COMPUTED
TOMOGRAPHY
Take the machine apart. Follow the signal. See how a scan becomes an image.
SCROLL TO BEGIN ↓ONE MACHINE.
THREE SYSTEMS.
A gantry, a moving table, and a rotating imaging system work as one.
GANTRY · TABLE · ROTATIONUNDER
THE SHELL
The outer housing separates to reveal the components carrying the scan.
ASSEMBLY / EXPLODEDTHE ROTATING
GANTRY
Source and detector orbit together, collecting measurements from every angle.
360° ACQUISITIONX-RAY
SOURCE
A rotating X-ray tube produces radiation from multiple angles around the patient.
X-RAYS VISUALIZED · ROTATION SLOWEDTHROUGH
THE BODY
Tissues attenuate the beam differently. Dense structures absorb more; air absorbs less.
I = I₀ e^(−μx)MEASURED
IN LIGHT
The detector records how much radiation reaches each individual element.
DETECTOR ARRAYONE ANGLE.
ONE PROJECTION.
Each rotation produces hundreds of views: narrow records of attenuation across the body.
0° · 45° · 90° · 135° · 180°DATA
IN MOTION
Each row records the detector readings at one angle. Stack the rows to build a sinogram.
DETECTOR POSITION × ACQUISITION ANGLEFROM SIGNAL
TO SLICE
Reconstruction combines the measurements until internal structure resolves into a cross-section.
AXIAL SLICES · SIMULATED ANATOMYEXPLORE THE
SCANNER
Drag to rotate. Scroll to zoom. Select a component to isolate its role.
Choose a system from the list or directly on the model.