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EP0077677A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Radiation image read-out method and apparatus

Assignee: Fujifilm Holdings Corp
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Filing: 1982-10-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2002-10-18
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Abstract

Abstract A radiation image read-out system in which a stimulable phosphor sheet (103) carrying a radiation image stored thereon is exposed to a stimulating ray which causes it to emit light in the pattern of the stored image, and the emitted light is photoelectrically read out in section (113) and processed to form an image at section (114). Preliminary read-out is conducted in section (112) to investigate the image input information on the phosphor sheet by use of a stimulating ray having stimulation energy lower than the stimulation energy in the final read-out for obtaining a visible image. The image input information is displayed, e.g., on a CRT (210) to manually set final read-out and image processing conditions or directly sent to a control circuit for automatically setting them. Preliminary (112) and final (113) read-out sections are formed separately, or a single read-out section is used to conduct both read-out steps.

Inventors

  • 👤 Toshiaki Suzuki
  • 👤 Kazuo Horikawa

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-03 20:25
CPC Classifications
H; H05; H05G; H05G1/00; H05G1/08; H05G1/64; G; G01; G01T; G01T1/00; G01T1/16; G01T1/20; G01T1/2012; G01T1/2014; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/40; H04N1/407; H04N1/4072; H05G1/60

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim 98 words
A radiation image read-out method in which a stimulable phosphor sheet having a radiation image stored thereon is exposed to a stimulating ray which causes the stimulable phosphor sheet to emit light in the pattern of the stored image, and the emitted light is photoelectrically read out, comprising, prior to final read-out for obtaining a visible image for viewing purposes, conducting preliminary read-out for reading out said radiation image stored on said stimulable phosphor sheet by use of a stimulating ray having stimulation energy lower than the stimulation energy of the stimulating ray used in said final read-out.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 98 words
A radiation image read-out method in which a stimulable phosphor sheet having a radiation image stored thereon is exposed to a stimulating ray which causes the stimulable phosphor sheet to emit light in the pattern of the stored image, and the emitted light is photoelectrically read out, comprising, prior to final read-out for obtaining a visible image for viewing purposes, conducting preliminary read-out for reading out said radiation image stored on said stimulable phosphor sheet by use of a stimulating ray having stimulation energy lower than the stimulation energy of the stimulating ray used in said final read-out.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 30 words
A method as defined in claim 1 wherein image input information obtained by the preliminary read-out is monitored to set read-out conditions for the final read-out and/or image processing conditions.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 33 words
A method as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein read-out conditions for the final read-out and/or image processing conditions are automatically set based on image input information obtained by the preliminary read-out.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 31 words
A method as defined in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said preliminary read-out and said final read-out are conducted by scanning said stimulable phosphor sheet with the respective stimulating rays.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 25 words
A method as defined in claim 4 wherein the scanning speed in said preliminary read-out is higher than the scanning speed in said final read-out.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 34 words
A method as defined in claim 4 or 5 wherein the beam diameter of the stimulating ray in said preliminary read-out is larger than the beam diameter of the stimulating ray in said'final read-out.
Claim 8
Independent Claim 21 words
A method as defined in any preceding claim wherein said preliminary read-out is conducted within one hour before said final read-out.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 111 words
A radiation image read-out apparatus including a stimulating ray emitting means for emitting a stimulating ray to a stimulable phosphor sheet having a radiation image stored thereon, a means for moving said stimulable phosphor sheet, and a light detecting means for photoelectrically reading out light emitted from said stimulable phosphor sheet in the pattern of the radiation image stored thereon upon exposure thereof to said stimulating ray, characterised by means capable of, prior to emission of the stimulating ray for final read-out by said stimulating ray emitting means, emitting a stimulating ray for preliminary read-out having stimulation energy lower than the stimulating ray for final read-out to said stimulable phosphor sheet.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 111 words
A radiation image read-out apparatus including a stimulating ray emitting means for emitting a stimulating ray to a stimulable phosphor sheet having a radiation image stored thereon, a means for moving said stimulable phosphor sheet, and a light detecting means for photoelectrically reading out light emitted from said stimulable phosphor sheet in the pattern of the radiation image stored thereon upon exposure thereof to said stimulating ray, characterised by means capable of, prior to emission of the stimulating ray for final read-out by said stimulating ray emitting means, emitting a stimulating ray for preliminary read-out having stimulation energy lower than the stimulating ray for final read-out to said stimulable phosphor sheet.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 46 words
An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said stimulating ray emitting means is provided with an adjusting means capable of making the stimulation energy of said stimulating ray in the preliminary read-out lower than the stimulation energy of said stimulating ray in the final read-out.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 23 words
An apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said stimulating ray emitting means makes the stimulating ray scan on said stimulable phosphor sheet.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 118 words
An apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein the means for emitting the stimulating ray for the preliminary read-out, a means for moving said stimulable phosphor sheet for the preliminary read-out, and a light detecting means for photoelectrically reading out light emitted from said stimulable phosphor sheet in the pattern of the radiation image stored thereon upon exposure to the stimulating ray for the preliminary read-out are provided separately from the stimulating ray emitting means for the final read-out, the means for moving said stimulable phosphor sheet for the final read-out, and the light detecting means for photoelectrically reading out light emitted from said stimulable phosphor sheet in the pattern of the stimulating ray for the final read-out.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 40 words
An apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein the stimulating ray emitting means for the final read-out and the means for emitting the stimulating ray for the preliminary read-out make the respective stimulating rays scan on said stimulable phosphor sheet.
Claim 15
Independent Claim 31 words
An apparatus as defined in any of claims 8 to 12 wherein there is provided a monitoring means for displaying the output of the light detecting means for the preliminary read-out.
Claim 16
Independent Claim 40 words
An apparatus as defined in any of claims 8 to 13 wherein there is provided an input unit for inputting read-out conditions in said final read-out and/or image processing conditions based on image input information obtained by said preliminary read-out.
Claim 17
Independent Claim 41 words
An apparatus as defined in any of claims 8 to 12 wherein there is provided an automatic control means for setting read-out conditions in said final read-out and/or image processing conditions based on image input information obtained by said preliminary read-out.

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