A Novel Implementation of a Line X-Ray Source and Its Application to Computed Tomography with Linear Scan Trajectories

In this work, we propose a novel implementation of a line xray source and investigate the computed tomographic (CT) image reconstruction algorithms where linear scan trajectories are assumed. In our proposal, a line x-ray source is realized by introducing a new design of an x-ray tube. Compared with the conventional x-ray tube design, the new tube contains a helical fin as the target. When incoming electrons bombard the surface of a rotating helical fin, a sequence of x-ray focal spots will be produced forming a line x-ray source. Equipped with the novel x-ray tube, x-ray CT scanners can be built where linear scan trajectories are assumed. We demonstrate also in this work that multiple linesegment scan trajectory CT reconstruction problems can be readily solved by Katsevich's filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm.