Manchester researchers solve 2D to 3D imaging problem

Published 26 February 2007

Multiple X-ray sources used to cut down on processing time; CXR and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council lend a hand

More news from the airport X-ray front. Researchers at the University of Manchester have made progress in overcoming one of the technical obstacles bedevilling the industry — how to rapidly construct 3D images out of 2D ones. Machines to date have been too slow for general acceptance, with the X-Ray source typically rotating around the suspicious bag or object. With the project name “X-ray CT reconstruction algorithms for airport security and process tomography,” the Manchester system, however, uses multiple X-ray sources simultaneously, with a special algorithm to process the data swiftly. CXR, a research-led organisation set up by airport security specialist Rapiscan Systems, picked up part of the tab, as did the U.K. government’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which provided £504,000.

-read more in this The Engineer report