Computerized tomography comprising laterally shifting detected beams within a rotated fan of radiation

Claim 1

A method of radiographically examining the body of a patient in order to produce an image of the variation of absorption coefficient, with respect to penetrating radiation, over a planar region disposed in said body, comprising the steps of: a. projecting radiation through the body, in the plane of said region, from a position external of the body; the radiation conforming to a fan-shaped spread of angle which substantially equals, or exceeds, the angle subtended at said position by said region, b. scanning said spread of radiation relative to the body so as to irradiate said region from a plurality of different positions; the scanning consisting of an angular movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to said region, c. detecting the radiation emergent from the body, in said plane, along each of a plurality of mutually divergent beam paths within said spread from each of said positions, and providing an output signal indicative of the radiation transmitted through the body along each of said beam paths, d. shifting the positions of said beam paths, within said spread, during the angular movement so that output signals, provided during one portion of said angular movement, relate to beam paths interleaved with beam paths in respect of which output signals are provided during another portion of the angular movement, the relationship between the scanning and the shifting being such that the region is irradiated from a plurality of said positions during each of said portions, and e. processing the output signals to produce said image.

Claim 2

A method of radiographically examining the body of a patient in order to produce an image of the variation of absorption coefficient, with respect to penetrating radiation, over a planar region disposed in said body, comprising the steps of: a. projecting radiation through the body, in the plane of said region, from a position external of the body; the radiation conforming to a fan-shaped spread of angle which substantially equals, or exceeds, the angle subtended at said position by said region, b. scanning said spread of radiation relative to the body so as to irradiate said region from a plurality of different positions; the scanning consisting of an angular movement about an axis substantially perpendicular to said region, c. detecting the radiation emergent from the body, in said plane, along each of a plurality of mutually divergent beam paths within said spread from each of said positions, and providing an output signal indicative of the radiation transmitted through the body along each of said beam paths, d. shifting the positions of said beam paths, within said spread, during the angular movement so that output signals, provided during one portion of said angular movement, relate to beam paths interleaved with beam paths in respect of which output signals are provided during another portion of the angular movement, the relationship between the scanning and the shifting being such that the region is irradiated from a plurality of said positions during each of said portions, and e. processing the output signals to produce said image.