Methods and means for creating three-dimensional borehole image data

1. A method of creating three-dimensional borehole data, said method comprising:

illuminating a borehole using a collimated beam of electromagnetic radiation originating from a tool centrally disposed within said borehole, wherein said beam comprises radial, axial and azimuthal components;

rotating said collimated beam in a sweep of at least 360 degrees;

detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane using an associated electromagnetic radiation sensor;

converting detected radiation into a corresponding set of volume image data;

analyzing said volume image data using a computational visualization processing technique; and

creating a three-dimensional image representative of said volume image data.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using two collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 180 degrees, thereby creating a three-dimensional data image in the shape of a double helix.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using three collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 120 degrees, thereby creating a resulting three-dimensional data image in the shape of a triple helix.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using four collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 90 degrees, thereby creating a resulting three-dimensional data image in the shape of a quadruple helix.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using n collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 360/n degrees, thereby creating a resulting three-dimensional data image of an n-shaped helix.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising tilting the transverse plane of said collimated beam by more than zero degrees and less than or equal to approximately 90 degrees.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising tilting the transverse plane of said collimated beam by more than zero degrees and less than or equal to approximately 90 degrees.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using a collimated x-ray beam.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using a collimated gamma-ray beam.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising illuminating a borehole using a collimated neutron beam.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane further comprises detecting an associated backscatter radiation interaction.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane further comprises detecting at least one of a Rayleigh scatter, a Compton scatter, and an x-ray fluorescence event.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane further comprises detecting at least one of an elastic neutron scattering, an inelastic neutron scattering, and a neutron absorption interaction.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said analyzing said volume image data using computational visualization processing techniques and said creating a three-dimensional image representative of said volume image data further comprises applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques to said volume image data.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques further comprises applying one or iterative algorithms.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques to said volume image data so that signal data attenuation is reduced.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein said applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques to said volume image data so that signal data attenuation is reduced further comprises reducing signal noise data.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising using an electromagnetic radiation sensor to detect the elemental composition of an associated scattering medium.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises one or more of:

imaging a complete, radial conic-shaped surface while the imaging system remains stationary;

longitudinally moving the imaging system a distance d through the borehole between image capture operation, thereby resulting in a plurality of non-contiguous datasets of two-dimensional images that are stacked using computational visualization processing techniques, and then creating an integrated three-dimensional image representative of the stacked volume image data; and

longitudinally moving the imaging system a distance d through the borehole, where d is a distance less than or equal to the collimated beam thickness, so that portions of adjacent scans at least partially overlap.

20. A system for creating three-dimensional borehole data, said system comprising:

means for illuminating a borehole using a collimated beam of electromagnetic radiation originating from a tool centrally disposed within said borehole, wherein said beam comprises radial, axial and azimuthal components;

means for rotating said collimated beam in a sweep of at least 360 degrees;

means for detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane using an associated electromagnetic radiation sensor;

means for converting detected radiation into a corresponding set of volume image data;

means for analyzing said volume image data using a computational visualization processing technique; and

means for creating a three-dimensional image representative of said volume image data.

21. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using two collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 180 degrees, thereby creating a three-dimensional data image in the shape of a double helix.

22. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using three collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 120 degrees, thereby creating a resulting three-dimensional data image in the shape of a triple helix.

23. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using four collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 90 degrees, thereby creating a resulting three-dimensional data image in the shape of a quadruple helix.

24. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using n collimated beams of electromagnetic radiation radially separated by approximately 360/n degrees, thereby creating a resulting three-dimensional data image of an n-shaped helix.

25. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for tilting the transverse plane of said collimated beam by more than zero degrees and less than or equal to approximately 90 degrees.

26. The system of claim 24 , further comprising means for tilting the transverse plane of said collimated beam by more than zero degrees and more than or equal to approximately 90 degrees.

27. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using a collimated x-ray beam.

28. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using a collimated gamma-ray beam.

29. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for illuminating a borehole using a collimated neutron beam.

30. The system of claim 20 , wherein said means for detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane further comprises means for detecting an associated backscatter radiation interaction.

31. The system of claim 20 , wherein said means for detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane further comprises means for detecting at least one of a Rayleigh scatter, a Compton scatter, and an x-ray fluorescence event.

32. The system of claim 20 , wherein said means for detecting backscattered electromagnetic radiation returned from a surface of an associated illumination plane further comprises means for detecting at least one of an elastic neutron scattering, an inelastic neutron scattering, and a neutron absorption interaction.

33. The system of claim 20 , wherein said means for analyzing said volume image data using a computational visualization processing technique and said means for creating a three-dimensional image representative of said volume image data further comprises means for applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques to said volume image data.

34. The system of claim 33 , wherein said means for applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques further comprises means for applying one or iterative algorithms.

35. The system of claim 33 , further comprising means for applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques to said volume image data so that signal data attenuation is reduced.

36. The system of claim 35 , wherein said means for applying one or more iterative data processing reconstruction techniques to said volume image data so that signal data attenuation is reduced further comprises means for reducing signal noise data.

37. The system of claim 20 , further comprising means for using an electromagnetic radiation sensor to detect the elemental composition of an associated scattering medium.

38. The system of claim 20 , wherein said system further comprises one or more of:

means for imaging a complete, radial conic-shaped surface while the imaging system remains stationary;

means for longitudinally moving the imaging system a distance d through the borehole between image capture operations, thereby resulting in a plurality of non-contiguous datasets of two-dimensional images that are stacked using a computational visualization processing technique, and then creating an integrated three-dimensional image representative of the stacked volume image data; and

means for longitudinally moving the imaging system a distance d through the borehole, where d is a distance less than or equal to the collimated beam thickness, so that portions of adjacent scans at least partially overlap.