Arbitrary Path CT by Multi-Robot Imaging Platform (RadalyX)

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) has established itself as an important examination tool, not only in medicine but also in many scientific and industrial fields. It delivers volumetric information at a broad range of spatial resolutions and samples sizes. However, complex-shaped and large-sized parts impose a limitation on CT applicability due to the fact that the inspected parts must “fit” inside the CT machine. That applies even to large gantry-based scanners. Inspecting regions of interest of large structures, such as aircraft control surfaces, requires component disassembly, or even destructive cuts. Moreover, the wide range of sample shapes and sizes leads to a necessity to use a variety of scanning trajectories (cone-beam CT, helical scan, tomosynthesis, etc.). Each such trajectory requires a dedicated mechanics of the scanner. The robot’s movement flexibility allows using all these scanning approaches in one machine and even in one scan: an arbitrary path CT.