Radiation scanning device for detecting a plurality of different radiating sources positioned in different planes

Claim 1

Apparatus for obtaining a radiation distribution read-out of a plurality of radiating sources within a subject during a single scan of the subject, the radiating sources being positioned in different planes within the subject, said apparatus including: a scanning head including at least two inclined collimator channel members having respective axes intersecting in a particular plane relative to the aforesaid different planes, said collimator channel members providing individual passages for the radiation from the individual radiating sources of the aforesaid plurality of radiating sources, the radiation from any one of said sources passing through the respective collimator channel members during the scanning process with a relative time displacement determined by the position of the respective plane of the particular radiating source relative to the aforesaid particular intersecting plane; a corresponding plurality of radiation detectors coupled to respective ones of said collimator channel members for producing outputs corresponding to the radiations passed thereby; memory means coupled to said radiation detectors for storing the outputs produced thereby, said memory means comprising a storage medium on which the outputs from said radiation detectors are recorded on different channels; and transducer heads coupled to the respective channels of said medium for subsequently reproducing the outputs stored therein with predetermined time relationship, said time relationship being adjustable to bring any one of the aforesaid planes into focus and to de-focus all other planes in the aforesaid subject.