PHASE I - HIGH POWER CONTINUOUS DUTY CLINICAL X-RAY TUBE

A PROOF OF PRINCIPLE TEST IS PROPOSED FOR A NEW CLASS OF INTERNALLY LIQUID COOLED ROTATING ANODE X-RAY TUBES SUITABLEFOR DIAGNOSTIC USE. CONVENTIONAL TUBES OF THIS TYPE, WHICH HAVE BEEN USED FOR 30 YEARS IN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, ARE POWER LIMITED AT THE ANODE-LIQUID HEAT EXCHANGE SURFACE. THE PROPOSED TUBE OVERCOMES THESE LIMITATIONS. THIS NEW HIGH AVERAGE AND HIGH PEAK POWER TUBE WILL REDUCE THE COST OF RADIOGRAPHIC EXAMINATIONS SUCH AS CT AND DIGITAL BY INCREASING PATIENT THROUGHPUT, AND BY IMPROVING TUBE LIFE, I.E., CT, WITH A CONCOMMITANT REDUCTION IN ROOM DOWNTIME. NEW TECHNIQUES REQUIRING HIGHER AVERAGE POWER SUCH AS ENERGYSUBTRACTION, SPECTRAL OPTIMIZATION AND SPECIAL SCATTER REJECTION CAN BECOME MORE CLINICALLY USEFUL. THE MEDICAL TUBE INDUSTRY HAS SPENT LARGE SUMS TO INCREASE ANODE HEAT STORAGE CAPACITY FROM 400,000 TO 1 MILLION HEAT UNITS WHICH IS REFLECTED IN ALMOST DOUBLING TUBE PRICES. BEING CONTINUOUSLY COOLED THE PROPOSED TUBE WILL HAVE, IN EFFECT, AN UNLIMITED "HEAT UNIT" RATING, AND IT WILL ALSO BE COMPETITIVELY PRICED. IN ELECTRONIC (FILM LESS) RADIOGRAPHYI.E. DIGITAL, AND OPTIMALLY SMALL, AND NOT FOCAL SPOT OVERHEATING LIMITED, FOCAL SPOT SIZE WILL IMPROVE IMAGE QUALITY. AAT UCSF, RSI MICROFOCUS TUBE MAGNIFICATION FLUOROSCOPY ON 105MM FILM HAS SHOW RESOLUTION AND DOSIMETRY COMPARABLE TO SPOT FILMS. HUMAN AND ANIMAL VILLI HAVE BEEN VISUALIZED ON 105MM FILM. A FIXED ANODE STRUCTURE WILL BE DESIGNED USING THE PRINCIPLES OF THIS NEW INVENTION TO DEMONSTRATE THE 10 TIMES OR GREATER INCREASE IN HEAT FLUX TRANSFER OVER CONVENTIONAL INTERNALLY LIQUID COOLED ROTATINGANODE X-RAY TUBE DESIGNS. THIS PROGRAM ADDRESSES THE DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING RESEARCH BRANCH (NCI) SOLICITATION.