Radiation control and minimization system and method using collimation/filtering

Abstract

A radiation control system and method are provided in which radiation delivered to a patient and/or the operator of the equipment is minimized. The radiation control system may be used in a large variety of applications including applications in which radiation source is used to inspect an object, such as, for example, medical imaging, diagnosis and therapy, in manufacturing operation using radiation, in airports scanning systems, in different security setups, and in nuclear reactors automation and process control. The radiation control system and method may also be used with 3D imaging.

1 - 11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A radiation control system comprising:
 a radiation optimization module configured to compute in real time an optimal radiation resolution for each image segment within a field of view of an operator, wherein at least one image segment outside a region of interest to which an attention of the operator is directed is computed to have a lower radiation resolution than each image segment within the region of interest.   
     
     
         13 . The radiation control system of  claim 12 , wherein the radiation optimization module is configured to compute the optimal radiation resolutions using an archived history of regions of interest and associated timings. 
     
     
         14 . The radiation control system of  claim 12 , wherein the radiation optimization module is configured to compute the optimal radiation resolutions using an archived history of radiated profiles and associated timings. 
     
     
         15 . The radiation control system of  claim 12 , wherein the radiation optimization module is further configured to allocate a minimal radiation dosage to each image segment to deliver a predetermined image clarity and timing to the operator. 
     
     
         16 . A radiation optimization method comprising the step of:
 computing in real time an optimal radiation resolution for each image segment within a field of view of an operator, wherein at least one image segment outside a region of interest to which an attention of the operator is directed is computed to have a lower radiation resolution than each image segment within the region of interest.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the computing step comprises using an archived history of regions of interest and associated timings. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the computing step comprises using an archived history of radiated profiles and associated timings. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step of allocating a minimal radiation dosage to each image segment to deliver a predetermined image clarity and timing to the operator. 
     
     
         20 . The radiation control system of  claim 12 , wherein the radiation optimization module is further configured to compute an optimal radiation parameter of a radiation beam, the parameter selected from the group consisting of a pulse rate of the radiation beam, an intensity of the radiation beam, and an amount of energy in the radiation beam. 
     
     
         21 . The radiation control system of  claim 20 , wherein the radiation optimization module is further configured to generate a collimator control signal to adjust a plurality of collimators and thereby adjust a radiation dosage of the radiation beam so as to deliver different radiation doses to different segments within the field of view of the operator. 
     
     
         22 . The radiation control system of  claim 21 , wherein the radiation optimization module is further configured to adaptively adjust the collimator control signal. 
     
     
         23 . The radiation control system of  claim 12 , wherein the radiation optimization module is further configured to receive a gaze tracking signal comprising information regarding the region of interest. 
     
     
         24 . The radiation control system of  claim 12 , wherein the region of interest comprises between 1% and 5% of the field of view of the operator. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step of computing an optimal radiation parameter of a radiation beam, the parameter selected from the group consisting of a pulse rate of the radiation beam, an intensity of the radiation beam, and an amount of energy in the radiation beam. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25  further comprising the step of generating a collimator control signal to adjust a plurality of collimators and thereby adjust a radiation dosage of the radiation beam so as to deliver different radiation doses to different segments within the field of view of the operator. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising the step of adaptively adjusting the collimator control signal. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step of receiving a gaze tracking signal comprising information regarding the region of interest. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the region of interest comprises between 1% and 5% of the field of view of the operator.