaging systems and methods
Methods and systems for x-ray and fluoroscopic image capture and, in particular, to a versatile, multimode imaging system incorporating a hand-held x-ray emitter operative to capture digital or thermal images of a target; a stage operative to capture static x-ray and dynamic fluoroscopic images of the target; a system for the tracking and positioning of the x-ray emission; a device to automatically limit the field of the x-ray emission; and methods of use. Automatic systems to determine the correct technique factors for fluoroscopic and radiographic capture, ex-ante.
1. A method for non-invasively imaging an object, the method comprising:
moving an emitting apparatus to a location relative to the object and relative to a plurality of position tracking elements, where the plurality of position tracking elements each respectively produces a unique signal and where the plurality of position tracking elements defines an area having a perimeter, where each portion of the perimeter is identifiable by the respective signal of one of the plurality of position tracking elements;
emitting energy through an emission window in the emitting apparatus to form an exposure pattern on the object such that the energy is received by an imaging sensor configured to generate an image data;
continually determining a position and an orientation of the emitting apparatus relative to the plurality of position tracking elements; and
continuously adjusting a size of the emission window and rotation of the emission window relative to the emitting apparatus in response to a change in the position and the orientation of the emitting apparatus to limit the exposure pattern to the imaging sensor.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the image data based using the position and the orientation of the emitting apparatus.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the position of the emitting apparatus comprises detecting the plurality of position tracking elements with an optical sensor on the emitting apparatus to determine the position.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining the orientation of the emitting apparatus comprises detecting the orientation of the emitting apparatus using a sensor within the emitting apparatus.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein continuously adjusting the size of the emission window and the rotation of the emission window relative to the emitting apparatus comprises scaling the size of the emission window and adjusting the rotation of the emission window to maximize an area of the exposure pattern on the imaging sensor.
6. The method of claim 1 , where emitting the energy comprises emitting x-ray energy.