METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PREDICTING FAILURE OF AN X-RAY TUBE

Method and apparatus for predicting maintenance and failure of X-ray tubes are disclosed. X-ray radiation signals are received directly from one or more X-ray detectors without being attenuated by an object or subject under examination. The the unattenuated X-ray radiation signals and scan metadata data are stored in memory, and time domain analysis and frequency domain analysis is performed on the stored X-ray radiation signals. Amplitude and frequency data for all peaks greater than a predetermined Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) from a spectrum derived from the frequency analysis are stored. Components of an X-ray tube are monitored according to the stored amplitude and frequency data. The stored amplitude and frequency data for all peaks greater than the predetermined SNR may be written to a data file for further analysis.