Area array detector, detection method and corresponding container / vehicle inspection system

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a flat array detector, a detection method and a corresponding container / vehicle inspection system, and relates to the field of ray scanning. The flat array detector for the container / vehicle inspection system comprises: a plurality of detector components arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector component is different from a second detector component; and a bottom plate for carrying and mounting the plurality of detector components. Thus, the flat array detector supporting multiple scanning modes is realized.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of ray scanning, and in particular, to a flat panel detector for a container / vehicle inspection system, a container / vehicle inspection system employing the flat panel detector, and a corresponding detection method. BACKGROUND

[0002] There are detectors for DR (Digital Radiography) scanning, and there are detectors for CT (Computed Tomography) scanning. The detectors for DR scanning have fewer rows of detectors, and the rows of detectors are arranged continuously. The detectors for CT scanning have a small overall size, and the rows of detectors use the same scintillator. Each detector device supports one scanning mode. SUMMARY

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a flat panel detector for a container / vehicle inspection system, which carries a plurality of detector assemblies in a sparse arrangement via a base plate. A first detector assembly is different from other second detector assemblies, and can output detection data of the first detector assembly or detection data of all detector assemblies according to a scanning mode, for imaging in the corresponding scanning mode. Thus, a flat panel detector supporting multiple scanning modes is achieved.

[0004] Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a flat panel detector for a container / vehicle inspection system, comprising: a plurality of detector assemblies arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector assembly is different from other second detector assemblies; and a base plate for carrying and mounting the plurality of detector assemblies.

[0005] In some embodiments, the first detector assembly and the second detector assembly have different scintillator arrays.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first detector assembly and the second detector assembly have different pixel sizes or materials of the scintillator arrays.

[0007] In some embodiments, a preset number of detector assemblies arranged adjacently are arranged inside a detector housing to form an independent fully-sealed detector unit, and the detector unit is mounted to the base plate in a sealed manner.

[0008] In some embodiments, the preset number includes 2.

[0009] In some embodiments, further comprising: a filler assembly, the filler assembly and a detector assembly arranged adjacently thereto are arranged inside a detector housing to form an independent fully-sealed detector unit, and the detector unit is mounted to the base plate in a sealed manner.

[0010] In some embodiments, the backplane is a flat backplane or a curved backplane.

[0011] In some embodiments, in the case of a curved backplane, the plurality of detector assemblies are arranged on the curved surface of the curved backplane such that the detection sensitive surfaces of the plurality of detector assemblies are curved and aligned with the radiation source located in the central region of the curved surface.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first pixel size of the scintillator array of the first detector assembly is smaller than the second pixel size of the scintillator array of the second detector assembly.

[0013] In some embodiments, the plurality of area array detectors are tiled into a larger area array detector.

[0014] In some embodiments, further comprising a data acquisition circuit board configured to acquire detection data of the plurality of detector assemblies, and output detection data of the first detector assembly or detection data of all detector assemblies for imaging in a corresponding scan mode according to different scan modes.

[0015] In some embodiments, the data acquisition circuit board is configured to output detection data of the first detector assembly for DR imaging in a digital radiography (DR) scan mode, and output detection data of all detector assemblies for CT imaging in a computed tomography (CT) scan mode.

[0016] Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose a container / vehicle inspection system comprising the area array detector.

[0017] Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose a detection method, comprising:

[0018] acquiring detection data of a plurality of detector assemblies arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector assembly of the plurality of detector assemblies is different from a second detector assembly;

[0019] outputting detection data of the first detector assembly or detection data of all detector assemblies for imaging in a corresponding scan mode according to different scan modes.

[0020] In some embodiments, in the case of a DR scan mode, detection data of the first detector assembly is outputted for DR imaging, and in the case of a CT scan mode, detection data of all detector assemblies is outputted for CT imaging.

[0021] In some embodiments, a DR scan mode is performed first, and when a suspicious substance that is difficult to identify is found, a CT scan mode is switched to. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, will be described below.

[0023] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the accompanying drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the disclosure, and other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative labor.

[0024] Figure 1 A front view of a flat array detector showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0025] Figure 2 A side view of a flat array detector showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0026] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a flat array detector having a different detector assembly from other detector assemblies showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4 And Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a detector unit showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing the mounting of a detector unit to a backplane showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0029] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing the arrangement of a plurality of detector assemblies on a curved backplane showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0030] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing the arrangement of a plurality of flat array detectors in a tiled combination showing some embodiments of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the disclosure will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the disclosure.

[0032] Unless specifically stated, the "first", "second", and the like descriptions in the disclosure are used to distinguish different objects, and do not represent size or time sequence and the like meanings.

[0033] Figure 1 A front view of a flat array detector showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0034] Figure 2 A side view of a flat array detector showing some embodiments of the disclosure.

[0035] As Figure 1 And Figure 2As shown, the planar array detector of the embodiment includes, for example, a data acquisition circuit board 1, a base plate 2, and a plurality of detector assemblies 3 arranged sparsely, etc. The base plate 2 is used to carry and mount the plurality of detector assemblies 3 and the data acquisition circuit board 1. The number of detector assemblies and the spacing between different detector assemblies can be configured and adjusted according to actual business needs.

[0036] In the plurality of detector assemblies 3 arranged sparsely, a first detector assembly 32 is different from other second detector assemblies 31, for example, having different scintillator arrays. The first detector assembly 32 is different from each second detector assembly 31 in at least one of the pixel size and the material of the scintillator array. For example, the first detector assembly 32 includes a scintillator array of a first pixel size and a matching photoelectric device, and the second detector assembly 31 includes a scintillator array of a second pixel size and a matching photoelectric device, wherein the first pixel size is smaller than the second pixel size, for example, the first pixel size is 1 / 4 of the second pixel size, so that a higher resolution imaging is realized by using the detector assembly with a smaller pixel size. The scintillator array of the first detector assembly 32 is, for example, a GAGG (Gadolinium Aluminum Gallium Garnet) scintillator array. The scintillator array of the second detector assembly 31 is, for example, a cesium iodide scintillator array. See Figure 3 , a schematic view of the first detector assembly 32 in the first row is shown, however, it can be understood that the arrangement position of the first detector assembly 32 is not limited by the disclosure.

[0037] As shown in Figures 4-6 , a preset number (such as two) of detector assemblies 3 arranged adjacently are arranged inside a detector housing 4 and are sealed and mounted through uniformly distributed sealing mounting holes 6 to form a separate fully sealed structure detector unit 5. The detector unit 5 is also sealed and mounted with the base plate 2 through the sealing structure screw hole 7 by using the screw 8.

[0038] The sealing structure isolates the scintillator array, photodiode and related electronics in the detector unit 5 from water vapor and smoke in the use environment, which can improve the reliability of the planar array detector and enable it to operate reliably for a long time in, for example, coastal ports and other places. The detector unit 5 has a separate sealing structure, which can be increased, decreased, replaced, and does not affect the function of the entire planar array detector, can be assembled into different structures, applied to different business system needs, and more flexible and economical in production and manufacturing.

[0039] As shown in Figure 6As shown, the area array detector further comprises a filler assembly 9, which can be a light material such as plastic. The filler assembly 9 and the detector assembly 3 arranged adjacent thereto are arranged inside a detector housing 4 to form a self-contained fully-sealed detector unit 5, which is also sealingly mounted to the base plate 2. If two detector assemblies 3 arranged adjacent thereto and the detector housings 4 form a self-contained fully-sealed detector unit 5, when the number of detector assemblies 3 is odd, a filler assembly 9 can be arranged, which is arranged inside a detector housing 4 together with the detector assembly 3 arranged adjacent thereto to form a self-contained fully-sealed detector unit 5.

[0040] In addition, the detector unit 5 can further comprise a multi-channel current input analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for collecting and digitizing the detection signals from the detector assemblies 3.

[0041] The base plate 2 shown in the foregoing embodiments is a planar base plate. The base plate 2 can also be a curved base plate. As shown, Figure 7 In the case where the base plate 2 is a curved base plate, the plurality of detector assemblies 31, 32 are arranged on the curved surface of the curved base plate, and the detection sensitive surfaces of the plurality of detector assemblies 31, 32 are curved and aligned with the ray source located in the central region of the curved surface. This allows the ray beam to be directly incident on the center of each detection crystal pixel, reduces scattering crosstalk, and improves imaging quality.

[0042] The data acquisition circuit board 1 is configured to collect detection data of the plurality of detector assemblies, and output the detection data of the first detector assembly 32 or the detection data of all the detector assemblies 3 for imaging in the corresponding scanning mode according to different scanning modes.

[0043] For example, the data acquisition circuit board 1 is configured to output the detection data of the first detector assembly 32 for DR imaging in the DR scanning mode, which can realize fast and high-quality imaging and can be used for higher-speed scanning, and output the detection data of all the detector assemblies for CT imaging in the CT scanning mode, which can obtain more detection data in a shorter scanning time.

[0044] The scanning mode can be switched according to business needs. For example, DR scanning is first performed, and when there is suspicious matter that is difficult to identify in the image, CT mode is switched to perform scanning and reconstruct the image to find more detailed matter structures. Thus, one set of equipment can realize the functions of two sets of equipment, and can select the working mode according to the characteristics of the inspected matter, or can simultaneously view and analyze the inspected matter from two dimensions and three dimensions to obtain more comprehensive matter information from different dimensions and has higher matter identification capability.

[0045] In the case that the pixel size of the scintillator array of the first detector assembly 32 is different from that of the second detector assembly 31, the data acquisition circuit board 1 is further configured to process the detection data of the first detector assembly 32 and the second detector assembly 31 into the same pixel size by pixel segmentation or pixel combination before outputting the detection data of all the detector assemblies.

[0046] For example, the first pixel size of the scintillator array of the first detector assembly 32 is 1 / 4 of the second pixel size of the scintillator array of the second detector assembly 31, and the detection data of the first detector assembly 32 can be combined into 1 pixel output for every 4 pixels, so that the size of each pixel of the detection data of the first detector assembly 32 is consistent with that of the second detector assembly 31. In this way, the integrity of the CT imaging data is maintained, and when the DR imaging data is output separately, the imaging is clearer due to the smaller pixel size.

[0047] The data acquisition circuit board 1 can be implemented based on, for example, FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or other programmable devices.

[0048] In some embodiments, multiple area array detectors can also be combined for use, and multiple area array detectors can be spliced into a larger area array detector. As shown in Figure 8 The multiple area array detectors are arranged laterally and seamlessly into an area array of sufficient length, so that the multiple area array detectors are combined for detection, more detection data is obtained in a shorter scanning time, and the material identification capability is higher.

[0049] The area array detector or the combination thereof in each of the above embodiments can be used in large products such as container / vehicle inspection systems, for example, in X / Gamma ray container / vehicle CT / DR inspection equipment. That is, the container / vehicle inspection system includes the area array detector or the combination thereof in each of the above embodiments. In addition to the area array detector or the combination thereof, the container / vehicle inspection system can further include an accelerator for generating X rays or Gamma rays of a certain dose and energy, and an image acquisition device for converting the electrical signal output by the area array detector into a digital image signal.

[0050] Some embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a corresponding detection method, comprising: collecting detection data of a plurality of detector assemblies arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector assembly in the plurality of detector assemblies is different from a second detector assembly; and outputting detection data of the first detector assembly or detection data of all detector assemblies according to different scanning modes for imaging in the corresponding scanning mode. For example, in the case of a DR scanning mode, the detection data of the first detector assembly is output for DR imaging, and in the case of a CT scanning mode, the detection data of all detector assemblies is output for CT imaging. In addition, as mentioned above, the scanning mode can be switched according to business needs. For example, first perform DR scanning, and then switch to CT mode for scanning when there is suspicious matter that is difficult to identify in the image.

[0051] The above merely provides the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A area array detector for a container / vehicle inspection system, characterized by, The application relates to a detector assembly, comprising: a plurality of detector components arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector component is different from a second detector component; a base plate for carrying and mounting the plurality of detector components, wherein a preset number of detector components arranged adjacently are arranged in a detector housing to form a self-contained and fully-sealed detector unit, and the detector unit is mounted to the base plate in a sealed manner.

2. The area array detector according to claim 1, wherein The first detector component and the second detector component have different scintillator arrays.

3. The area array detector of claim 1, wherein, The first detector component and the second detector component have different scintillator arrays in at least one of pixel size and material.

4. The area array detector of claim 1, wherein The preset number includes 2.

5. The area array detector of claim 1, wherein The application further relates to a detector assembly, comprising: a filler component and a detector component arranged adjacently to the filler component, wherein the filler component and the detector component are arranged in a detector housing to form a self-contained and fully-sealed detector unit, and the detector unit is mounted to the base plate in a sealed manner.

6. The area array detector of claim 1, wherein The base plate is a planar base plate or a curved base plate.

7. The area array detector of claim 6, wherein In the case of the curved base plate, the plurality of detector components are arranged on the curved surface of the curved base plate, so that the detection sensitive surfaces of the plurality of detector components are curved and are aligned with a radiation source located in the central region of the curved surface.

8. The area array detector of claim 3, wherein, The first pixel size of the scintillator array of the first detector component is smaller than the second pixel size of the scintillator array of the second detector component.

9. The area array probe of any one of claims 1-8, wherein, A plurality of area array detectors are spliced into a larger area array detector.

10. A area array detector for a container / vehicle inspection system, characterized by, The application relates to a detector assembly, comprising: a plurality of detector components arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector component is different from a second detector component; a base plate for carrying and mounting the plurality of detector components; a data acquisition circuit board configured to acquire detection data of the plurality of detector components, and output detection data of the first detector component or detection data of all the detector components for imaging in a corresponding scanning mode according to different scanning modes.

11. The area array detector of claim 10, wherein, The data acquisition circuit board is configured to output the detection data of the first detector component for DR imaging in a digital radiography (DR) scanning mode, and output the detection data of all the detector components for CT imaging in a computed tomography (CT) scanning mode.

12. The area array probe of claim 10, wherein, The first detector component and the second detector component have different scintillator arrays.

13. The area array detector of claim 10, wherein, The first detector component and the second detector component have different scintillator arrays in at least one of pixel size and material.

14. The area array detector of claim 10, wherein, A preset number of detector components arranged adjacently are arranged in a detector housing to form a self-contained and fully-sealed detector unit, and the detector unit is mounted to the base plate in a sealed manner.

15. The area array detector of claim 14, wherein, The preset number includes 2.

16. The area array detector of claim 10, wherein, The application further relates to a detector assembly, comprising: a filler component and a detector component arranged adjacently to the filler component, wherein the filler component and the detector component are arranged in a detector housing to form a self-contained and fully-sealed detector unit, and the detector unit is mounted to the base plate in a sealed manner.

17. The area array detector of claim 10, wherein, The base plate is a planar base plate or a curved base plate.

18. The area array detector of claim 17, wherein, In the case of the curved base plate, the plurality of detector components are arranged on the curved surface of the curved base plate, so that the detection sensitive surfaces of the plurality of detector components are curved and are aligned with a radiation source located in the central region of the curved surface.

19. The area array detector of claim 13, wherein, The first pixel size of the scintillator array of the first detector assembly is smaller than the second pixel size of the scintillator array of the second detector assembly.

20. A container / vehicle inspection system comprising the area detector of any one of claims 1-19.

21. A method of detection based on the area array detector of any of claims 1-19, characterized by, comprising: collecting detection data of a plurality of detector assemblies arranged sparsely, wherein a first detector assembly of the plurality of detector assemblies is different from a second detector assembly; outputting the detection data of the first detector assembly or the detection data of all detector assemblies for imaging according to different scan modes.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein in case of a DR scan mode, the detection data of the first detector assembly is outputted for DR imaging, and in case of a CT scan mode, the detection data of all detector assemblies is outputted for CT imaging.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein firstly performing a DR scan mode, and then switching to a CT scan mode when suspicious matter which is difficult to identify is found.

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