Methods and apparatus for stabilizing a gantry in a computed tomography system

The present invention, in one form, is a brake assembly for a tilting gantry. The brake assembly is coupled to the gantry in substantially the same manner as a driving actuator is connected to the gantry, and includes a hydraulic cylinder, a piston, a reservoir and a valve. The cylinder includes a first end, a second end, and a sidewall extending between the first end and the second end to define a chamber. The piston includes a head and an arm which is configured to couple to the gantry. The piston is positioned within the hydraulic cylinder so that the head of the piston is in the cylinder chamber and the piston arm extends through a piston opening of the first end of the hydraulic cylinder. The reservoir is configured to retain hydraulic fluid, and the valve is connected in series circuit between the hydraulic cylinder and the reservoir. Particularly, a fluid line couples the reservoir to the hydraulic cylinder, and the valve is positioned in the fluid line to control the flow of hydraulic fluid between the reservoir and the hydraulic cylinder.