Electron beam computed tomography
| Electron beam computed tomography | |
|---|---|
Patent illustration showing a cutaway view of an electron beam computerized tomography system. Components are 22. electron gun, 23. electron beam, 24. focus coil, 27. beam bending coil, 28-31. target rings, 14. detector array, 11. scan tube. The electron beam creates x-rays at the target rings, which radiates through the patient to the detector on the opposite end of the scan tube. | |
| MeSH | D014057 |
| OPS-301 code | 3-26 |
Electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) is a fifth generation computed tomography (CT) scanner in which the X-ray tube is not mechanically spun in order to rotate the source of X-ray photons. This different design was explicitly developed to better image heart structures that never stop moving, performing a complete cycle of movement with each heartbeat.
As in conventional CT technology, the X-ray source-point moves along a circle in space around an object to be imaged. In EBCT, the X-ray tube itself is large and stationary, and partially surrounds the imaging circle. Rather than moving the tube itself, electron-beam focal point (and hence the X-ray source point) is rapidly swept along a tungsten anode in the tube, tracing a large circular arc on its inner surface.
The vast majority of CT scanners in clinical use are third generation machines.