Design and implementation of a portable computerized axial tomography system for field use

A prototype, portable computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner for in-field use has been designed, built and tested by researchers at the University of Missouri — Columbia. The device weighs 24 kg (53 lbs), is battery-powdered (providing eight hours of use without recharge), and fits into two small suitcases. A typical scan provides a low resolution (1.0 cm) image of an object 30 cm (12 in.) in diameter with a density of 0.65 g/cm³ in eight minutes of imaging and data reconstruction time. The resulting image is displayed in the field on the system's portable computer system.