Rotating slit X-ray backscatter imaging

We propose a new method of X-ray backscatter imaging which is a significant development of the well known flying spot approach. Instead of sweeping the imaged object by pencil X-ray beam, and recording the amplitude of backscattered radiation in order to form the raster image, the object is irradiated with a fan beam of X-rays, forming a line on the imaging plane. By properly chosen motion of the collimating slit, a set of lines, which makes up a 2D sinogram of the original object, can be collected. The backscatter image can then be obtained using one of the tomographic reconstruction algorithms, such as the filtered backprojection, which is well known in computed tomography or nuclear medicine. The feasibility of the method has been demonstrated experimentally using a prototype scanner with an industrial X-ray source. The main advantage of our method is the essentially more efficient use of the available X-ray source beam, by illuminating the object with a substantially larger photon flux at each time point. As a result, the image can be obtained at much shorter acquisition time and/or at much lower source power.