New Way’s CT Scanner Bearings Add Performance Advantages to Medical Equipment

CT scanners serve a critical medical function in the diagnosis of diseases and conditions by visualizing virtually every body part with greater clarity than a traditional X-ray. This, often life-saving computed tomography imaging machine, depends on the precise and noiseless operation of bearings to support its accuracy and speed. CT Scanner Air Bearings from New Way, make a significant difference in the performance and life of this vital equipment.

Ball bearing systems that traditionally support the rotating gantry ring in CT scanners have limitations as they use contact rings causing friction that results in wear, noise, heat, and vibration. The factors also constrains revolution speed and reduces accuracy.

CT scanner manufacturers are solving roller bearing performance and reliability issues by using air bearing technology to attain gains in speed, accuracy and performance life. Offering friction-free, non-contact operation, air bearings promise higher speeds, better reliability, and less noise than roller bearings.

For example, the New Way CT Scanner Bearings maintain a 5-micron air film between the rotation ring and non-rotating frame of CT scanners, eliminating virtually any friction to sustain a stable high speed rotation that reduces scan time. While thin, the air layer is very stiff, creating a stable support for the ring that allows for surface speeds up to 100 meters per second.

As a zero-wear technology with no moving parts, these radial air bearings provide greater performance benefits for CT Scan machines:

• Higher rotational speeds of the X-ray rotor assembly to shorten imaging time associated with CT scan procedure
• Nil vibration and heat build-up optimize scanning resolution
• High stiffness and repeatability to optimize performance
• Non-contacting surface rotation to eliminate wear and noise that degrades imaging
• No lubrication requirements

By substantially decreasing friction, the radial bearings also lower power requirements to turn on the scanner that equates to energy savings.

In addition to medical equipment including CT scanners, New Way precision air bearings are used in other rotary motion applications across an array of industries, notably semiconductor and photovoltaics manufacturing. Check out our short animation video that shows an example of how New Way Porous Media Technology enables both noncontact rotary motion and axial constraint in a Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner.