Abstract: A smart power system and method to protect an X-ray tube of a CT imaging system during a power outage, the system and method comprising monitoring a remining amount of power from a backup power source supplied by an UPS coupled to a PDU that is providing power to the CT imaging system. The X-ray tube having a liquid metal bearing rotating assembly. The system and method automatically strategizing and determining where to supply the remaining amount of backup power to prevent a hot landing of the X-ray tube liquid metal bearing rotating assembly.

Abstract: The present invention is, in one embodiment, a method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node. This method includes steps of: generating status messages indicative of a push button states at each of push button node; communicating the status messages to the master node via the network; determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages; and triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages.