A volumetric computed tomography system with a large field of view has, in
a forward geometry implementation, multiple x-ray point sources emitting
corresponding fan beams at a single detector array. The central ray of at
least one of the fan beams is radially offset from the axis of rotation
of the system by an offset distance D. Consequently, the diameter of the
in-plane field of view provided by the fan beams may be larger than in a
conventional CT scanner. Any number of point sources may be used.
Analogous systems may be implemented with an inverse geometry so that a
single source array emits multiple fan beams that converge upon
corresponding detectors.