US20090245463A1 - Automatic material discrimination by using computer tomography - Google Patents
Automatic material discrimination by using computer tomography Download PDFInfo
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- US20090245463A1 US20090245463A1 US12/410,498 US41049809A US2009245463A1 US 20090245463 A1 US20090245463 A1 US 20090245463A1 US 41049809 A US41049809 A US 41049809A US 2009245463 A1 US2009245463 A1 US 2009245463A1
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- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 72
- 238000002591 computed tomography Methods 0.000 title abstract description 11
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 46
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 claims description 39
- 238000007689 inspection Methods 0.000 claims description 36
- 238000004364 calculation method Methods 0.000 claims description 34
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000001427 coherent effect Effects 0.000 abstract 1
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 description 7
- 230000009977 dual effect Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000000523 sample Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000010521 absorption reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005474 detonation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000003384 imaging method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003993 interaction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000011835 investigation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011159 matrix material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012216 screening Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000026676 system process Effects 0.000 description 1
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Definitions
- the first and second scanner systems are arranged at a distance from each other, allowing to provide for example a conveyer belt switch between the first and second scanner systems such that a “suspicious” item of baggage may easily be branched off and does not have to pass the second scanner system.
- a plurality of first scanner systems may be connected by conveyer belts and respective conveyer belt switches to the second system to thereby insure a high utilization ratio of the second scanner system.
- FIG. 1 For exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, provide for a fast and efficient inspection of items of baggage while minimizing computation efforts necessary when these methods are applied on computerized inspection systems.
- the issuance of a plurality of alarms with respect to whether a dangerous material has been identified in the item of baggage or whether there is material in an item of baggage which cannot be identified allows an operator of the inspection system to easily identify the item of baggage in question and to identify the reason for the alarm.
Abstract
Method and apparatus are provided for combining information obtained from CT and Coherent Scatter Computed Tomography to better determine whether there are dangerous materials in the baggage or not. Hence, the attenuation coefficient and the diffraction pattern of the item of baggage are used to determine whether the baggage should be cleared.
Description
- This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/546,392, filed Aug. 18, 2005.
- The present invention relates to the field of material discrimination. In particular, the present invention relates to an inspection system for detecting a specific material of interest in an object such as an item of baggage, a method of inspecting an object such as an item of baggage and to a computer program stored on a computer readable medium.
- Over the past several years, x-ray baggage inspections have evolved from simple x-ray imaging systems that were completely dependent on interaction by an operator to more sophisticated automatic systems that can automatically recognize certain types of contrabands and trigger all dangerous materials. The newer inspection systems have employed single energy or dual energy x-ray radiation transmitted through or scattered from the examined package. Some systems have used a single view source detector arrangement, others have utilized a dual view or multi-view arrangements. The single or dual view systems usually scan baggage, as it moves on a conveyer, using a scan beam or scanning pencil beam of x-rays in a fixed geometry. The multi-view, computer tomography (CT) type systems usually scan stationary baggage in a fixed geometry of scan angles and process data corresponding to absorption of x-rays to reconstruct selected slices of the baggage. Known CT-scanners also apply helical scanning mode, thus producing 3D images of the attenuation coefficient of the object.
- At airports, the baggage inspection procedure is usually divided in to at least 2 levels of inspection. A first level system processes baggage rapidly, up to a rate of 1500 bags per hour. This first level system is located at a first inspection station and inspects all baggage. The system rapidly scans baggage and automatically makes a decision based on its particular modes of detection and methodology. Usually, CT scanners or dual energy transmission X-ray are used as first level systems, which determines the attenuation coefficient of the bag or of an area of the bag. Subsequently, the attenuation coefficient is compared to the attenuation coefficient of dangerous materials. In case the attenuation coefficient of the scanned item of baggage matches the known attenuation coefficient of a dangerous material, an alarm is issued or the item of baggage is separated from the main stream of baggage for further inspection.
- In case there is a group of materials consisting of non-dangerous materials and dangerous materials having an attenuation coefficient that matches the attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage, the item of baggage is forwarded to the second level. At the second level an operator usually visually inspects an x-ray image of the rejected item of baggage and attempts to determine whether a suspicious object inside the item of baggage can be cleared based on its obvious shape. The operator searches the image for characteristic objects such as weapons, timing and detonation devices, wires or other characteristics associated with the contraband. In case the operator cannot clear the item of baggage, vapor or trace detectors or further CT scanners may be used to further inspect the item of baggage.
- Reference EP 127 546 A2 discloses a computer tomograph using primary radiation as well as diffraction radiation for determining an examination result.
- Reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,393 discloses an inspection system comprising a multi-view x-ray inspection probe constructed to employ x-ray radiation transmitted through or scattered from an examining item to identify a suspicious region inside the examined item. The multi-view x-ray inspection probe is constructed to identify the suspicious region using several examination angles of the transmitted or scattered x-ray radiation. Furthermore, the multi-view x-ray inspection probe is constructed to obtain spatial information of the suspicious region to determine a geometry for subsequent examination. Furthermore, a directional, material sensitive probe is provided, constructed to acquire material specific information about the suspicious region by employing the geometry. On the basis of the material specific information, a presence of a specific material in the specific region is determined.
- It is an object of the present invention to provide for an unambiguous automatic material discrimination.
- According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the above object may be achieved with an inspection system for detecting a specific material of interest in an item of baggage, with the inspection system comprising a first scanner system for determining an attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage, a second scanner system for determining a diffraction pattern of the item of baggage and a calculation unit connected to the first and second scanner systems for identifying a presence of the specific material of interest in the item of baggage on the basis of the attenuation coefficients and the diffraction pattern. Advantageously according to this exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a very reliable identification of the specific material of interest can be provided. Also, since the attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage can be determined very rapidly, a two step process can be realized with the inspection system according to this exemplary embodiment of the present invention by using the first scanner system as the first level system screening the flow of baggage for “suspicious bags” where the “suspicious” bags are then further inspected by using the diffraction pattern of the item of baggage. Advantageously, since the diffraction pattern allows for a very reliable determination of the material of interest, a fault rate of the inspection system according to this exemplary embodiment of the present invention is reduced significantly.
- According to the exemplary embodiment of present invention, the first and second scanner systems are arranged at a distance from each other, allowing to provide for example a conveyer belt switch between the first and second scanner systems such that a “suspicious” item of baggage may easily be branched off and does not have to pass the second scanner system. For example, a plurality of first scanner systems may be connected by conveyer belts and respective conveyer belt switches to the second system to thereby insure a high utilization ratio of the second scanner system.
- According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the first scanner system is a CT scanner system and the second scanner system is a coherent-scatter CT system. Advantageously, this allows the use of known first level CT scanners in the inspection system according to the present invention, in combination with a coherent-scatter CT system (CSCT).
- According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention the first and the second scanner systems are realized as one scanner system having one source of radiation and one detector system. For implementing the CT scanner for determining the attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage, a first aperture system is provided between the source of radiation and the item to be scanned. To implement the CSCT scanner for determining the diffraction pattern of the item of baggage, a second aperture system such as a slot aperture or diaphragm is provided to form the radiation of the one source of radiation into a fan beam. Advantageously, this exemplary embodiment of the present invention has compact dimensions and may easily be installed in airport security systems where space is very often a problem. Furthermore, since only one source of radiation and one detector system is necessary, the costs for manufacturing such a system can be provided as well as the amount of moving parts underlying wear and tear can be reduced.
- According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method of inspecting an item of baggage includes scanning the item of baggage at a first scanner stage for determining an attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage, determining whether there is a suspicious region in the item of baggage on the basis of the attenuation coefficient, scanning an area of the item of baggage including the suspicious region at a second scanner stage for determining a diffraction pattern of the area and determining whether there is dangerous material in the item of baggage on the basis of the diffraction pattern. Advantageously, this exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows for a two step inspection process allowing to make the inspection process very efficient and dependable. The use of the diffraction pattern to determine whether there is dangerous material or not allows for a very low fault rate of the method.
- Further exemplary embodiments according to the present invention provide for a fast and efficient inspection of items of baggage while minimizing computation efforts necessary when these methods are applied on computerized inspection systems. In particular, the issuance of a plurality of alarms with respect to whether a dangerous material has been identified in the item of baggage or whether there is material in an item of baggage which cannot be identified allows an operator of the inspection system to easily identify the item of baggage in question and to identify the reason for the alarm.
- Another embodiment relates to a computer program stored on a computer readable medium which executes the steps of the method according to the present invention when executed on an inspection system. Advantageously, this computer program allows for a reduction of computation power in the inspection system.
- It may be seen to be the gist of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention that a conventional CT-system is used for determining the attenuation coefficient in a first stage to identify the material under investigation. However, in case the result is ambiguous, information obtained from a CT-system and from a CSCT-system is combined to better discriminate materials. In medical applications this procedure can be used to distinguish between healthy and non-healthy tissue. In baggage inspection applications, materials with similar attenuation can be distinguished resulting in a lower false alarm rate of the system and therefore in a higher degree of automatization.
- These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
- Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following with reference to the following drawings:
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FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of a computer tomograph according to the present invention as it may be used for baggage inspection. -
FIGS. 2 a, 2 b show a flow-chart of an exemplary embodiment of a method for operating the computer tomograph ofFIG. 1 or the computer tomograph ofFIG. 3 . -
FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of another exemplary embodiment of a computer tomograph according to the present invention. -
FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of a computer tomograph according to the present invention. The computer tomograph depicted inFIG. 1 comprises agantry 1, which is rotatable around arotation axis 2. Thegantry 1 is driven by means of amotor 3.Reference character 4 designates a source of radiation such as an x-ray source. -
Reference character 5 designates a first aperture system which forms the radiation beam emitted from theradiation source 4 to a coneshaped radiation beam 6 passing through the item ofbaggage 7. After passing through the item ofbaggage 7, thecone beam 6 impinges onto adetector array 8. Theaperture system 5 is arranged such that thecone beam 6 covers the whole of thedetector 8. - Furthermore, there is provided another
aperture system 9 consisting of a diaphragm. The diaphragm has the form of aslit 10 such that the radiation emitted from the source ofradiation 4 is formed into afan beam 11. - The
fan beam 11 and thecone beam 6 pass through the item ofbaggage 7 arranged in the center of thegantry 1 and impinge on to thedetector 8. As shown inFIG. 1 , the detector is attached to thegantry 1 opposite to theradiation source 4. Thedetector 8 consists of a two-dimensional detector array comprising a plurality of elements arranged in the form of a matrix. The individual detector elements are arranged in lines and columns. The columns are parallel to therotation axis 2 whereas the lines are arranged in planes perpendicular to therotation axis 2. - The apertures of the
aperture systems detector 8 such that the scanned area of the item ofbaggage 7 is within thecone beam 6 or thefan beam 11 and that thedetector 8 covers the complete scanning area. As may be taken fromFIG. 1 , preferably theslit 10 of theaperture system 9 is arranged such that thefan beam 11 is mapped on themiddle line 15 of thedetector 8. - During a scan of the item of
baggage 7, theradiation source 4, theaperture systems detector 8 are rotated along thegantry 1 in the direction indicated witharrow 16. For rotation of thegantry 1 with the source ofradiation 4, theaperture systems detector 8, themotor 3 is connected to amotor control unit 17 which is connected to acalculation unit 18. - In
FIG. 1 , the item ofbaggage 7 is disposed on aconveyer belt 19. During the scan of the item ofbaggage 7, while thegantry 1 rotates around the item ofbaggage 7, theconveyer belt 19 displaces the item ofbaggage 7 along a direction parallel to therotation axis 2 of the gantry. By this, the item ofbaggage 7 is scanned along a helix. The conveyor belt can also be stopped during the scan thus measuring single slices. - The
detector 8 is connected to thecalculation unit 18. Thecalculation unit 18 receives the detection results from thedetector 8 and determines a scanning result on the basis of the detection results from thedetector 8. In addition to that, thecalculation unit 18 communicates with themotor control unit 17 in order to coordinate the movement of thegantry 1 with themotors conveyer belt 19. Furthermore, there is provided aloud speaker 21 connected to thecalculation unit 18 for issuing an alarm in case the calculation unit determines that there is a dangerous material within the item ofbaggage 7 or a material which cannot be determined. Adata port 22 can transport the alarm signal to a subsequent detection level. - As may be seen from
FIG. 1 , depending on which of theaperture systems FIG. 1 can either be a conventional scanner or a CSCT-scanner: in case theaperture system 5 is active, the computer tomograph is a CT-scanner and in case theaperture system 9 is active, the computer tomograph is a CSCT-scanner. -
FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are a flow-chart of an exemplary embodiment of a method for operating the computer tomograph ofFIG. 1 . After the start in S1, the method continues to step S2 in which the item ofbaggage 7 is transported to the first scanner stage by means of theconveyer belt 19. Then, the method continues to step S3 in which the item ofbaggage 7 is scanned at the first scanner stage to determine the attenuation coefficient of the baggage. In detail, during the scan of the item ofbaggage 7 at the first scanner stage, theradiation source 4 and thedetector 8 on thegantry 1 are rotated around the item ofbaggage 7. During this, theconveyer belt 19 moves the item ofbaggage 7 through the scan area covered by thecone beam 6 emitted by theradiation source 4 with theaperture system 5 such that the item ofbaggage 7 is scanned in its entire length. Due to the movement of the item ofbaggage 7 on theconveyer belt 19 and the rotation of the gantry, the item ofbaggage 7 is scanned along a scanning helix. The detection results of thedetector 8 are transmitted to the calculation unit. Then, the method continues to step S4 where thecalculation unit 18 determines whether the attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 7 determined from detection results of thedetector 8 corresponds to the attenuation coefficient of a known dangerous material. For this, the determined attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 7 is compared to a table of attenuation coefficients of known dangerous materials. In case it is determined in step S4 that the attenuation coefficient of thebaggage 7 corresponds to the attenuation coefficient of a known dangerous material, the method continues to step S7 where thecalculation unit 18 issues a first alarm by means of theloudspeaker 21 indicating that the item ofbaggage 7 contains dangerous material. Then, from step S7 the method continues to step S8 as indicated by the encircled A at the bottom ofFIG. 2 a and at the top ofFIG. 2 b. - At step S8, the item of
baggage 7 is transported to a location where a manual inspection or a different subsequent threat detection method is carried out. From step S8 the method continues to step S22 where it ends. - In case it is determined in step S4 that the attenuation coefficient of the item of
baggage 7 does not correspond to the attenuation coefficient of a dangerous material, the method continues to step S9 where thecalculation unit 18 determines whether the attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 7 corresponds to the attenuation coefficient of a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials. In other words, in step S9 it is determined whether there is a suspicious region which may contain dangerous material in the item ofbaggage 7. In case it is determined in step S9 that there is no suspicious region, i.e. that the attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 7 does not correspond to the attenuation coefficient of a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials, the method continues to step S10 where the baggage is transported to its destination by means of theconveyer belt 19. Then, after step S10, the method ends at step S22. - In case it was determined in step S9 that there is a suspicious region in the item of
baggage 7, the method continues to step S11 where the item ofbaggage 7 is transported to the second scanner stage. In the computer tomograph ofFIG. 1 , thetransportation step 11 is carried out such that the conveyer belt either changes its direction such that the item ofbaggage 7 it moved through the scanning area of the computer tomograph in a backward direction during the scan at the second scanner stage or the item ofbaggage 7 is returned to its initial position before the scan at the first scanner stage and then for the scan at the second scanner stage, the item ofbaggage 7 is again moved along a direction parallel to the rotation axis of thegantry 1 during the scan at the second scanner stage. - From step S11, the method continues to step S12 where an area is determined which is to be scanned at the second scanner stage. The area includes the suspicious region determined in step S9. Depending on whether the item of baggage was moved on the
conveyer belt 19 or was deformed since the scan at the first scanner stage, the area to be scanned at the second scanner stage can be enlarged or can be limited to the suspicious region determined in step S9. Step S12 is carried out by means of thecalculation unit 18. Then, as indicated by means of the encircled B at the bottom ofFIG. 2 a and the encircled B at the top ofFIG. 2 b, the method continues to step S13 where the area of the baggage determined in step S12 is scanned at the second scanner stage to determine the diffraction pattern of the area of the baggage. For this, as already indicated above, the item ofbaggage 7 is transported along a direction parallel to therotation axis 2 of thegantry 1. When the suspicious region is penetrated by the fan-beam, the belt is stopped and theradiation source 4, theaperture system 9 and thedetector system 8 are rotated around the item ofbaggage 7 by means of thegantry 1. For determining the diffraction pattern of the area of the item ofbaggage 7, only the scattered radiation is used by thecalculation unit 18. Then, after the determination of the diffraction pattern in step S13, the method continues to step S14 where the diffraction pattern is matched to known diffraction patterns of known materials. For matching the diffraction pattern to known diffraction patterns of known materials, the diffraction pattern of the area of the item ofbaggage 7 is compared to a table consisting of known diffraction patterns of known materials. - After step S14, the method continues to step S15 where a query is made whether the diffraction pattern of the area of the baggage matches the known diffraction pattern of a known dangerous material. In case the diffraction pattern of the area of the baggage can be linked to a dangerous material, the method continues to step S16 where the calculation unit which performed steps S14 and S15 issues a second alarm. From step S16 the method continues to step S8.
- In case it was determined in step S15 that the diffraction pattern of the area of the
baggage 7 does not match a known dangerous material, the method continues to step S17. - In step S17 the calculation unit makes a query whether the diffraction pattern corresponds to the known diffraction pattern of a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials. In case it is determined in step S17 that the diffraction pattern of the item of
baggage 7 can be linked to a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials the method continues to step S18 where the calculation unit issues a third alarm by means of theloudspeaker 21. From step S18, the method continues to step S8. - In case it was determined in step S17 that the diffraction pattern does not correspond to the diffraction pattern of a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials, the method continues to step S19 where a query is made whether the diffraction pattern can be matched to a known diffraction pattern of a known non-dangerous material. In case it is determined in step S19 that the diffraction pattern of the area of the item of
baggage 7 cannot be linked to a non-dangerous material the method continues to step S20 where thecalculation unit 18 issues a fourth alarm by means of theloudspeaker 21. From step S20 the method continues to step S8. - In case the
calculation unit 18 determines in step S19 that the diffraction pattern of the item ofbaggage 7 can be linked to a known non-dangerous material, the method continues to step S21 where the item ofbaggage 7 is transported to its destination by means of theconveyer belt 19. Then, from step S21 the method continues to step S22 where it ends. - In a variant of the method depicted in
FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, in addition to the diffraction pattern, thecalculation unit 18 may also use the attenuation coefficient to determine in steps S15, S17 and S19 whether the material included in the item ofbaggage 7 includes dangerous material or not. -
FIG. 3 shows another exemplary embodiment of the computer tomograph according to the present invention.Reference character 30 depicts a first scanner stage comprising a CT-scanner.Reference character 31 designates a second scanner stage comprising a CSCT-scanner. Each of the CT-scanner and the CSCT-scanner comprises a radiation source and a detector system as described with reference toFIG. 1 . Thefirst scanner stage 30 and thesecond scanner stage 31 are connected to each other by means of aconveyer belt 32 for transporting an item ofbaggage 33 from thefirst scanner stage 30 to thesecond scanner stage 31. - The
first scanner stage 30 and thesecond scanner stage 31 are connected to acalculation unit 34 which is connected to aloudspeaker 35. The item ofbaggage 33 to be inspected is firstly scanned at thefirst scanner stage 30. At thefirst scanner stage 30, the attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 33 is determined and transmitted to thecalculation unit 34. At thecalculation unit 34, the attenuation coefficient determined at thefirst scanner stage 30 is compared to a table of known attenuation coefficients of known materials. In case the attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 33 can be matched to the known attenuation coefficient of a dangerous material, the calculation unit issues a first alarm by means of theloudspeaker 35. - In case the attenuation coefficient of the item of
baggage 33 can be matched to an attenuation coefficient of a non-dangerous material, the calculation unit controls the operation of theconveyer belt 32 such that the item ofbaggage 33 is transported to its destination. In case the item ofbaggage 33 passes thesecond scanner stage 31 on its path to its destination, thecalculation unit 34 controls thesecond scanner stage 31 such that no scan is performed at thesecond scanner stage 31 if it was determined that there is only non-dangerous material in the item ofbaggage 33. - In case the
calculation unit 34 matches the attenuation coefficient of the item ofbaggage 33 to the known attenuation coefficient of a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials, thecalculation unit 34 controls theconveyer belt 32 such that the item ofbaggage 33 is transported to thesecond scanner stage 31 where the item ofbaggage 33 is scanned by means of the CSCT-scanner. On the basis of the scanning results, a diffraction pattern is determined at thesecond scanner stage 31, which is transmitted to thecalculation unit 34. Then, thecalculation unit 34 compares the diffraction pattern of the item ofbaggage 33 to known diffraction patterns of known materials. In case the diffraction pattern of the item of baggage can be linked to dangerous materials, thecalculation unit 34 issues a further alarm by means of theloudspeaker 35. In case thecalculation unit 34 links the diffraction pattern of the item ofbaggage 33 to non-dangerous materials, thecalculation unit 34 controls theconveyer belt 32 such that the item ofbaggage 33 is transported to its destination. - In case the diffraction pattern of the item of
baggage 33 is linked to a group of materials consisting of dangerous and non-dangerous materials, thecalculation unit 34 issues a further alarm by means of theloudspeaker 35 and controls theconveyer belt 32 such that the item ofbaggage 33 is transported to a further point of inspection where the item ofbaggage 33 is inspected by a person. - Despite of the fact that the above method and apparatus are described with respect to baggage inspection, the above method and apparatus may for example also be used in medical applications where is can be used to distinguish between healthy and non-healthy tissue.
- In case the above methods and apparatus are applied in the field of baggage inspection, a false alarm rate can be reduced significantly and by this a higher degree of automization can be achieved.
Claims (10)
1. An inspection system for detecting a specific material of interest in an item of baggage, the inspection system comprising:
a first scanner system for determining an attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage;
a second scanner system for determining a diffraction pattern of the item of baggage, wherein the second scanner system is a coherent-scatter computed tomograph; and
a calculation unit connected to the first and second scanner systems for identifying a presence of the specific material of interest in the item of baggage on the basis of the attenuation coefficient and the diffraction pattern.
2. The inspection system of claim 1 ,
wherein the first and second scanner systems are arranged at a distance from each other.
3. The inspection system of claim 1 ,
wherein the first scanner system is a computed tomograph (CT) applying a fan-shaped or cone-shaped radiation beam to the item of baggage; and
wherein the coherent-scatter computed tomograph is configured to apply a fan shaped radiation beam to the item of baggage.
4. The inspection system of claim 1 ,
wherein the first scanner system and the second scanner system are realized as one scanner system;
wherein the one scanner system has one source of radiation and one detector system;
wherein the one scanner system has a first aperture system which is positionable between the item of baggage and the source of radiation such that a cone-shaped radiation beam is applied to the item of baggage;
wherein the one detector system is adapted to detect the attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage when the cone-shaped radiation beam is applied to the item of baggage;
wherein the one scanner system has a second aperture system which is positionable between the item of baggage and the source of radiation such that a fan-shaped radiation beam is applied to the item of baggage;
wherein the one detector system is adapted to detect the diffraction pattern of the item of baggage when the fan-shaped radiation beam is applied to the item of baggage.
5. A method of inspecting an item of baggage, the method comprising the acts of:
scanning the item of baggage at a first scanner stage with a first radiation beam for determining an attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage;
determining whether there is a suspicious region in the item of baggage on the basis of the attenuation coefficient;
scanning an area of the item of baggage including the suspicious region at a second scanner stage, wherein the scanning is performed with a second radiation beam for determining a diffraction pattern of the area using a coherent-scatter computed tomograph;
determining whether there is a dangerous material in the item of baggage on the basis of the diffraction pattern; and
generating a signal indicative of the dangerous material.
6. (canceled)
7. (canceled)
8. (canceled)
9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the attenuation coefficient is determined with a computed tomograph (CT) where the first radiation beam is cone-shaped; and
wherein the second radiation beam is fan-shaped.
10. A computer readable medium comprising a computer program wherein, when the computer program is executed on an inspection system for inspecting items of baggage, the inspection system performs the acts of:
scanning the item of baggage at a first scanner stage with a first radiation beam for determining an attenuation coefficient of the item of baggage;
determining whether there is a suspicious region in the item of baggage on the basis of the attenuation coefficient;
scanning an area of the item of baggage including the suspicious region at a second scanner stage, wherein the scanning is performed with a second radiation beam for determining a diffraction pattern of the area using a coherent-scatter computed tomograph;
determining whether there is a dangerous material in the item of baggage on the basis of the diffraction pattern; and
generating a signal indicative of the dangerous material.
Priority Applications (1)
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US12/410,498 US20090245463A1 (en) | 2003-02-24 | 2009-03-25 | Automatic material discrimination by using computer tomography |
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US10/546,392 US7529341B2 (en) | 2003-02-24 | 2004-02-10 | Automatic material discrimination by using computer tomography |
US12/410,498 US20090245463A1 (en) | 2003-02-24 | 2009-03-25 | Automatic material discrimination by using computer tomography |
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DE102004031130A1 (en) * | 2004-06-28 | 2006-01-19 | Yxlon International Security Gmbh | Method for checking a piece of luggage by means of an X-ray diffraction method |
DE102004049227B4 (en) * | 2004-10-08 | 2007-03-01 | Yxlon International Security Gmbh | Method for determining the change in position of an object in a piece of luggage |
GB0423707D0 (en) * | 2004-10-26 | 2004-11-24 | Koninkl Philips Electronics Nv | Computer tomography apparatus and method of examining an object of interest with a computer tomography apparatus |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CN100339727C (en) | 2007-09-26 |
WO2004074871A1 (en) | 2004-09-02 |
US20060083346A1 (en) | 2006-04-20 |
JP2006518849A (en) | 2006-08-17 |
CN1754106A (en) | 2006-03-29 |
US7529341B2 (en) | 2009-05-05 |
EP1599745A1 (en) | 2005-11-30 |
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