High efficiency, high resolution, real-time radiographic imaging system

Claim 2

A scintillating optical fiber comprising: a) an inner plastic core fiber which is transparent in at least a portion of the visible radiation spectrum and which has an index of refraction of about 1.45 or greater, the inner plastic core fiber comprising; 1) a polymeric matrix material; 2) a metal moiety; and 3) an organic quench-resistant fluorescent material; b) a plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber and which has an index of refraction which is less than the index of refraction of the inner plastic core fiber by a difference of about 0.1 or more.

Claim 3

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein an outer cladding material surrounds the plastic cladding material and wherein the outer cladding material is substantially opaque to visible radiation.

Claim 4

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 2 wherein the outer cladding material which surrounds the plastic cladding material is a metal or an alloy.

Claim 5

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 2 wherein the outer cladding material which surrounds the plastic cladding material is a fusible plastic material.

Claim 6

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 2 wherein the outer cladding material which surrounds the plastic cladding material is a metal or an alloy which is clad with a fusible plastic material.

Claim 7

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the polymeric matrix material comprises one or more aromatic polymer(s) or copolymer(s).

Claim 8

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 6 wherein the aromatic polymer is polystyrene, polyvinyltoluene, polyvinylxylene, polyvinylbiphenyl, polyvinylterphenyl or polyvinylanthracene.

Claim 9

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 6 wherein the polymeric matrix material is a copolymer of styrene, vinyltoluene, vinylxylene, a C 2 to C 20 alkyl-styrene, divinylbenzene, or combinations thereof.

Claim 10

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the polymeric matrix material contains a plasticizer therefor wherein the plasticizer contains an aromatic character.

Claim 11

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the polymeric matrix material has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of about 40° C. or higher.

Claim 12

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 10 wherein the polymeric matrix material has a glass transition temperature (Tg) between about 40° C. and about 70° C.

Claim 13

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the polymeric matrix material comprises one or more acrylic polymer(s) or copolymer(s) having dissolved therein an aromatic compound.

Claim 14

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 12 wherein the acrylic polymer is poly(methyl methacrylate) and the aromatic compound is naphthalene.

Claim 15

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the metal moiety is a moiety selected from the group consisting of lead, bismuth, tin, lithium six, boron ten, indium, gadolinium, and combinations thereof.

Claim 16

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 14 wherein the metal moiety is an inorganic compound or an organo-metallic compound.

Claim 17

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 14 wherein the metal moiety comprises about 1% or more of the weight of the inner plastic core fiber.

Claim 18

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 16 wherein the metal moiety comprises between about 2% and about 15% of the weight of the inner plastic core fiber.

Claim 19

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 14 wherein the metal moiety is dispersed within the polymeric matrix material.

Claim 20

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 14 wherein the metal moiety is chemically bonded to the polymeric matrix material.

Claim 21

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 19 wherein the metal moiety chemically bonded to the polymeric matrix material is a metal salt of a polymer or copolymer containing carboxyl groups.

Claim 22

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 20 wherein the metal moiety chemically bonded to the polymeric matrix material is a lithium salt of a polymer or copolymer of p-carboxystyrene.

Claim 23

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the organic quench-resistant fluorescent material is a compound which fluoresces in at least a portion of the visible radiation spectrum.

Claim 24

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the inner plastic core fiber contains two or more organic quench-resistant fluorescent materials.

Claim 25

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the organic quench-resistant fluorescent material comprises about 0.1% or more of the weight of the inner plastic core fiber.

Claim 26

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 24 wherein the organic quench-resistant fluorescent material comprises between about 0.1% and about 2.0 % of the weight of the inner plastic core fiber.

Claim 27

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the organic quench-resistant fluorescent material is a compound selected from a group consisting of 2,7-diphenylfluorene, 2,7-diphenyl-9,9-dipropylfluorene, 2,7-di(p-methoxyphenyl)-9,9-dipropylfluorene, 2,7-di(t-amylphenyl)-9,9-dipropylfluorene, 2,2'-bis(7-phenyl-9,9-dipropylfluorene), 4,4"-di-t-amyl-p-terphenyl, and combinations thereof.

Claim 28

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the organic quench resistant fluorescent material is chemically bonded to the polymeric matrix material.

Claim 29

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber, comprises an amorphous fluoropolymer.

Claim 30

The scintillating optical fiber of claim 1 wherein the plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber, has an index of refraction which is less than the index of refraction of the inner plastic core fiber by a difference of about 0.2 or more.

Claim 31

A scintillator plate to convert penetrating radiation incident thereon, to visible radiation to form a photon image which comprises an array of scintillating optical fibers, the axis of each fiber being substantially parallel to the path of the incident penetrating radiation, each scintillating optical fiber comprising: a) an inner plastic core fiber which is transparent in at least a portion of the visible radiation spectrum and which has an index of refraction of about 1.45 or greater, the inner plastic core fiber comprising; 1) a polymeric matrix material; 2) a metal moiety; and 3) an organic quench-resistant fluorescent material; and, b) a plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber and which has an index of refraction which is less than the index of refraction of the inner plastic core fiber by a difference of about 0.1 or more.

Claim 32

A scintillator plate to convert penetrating radiation incident thereon, to visible radiation to form a photon image which comprises an array of scintillating optical fibers, the axis of each fiber being substantially parallel to the path of the incident penetrating radiation, each scintillating optical fiber comprising: a) an inner plastic core fiber which is transparent in at least a portion of the visible radiation spectrum and which has an index of refraction of about 1.45 or greater, the inner plastic core fiber comprising; 1) a polymeric matrix material; 2) a metal moiety; and 3) an organic quench-resistant fluorescent material; and, b) a plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber and which has an index of refraction which is less than the index of refraction of the inner plastic core fiber by a difference of about 0.1 or more.

Claim 33

The scintillator plate of claim 30 wherein an outer cladding material surrounds the plastic cladding material of each scintillating optical fiber and wherein the outer cladding material is substantially opaque to visible radiation.

Claim 34

The scintillator plate of claim 31 wherein the outer cladding material which surrounds the plastic cladding material is a fusible plastic material and wherein each scintillating optical fiber of the array is fused to its neighboring scintillating optical fibers by the fusible plastic material.

Claim 35

The scintillator plate of claim 31 wherein the outer cladding material which surrounds the plastic cladding material is a metal or an alloy which is clad with a fusible plastic material.

Claim 36

The scintillator plate of claim 30 wherein each of the scintillating optical fibers has diameter of about 1 millimeter or less.

Claim 37

The scintillator plate of claim 30 wherein the length of the scintillating optical fibers are between about 3 and about 30 millimeters.

Claim 38

The scintillator plate of claim 30 wherein the end of each of the scintillating optical fibers, upon which the incident penetrating radiation is incident thereon, is substantially reflective to the visible radiation.

Claim 39

The scintillator plate of claim 30 wherein the conversion efficiency of incident penetrating radiation to visible radiation is about 10% or greater, and the image resolution is about 5 line pairs per millimeter or better.

Claim 40

The scintillator plate of claim 30 wherein the plastic cladding material is a fusible plastic material and wherein each scintillating optical fiber of the array is fused to its neighboring scintillating optical fibers by the fusible plastic material.

Claim 41

A radiographic imaging system for producing an instant image of a subject, the system comprising in order: A) a source of penetrating radiation for traversing at least a portion of the subject; B) a position to locate the subject to be imaged; C) a scintillator plate to convert penetrating radiation incident thereon, to visible radiation to form a photon image; D) a charge coupled device camera to convert the photon image to a modulated electrical signal; and E) a monitor to convert the modulated electrical signal to a visible image or to capture the signal for data processing; wherein the scintillator plate comprises an array of scintillating optical fibers, the axis of each fiber being substantially parallel to the path of the incident penetrating radiation, each scintillating optical fiber comprising: a) an inner plastic core fiber which is transparent in at least a portion of the visible radiation spectrum and which has an index of refraction of about 1.45 or greater, the inner plastic core fiber comprising; 1) a polymeric matrix material; 2) a metal moiety; and 3) an organic quench-resistant fluorescent material; b) a plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber and which has an index of refraction which is less than the index of refraction of the inner plastic core fiber by a difference of about 0.1 or more.

Claim 42

A radiographic imaging system for producing an instant image of a subject, the system comprising in order: A) a source of penetrating radiation for traversing at least a portion of the subject; B) a position to locate the subject to be imaged; C) a scintillator plate to convert penetrating radiation incident thereon, to visible radiation to form a photon image; D) a charge coupled device camera to convert the photon image to a modulated electrical signal; and E) a monitor to convert the modulated electrical signal to a visible image or to capture the signal for data processing; wherein the scintillator plate comprises an array of scintillating optical fibers, the axis of each fiber being substantially parallel to the path of the incident penetrating radiation, each scintillating optical fiber comprising: a) an inner plastic core fiber which is transparent in at least a portion of the visible radiation spectrum and which has an index of refraction of about 1.45 or greater, the inner plastic core fiber comprising; 1) a polymeric matrix material; 2) a metal moiety; and 3) an organic quench-resistant fluorescent material; b) a plastic cladding material which surrounds the inner plastic core fiber and which has an index of refraction which is less than the index of refraction of the inner plastic core fiber by a difference of about 0.1 or more.

Claim 43

The radiographic imaging system of claim 39 wherein the penetrating radiation comprises electrons, protons, neutrons, x-rays or γ-rays.

Claim 44

The radiographic imaging system of claim 39 wherein an image intensifier is coupled to the scintillator plate (C) to amplify the intensity of the photon image entering the charge couple device camera (D).

Claim 45

The radiographic imaging system of claim 41 wherein the scintillator plate is coupled to the image intensifier by an image guide or a fiber optic taper.

Claim 46

The radiographic imaging system of claim 39 wherein the system detection efficiency of incident penetrating radiation is about 10% or greater, and the system image resolution is about 5 line pairs per millimeter or better.