FUNCTIONAL AND PHYSICAL IMAGING BY SPECTROSCOPIC DETECTION OF PHOTO ABSORPTION OF PHOTONS AND SCATTERED PHOTONS FROM RADIOACTIVE SOURCES OR DIFFRACTED X-RAY SYSTEMS
An apparatus to examine a target volume in a patient includes an x-ray source generating a first x-ray beam targeting the target volume, and a detector which is placed at an angle less than 180 degrees relative to a beam path of the first x-ray beam to receive a second x-ray beam generated from the first x-ray beam interacting with the target volume. A method to image a target volume in a patient includes directing a first x-ray beam generated from an x-ray source at the target volume, wherein a second x-ray beam is generated by an interaction of the first x-ray beam with the target volume, detecting the second x-ray beam using a detector that is placed at less than 180 degrees relative to a path of the first x-ray beam, and obtaining spatial and temporal information of the target volume using the detected second x-ray beam.
