JPH0675165B2 - Radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a radiation image recording the radiation image information, reading the image information as an electrical image signal, and reproducing the radiation image based on the image signal. The present invention relates to an information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus adapted to store and record radiation image information on a stimulable phosphor sheet that stores radiation energy.

(Prior Art) When a certain kind of phosphor is irradiated with radiation (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays, γ-rays, ultraviolet rays, electron beams, etc.), a part of the energy of this radiation is accumulated in the phosphor. Then, when the phosphor is irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, the phosphor emits stimulated emission depending on the accumulated energy. A phosphor having such properties is called a stimulable phosphor (stimulable phosphor).

Using this stimulable phosphor, the radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is once recorded on a stimulable phosphor sheet (hereinafter referred to as a stimulable phosphor sheet), and this is scanned by excitation light to emit light. A method has been proposed in which exhaust emission is performed, this stimulated emission light is photoelectrically read to obtain an image signal, and this image signal is processed to obtain a radiation image of a subject with good diagnostic suitability (for example, JP-A-55-55). No. 12429, No. 55-116340, No. 55-163472,
56-11395, 56-104645, etc.). This final image can be played as a hard copy or on a CRT. In any case, in such a radiation image information recording / reproducing method, the stimulable phosphor sheet does not finally record the image information, but temporarily stores the image information in order to give the image to the final recording medium as described above. Therefore, the stimulable phosphor sheet may be used repeatedly, and if it is used repeatedly, it is extremely economical.

In order to reuse the stimulable phosphor sheet as described above, the radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor sheet after the stimulated emission light is read is determined by, for example, JP-A-56-11392.
As shown in No. 56-12599, the sheet is irradiated with light or heat to be emitted to erase the residual radiation image, and the stimulable phosphor sheet may be used again for recording a radiation image.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention circulates a stimulable phosphor sheet capable of accumulating and recording a radiation image along a predetermined circulation passage, and irradiates the sheet with radiation through the subject in the circulation passage. By this, an image recording unit that accumulates and records the radiation image information of the subject on this sheet,
In the circulation passage, the excitation light source that emits excitation light for scanning the sheet on which the radiation image information is stored and recorded in the image recording unit and the stimulated emission light emitted from the sheet scanned by the excitation light are read. An image reading unit including a photoelectric reading unit for obtaining an image signal, and the sheet remaining in the circulation passage before the image is recorded on the sheet after the image reading is performed by the image reading unit. A radiation image information recording / reading device was previously proposed in which an erasing unit for emitting radiation energy is incorporated into one device, and the stimulable phosphor sheet is circulated between the respective units and repeatedly used. Sho 59-19224
No. 0). According to the radiation image information recording / reading device having such a structure, the radiation image information can be recorded and read continuously and efficiently.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the radiation image information recording / reading apparatus having the above-described configuration circulates and conveys a plurality of stimulable phosphor sheets along a circulation path to provide an image recording unit, a reading unit, and an erasing unit. Since they are sent in sequence, there is a problem that the size tends to increase. Also,
In order to reproduce the radiation image read by the above-mentioned device, an image reproducing device is additionally required. Therefore, when observing the reproduced radiation image for diagnosis, etc., go to a place where the image reproducing device is placed. Or, it is necessary to obtain the reconstructed radiographic image from that location.

Due to such a problem, it has been difficult for the conventional radiation image information recording / reading apparatus to meet the demand in the medical field for performing radiation image capturing everywhere and immediately observing the reproduced radiation image on the spot.

Therefore, the present invention provides a radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus which has a radiation image reproducing function in addition to the radiation image information recording (imaging) on the stimulable phosphor sheet and the reading function from the radiation image information recording / reproducing apparatus. It is intended to be provided.

(Means and Actions for Solving Problems) In the radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, a light-shielding cover, which will be described later, is passed through one end of a device housing that accommodates the stimulable phosphor sheet as described above. An opening for passing a cover is provided, and a light-shielding cover having a sheet passage opening is provided in the housing through the opening, and the sheet-passing opening is provided at an end held by the housing when popping out. The image recording unit is configured to irradiate the sheet disposed at the exposure position in the light-shielding cover protruding from the housing with the radiation having the image information, and the radiation image information is accumulated and recorded in the image recording unit. An image reading unit that irradiates an exciting light beam on the subsequent stimulable phosphor sheet to read the stimulated emission light emitted from the sheet by a photoelectric reading unit to obtain an image signal is a stimulable phosphor sheet. A reading sub-scanning unit that moves between a light position and a position that enters the housing through the sheet passage opening, and an excitation light beam on the stimulable phosphor sheet at a position near the opening in the housing. Is formed so as to perform scanning and reading by using a main scanning unit for reading for main scanning, and an image (residual image) is erased by the erasing unit as described above. While carrying out the recording sheet thus carried out so as to be sent out of the housing through the recording sheet carrying-out opening provided in the housing, an image reproducing section for reproducing and recording the image carried by the image signal is provided on the recording sheet, The feature of the present invention is that reproduction and recording of a radiation image can be performed.

In reading the radiation image information from the stimulable phosphor sheet in the image reading unit having the reading sub-scanning unit and the reading main-scanning unit as described above, this sheet is
When the image is read from the housing through the light-shielding cover protruding from the housing, or when the image is read back into the housing, the image can be read from the inside of the housing while entering the light-shielding cover. . In other words, since the sheet movement space for sub-scanning is secured by popping the light shield cover out of the housing, the housing itself is formed to have a size that can accommodate the light shield cover and the stimulable phosphor sheet when the device is not used. However, the size can be reduced to a size that is at least slightly larger than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of one sheet.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view thereof. As shown in the figure, this radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus has a main body 20 and a radiation source 33 supported by an arm 31. A housing 25 constituting the main body 20 accommodates a light-shielding cover 26 that can pop out from the housing 25. The light-shielding cover 26 is stored in the housing 25 when the apparatus is not used, is stored in the housing 25 when the apparatus is not used, and is pulled out of the housing 25 by grasping the grip 21 when the apparatus is used.

An elevating table 6 which is moved up and down by four cylinder devices 5 is arranged in the housing 25. The lift table 6 includes drive rollers 58A and 58B, each of which includes a pair of nip rollers.
A pair of endless vests 58C vertically stacked, a photomultiplier tube 28 as photoelectric reading means, an erasing light source 71 and a developing heat source 87 are mounted. The above drive roller 58
Endless vest 58E is hung on the upper roller of each of A and 58B. On the other hand, the case 2 of the light shielding cover 26
A drive roller 58D, which also includes a pair of nip rollers, is arranged at the end portion (the left end portion in the figure) on the side held by 5. When the lift table 6 is raised to the position shown in FIG. 1, the drive rollers 58A and 58B are set at the same height position as the drive roller 58D.

Further, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is arranged so as to be sandwiched by at least one of the drive rollers 58A, 58B, 58D and the endless belt 58C. The stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is formed by forming a stimulable phosphor layer 22B as described above on a plate-shaped support 22A,
With the lift table 6 set at the height position shown in FIG. 1,
Drive rollers 58A and 58B (thus endless belt 58E
Also, by rotating the endless belt 58C and the endless belt 58C in the forward and reverse directions, they are laterally conveyed between the housing 25 and the light-shielding cover 26. In this sheet 22, the support 22A
Is formed larger than the phosphor layer 22B, and the portions around the phosphor layer of the support 22A are holding portions 22a, 22b, 22c and 22d. Further, in the apparatus of this embodiment, the sheet 22 is arranged so that the phosphor layer 22B is located below the support 22A. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the housing 25 are set to be slightly larger than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the stimulable phosphor sheet 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, an opening 25a is provided at an end portion on the right side of the housing 25 in the drawing, and the light shielding cover 26 housed in the housing 25 passes through the opening 25a and the housing 25a. It is possible to jump out. In addition, in this embodiment, the grip 21 is grasped,
Although the light-shielding cover 26 is made to pop out of the housing 25 by manual operation, the light-blocking cover 26 may be moved by a drive device so as to pop out of the housing 25. One end of the light-shielding cover 26, that is, the light-shielding cover 26 is a housing 25.
A sheet passage opening 26a is provided at the end portion on the side held by the housing 25 when popped out from the sheet. Therefore, the inside of the light shielding cover 26 communicates with the inside of the housing 25 through the sheet passage opening 26a. Note that the light shield cover 26
When the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is stored in the housing 25, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is located in the light shielding cover 26. At this time, the lift table 6 is lowered to a position where it does not interfere with the cover 26.

An upper surface of the light-shielding cover 26, that is, a surface facing the sheet 22 from above when the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is housed in the light-shielding cover 26 is a photographing table 32. For example X
The radiation source 33 such as a ray tube faces the imaging stand 32 in the use state in which the light shielding cover 26 is pulled out from the housing 25 (see FIG. 1). The housing 25 and the portion of the light shielding cover 26 other than the imaging table 32 are lined with a radiation absorbing material such as a lead plate, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is fogged by environmental radiation other than the imaging radiation. It is designed not to cause.

During radiography of the subject (subject) 34, the subject 34 is placed, for example, on the back on the imaging table 32 of the light shielding cover 26 protruding from the housing 25, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is driven by the drive roller 58.
It is conveyed by the rotation of A, 58B, 58D and the endless belt 58C, and is set at the exposure position facing the imaging table 32 (the state shown in FIG. 1), and the radiation source 33 is operated in this state. Thereby, the radiation 29 transmitted through the subject 34 is irradiated to the stimulable phosphor sheet 22, and the sheet 22 (for details,
A stimulable phosphor layer 22B formed on the lower surface side of the sheet 22.
The radiation image information of the subject 34 is stored and recorded. The stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is supported by the sheet support base 88 in the light shielding cover 26. As is clear from the above description, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, the image recording unit 40 is composed of the imaging table 32 and the radiation source 33. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a grid 95 for absorbing scattered radiation from the subject 34 is provided inside the light shielding cover 26 below the imaging table 32. The grid 95 may be a so-called Bucky device that is reciprocally moved in the lateral direction.

An image reading unit 50 is provided in the housing 25. The image reading unit 50 sets, as an example, a laser light source 51 formed of a semiconductor laser, a mirror 53 that reflects the laser light 52 as excitation light emitted from the laser light source 51, and a beam diameter of the laser light 52 to a predetermined value. Beam expander 54, laser light
Cylindrical lens 55 that makes 52 incident on the mirror surface of the optical deflector 56 described below so as to form a line image in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the optical deflector 56, and light such as a rotating polygon mirror that reflects and deflects the laser light 52. The deflector 56, a long mirror 57 that reflects the deflected laser light 52 and one-dimensionally scans it on the sheet 22 (specifically, on the stimulable phosphor layer 22B), and the above-mentioned sub-scanning means for reading The drive rollers 58A, 58B, the endless belts 58C, 58E, and the long lengths as photoelectric reading means arranged so that the light receiving surface extends along the scanning line (main scanning line) on the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 by the laser light 52. Shaku photomultiplier tube (photomultiplier) 28 and this long photomultiplier tube
It has a light guide 28A optically coupled to the light receiving surface of 28. Further, an f · θ lens 61 and a cylindrical lens 62 are arranged between the light deflector 56 and the mirror 57, whereby the laser light 52 is constant at any position on the stimulable phosphor sheet 22. It is designed to focus on the beam diameter.

After the radiation image information of the subject 34 is accumulated and recorded on the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 as described above, the driving rollers 58D, 58B,
58A (and therefore the endless belt 58E) and the endless belt 58C are rotated so that the seat 22 is
It is moved at a constant speed from the inside of the light shielding cover 26 to the housing 25 side (3rd
(State shown in the figure). When the radiation image information is recorded, the drive roller 58D holds the holding portion 22c at one end of the stimulable phosphor sheet 22, and therefore, if the drive roller 58D is rotated after image recording, the stimulable phosphor is The sheet 22 can be conveyed immediately as described above. As the sheet 22 is conveyed, the laser light source 51 and the optical deflector 56 are operated, and the laser beam 52 scans the sheet 22. From the portion of the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 that is irradiated with the laser light 52, stimulated emission light 63 that carries the radiation image information accumulated and recorded in the sheet 22 is emitted. The stimulated emission light 63 is efficiently detected by the long photomultiplier tube 28 via the light guide 28A. While the main scanning of the laser light 52 is performed as described above, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is moved as described above to perform the sub-scanning.
Then, the stimulated emission light 63 (that is, radiation image information) is read two-dimensionally. The read image signal output from the long photomultiplier tube 28 is subjected to processing such as amplification, digitization, and image processing in the reading circuit 64, and then sent to an image reproducing unit 80 described later.

The long photomultiplier tube 28 described above is described in detail, for example, in JP-A-62-16666.
A brief description will now be given with reference to FIGS. The photomultiplier tube 28 has an electrode structure called a Venetian blind type as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as an example, and the main body 28A has a cylindrical shape and has a light receiving surface 28a. Photocathodes 28b are provided along the main body 28A so as to face each other, and a plurality of photocathodes 28b (in this example, 13
Dynodes 28c are stacked via the insulating member 28d,
It is fixed by a pin 28e to form a multiplication unit 28f. Each of the dynodes 28c is formed in a blind shape by bending a large number of U-shaped cuts in one conductive plate. A shield electrode 28g is fixed by a pin 28e via an insulating member 28d below the multiplication part 28f in the figure,
An anode 28h is provided in this shield electrode 28g. These electrodes are connected to the respective terminals of the terminal group 28i provided at the side end of the main body 28A in a one-to-one correspondence. The shield electrode 28g does not necessarily have to be provided.

FIG. 6 shows an electric circuit for driving the photomultiplier tube 28 to take out a photoelectric output. Each part of the photomultiplier tube 28 is given the same reference numeral as in FIGS. . The operation of the photomultiplier tube 28 will be described below with reference to FIG. A negative high voltage is applied to the photocathode 28b via the negative high voltage applying terminal 35a. The negative high voltage thus applied to the negative high voltage applying terminal 35a is divided by the bleeder resistor group 35b and applied to the dynode 28c. Also,
The shield electrode 28g is grounded and the anode 28h is a resistor 35c.
Is connected to the bleeder resistor group 35b via the and the amplifier 35d. The photoelectrons emitted from the cathode 28b upon being irradiated with the stimulated emission light 40 hit the dynode 28c when flowing toward the anode 28h, whereby secondary electrons are emitted from the dynode 28c. In this way, photoelectrons are successively multiplied by each dynode 28c, and the current thus obtained is input to the amplifier 35d. In this way, the photoelectrically converted image information is taken out as an analog electric signal (read image signal) S from the output terminal 35e of the amplifier 35d.

The long photomultiplier tube 28 is not limited to the one having the Venetian blind type electrode structure described above, and other electrodes such as a box type, as shown in, for example, JP-A-62-16666. Those having a structure may be used.

In addition, between the light guide 28A and the light receiving surface of the photomultiplier tube 28, a filter that selectively transmits only the stimulated emission light 63 and cuts the laser light 52 reflected on the surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is provided. It is preferable to provide the optical guide 28A with such a filter function.

Here, in this apparatus, when the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is moved by the drive roller 58D or the like for sub-scanning,
As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet 22 enters the housing 25 from the light shielding cover 26 through the sheet passage opening 26a. The laser light 52 scans the sheet 22 at a position near the opening 25a of the housing 25, and the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is positioned inside the housing 25 when the image reading is completed. become. Therefore, the housing 25 does not need to secure a space for sub-scanning the sheet 22, and may be formed in a size slightly larger than the sheet 22 as described above.

When the image reading is completed as described above, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is held by the endless belt 58C. After this, the endless belt 58C and the drive rollers 58A, 58B, 58C, 58D are rotated in the opposite direction to the case of the image reading described above, whereby the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is returned to the exposure position in the light shielding cover 26. Be done. At this time, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 passes through the erasing section 70 provided between the driving roller 58B and the endless belt 58C, and the sheet 22 is subjected to image (afterimage) erasing. The erasing unit 70 is composed of, for example, an erasing light source 71 facing from the lower side of the sheet 22. The erasing light source 71 is composed of, for example, a fluorescent lamp, and mainly emits light in the excitation wavelength region of the stimulable phosphor of the sheet 22, and is turned on when the sheet 22 is returned to the light shielding cover 26. The radiation energy remaining in the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 after the image is read is emitted from the sheet 22 by irradiating the sheet 22 (specifically, the stimulable phosphor layer 22B) with the above light. .

In this way, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 in which the image (afterimage) has been erased to such an extent that the radiation image information can be recorded again is housed in the light-shielding cover 26.
It is possible to repeat the above-mentioned image recording (photographing) and reading using. As the erasing light source 71, in addition to the above-mentioned fluorescent lamp, for example, a tungsten lamp, a halogen lamp, an infrared lamp, as shown in JP-A-56-11392,
A xenon flash lamp or the like can be arbitrarily selected and used. If the support 22A of the sheet 22 is made of a transparent member, the phosphor layer 22B can be irradiated with the erasing light from the upper side of the sheet 22 through the support 22A. Further, the erasing light source 71 may be provided in the light shielding cover 26 instead of being provided in the housing 25.

It should be noted that after the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 undergoes image (afterimage) erasing in the erasing section 70, it will not be used for a long period of time and the housing 25
When stored in the sheet 22, in the sheet 22, a radioactive element such as ²²⁶ Ra contained as an impurity in the phosphor, or
Radiation energy due to environmental radiation (which is a component that becomes noise for accumulated record information) may be accumulated, but the sheet 22 is reciprocated again immediately before image recording, and the erasing light source 71 causes the erasing light to the sheet 22. This radiation energy is also released by irradiating the light (so-called secondary erasing).

Next, reproduction and recording of the radiation image will be described. The image reproducing unit 80 includes a recording sheet supply tray 81 arranged in a position near the opening 25a in the housing 25, an arm 83 swingably supported in a direction of an arrow F about a swing shaft 82, and The recording sheet supply roller 84 supported by the tip of the arm 83 and rotated clockwise in the figure, and the thermal development as a recording sheet accumulated in the tray 81 by swinging the arm 83 in the direction of the arrow F. An arm drive means 86 for pressing the rotating recording sheet supply roller 84 against the photosensitive material sheet 85 to unload the sheet 85 one by one from the tray 81, and a drive roller 58.
It has an elongated heat developing heat source 87 which is disposed between B and the endless belt 85C and extends over the entire width of the recording sheet 85. The tray 81 is provided with a light shielding member 7 so that the recording sheets 81 stored therein are not fogged.
Surrounded by An opening 8 is provided on the upper side of the light shielding member 7 in the tray, and the opening 8 is normally closed by a shutter 9.

The digital image signal D output from the reading circuit 64 is input to the reproduction / recording control unit 90. This control unit 90 is an optical deflector.
56 and drive rollers 58A, 58B and endless belt 58C
Is operated in the same manner as the above-described image reading, the arm driving means 86 and the sheet supply roller 84 are operated, and the shutter 9 is opened, so that the recording sheet 85 is discharged from the tray 81.
To carry out one by one. This discharged recording sheet 85
Passes through the opening 8 of the light shielding member 7, is guided by the sheet guide 89, is sent between the pair of drive rollers 58A, and is conveyed to the endless belt 58C side. Since the above-mentioned endless belt 58E is stretched between the drive rollers 58A and 58B, even if the recording sheet 85 has a so-called “high waist”, it can be conveyed smoothly. The control unit 90 outputs the drive control signal Sd based on the input digital image signal D to the laser light source.
Input to the driver 91 of 51. By controlling the driving of the laser light source 51 in this manner, the laser light 52 modulated based on the image signal D scans the recording sheet 85 two-dimensionally. In this way, the image carried by the image signal D, that is, the latent image of the radiation image photographed on the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 is reproduced and recorded on the thermal phenomenon photosensitive material sheet 85. The recording sheet 85 is heated by the heat source 87 when passing between the drive roller 58B and the endless belt 58C. Thereby, the latent image is thermally developed, and the radiation image is reproduced as a visible image on the recording sheet 85. The recording sheet 85 on which the radiation image is recorded in this manner is carried out of the housing 25 through the opening 25b provided in the housing 25. The opening 25b is closed by the shutter 96 except when reproducing and recording the radiation image.

In addition, the erasing light source 71 may also be used as a heat source for heat development without providing the heat source 87. However, in this case, it is necessary to dispose a shutter that transmits heat during development and blocks at least light having a wavelength in the photosensitive region of the photothermographic material so that the erasing light does not strike the recording sheet 85. Further, the laser light 52 can be directly modulated by controlling the driving of the laser light source 51 as described above, or can be modulated by passing through an AOM (acousto-optic light modulator) or EOM (electro-optic light modulator). Is.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the image reading main scanning means, the sub-scanning means and the beam generating means are shared with the image reproducing main scanning means, the sub-scanning means and the beam generating means. Some or all of
The image reading and the image reproducing may be provided independently. However, if they are shared as described above, it is extremely advantageous in downsizing the device and reducing the cost.

Further, as the recording sheet for image reproduction, in addition to the dry silver recording sheet 85 described above, a silver salt photographic film that undergoes a normal wet development process, a so-called instant photographic film that does not require a wet process, and a thermal recording sheet are used. You can also When using a normal silver salt photographic film as described above, the film is exposed by scanning with a laser beam 52 to record a photographic latent image, and then the film is sent to, for example, an automatic developing machine or the like for development. Good. When an instant photographic film is used, the developing solution can be spread by nipping the film with the drive rollers 58A and 58B described above (over the endless belt 58E on the upper side). When a heat-sensitive recording sheet is used, the heat-sensitive recording may be performed by scanning the laser beam 52 as described above, or heat-sensitive recording may be performed using a thermal head.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the image reading is performed from the side opposite to the radiation exposure side of the stimulable phosphor sheet 22, but the laser light 52 is irradiated from the radiation exposure side of the sheet 22. By arranging the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 so that its phosphor layer is located on the radiation exposure side, it is possible to read an image from the same side as the radiation exposure side. After image recording, stimulable phosphor sheet
Alternatively, the sheet 22 may be temporarily returned to the housing 25 at a high speed, and then the sheet 22 may be transferred from the housing 25 into the light-shielding cover 26, at which time the image may be read. In this case, the stimulable phosphor sheet 22 before image reading will be quickly withdrawn from the position facing the photographing table 32.
Can be prevented from causing fog due to environmental radiation.

Further, the photoelectric reading means used in the present invention is not particularly limited to the above-mentioned long photomultiplier tube 28, and has a relatively small light receiving surface as shown in, for example, JP-A-59-192240. A photodetector and a light guide that are optically coupled may be used. However, the long photomultiplier tube 28 described above is a large-sized device by using the large-sized light guide, and the photodetection efficiency is reduced due to leakage of stimulated emission light from the light guide, further, The cost increase of the device due to the formation of the light guide having a complicated shape can be eliminated at once, which is particularly preferable. When such a long photomultiplier tube 28 is used, it is used in combination with the above-mentioned condensing reflection mirror 60, or, for example, in combination with an integrating cylinder as shown in JP-A-62-16668, Further, the same as JP-A-62-16669
As shown in No. 6, it is possible to improve the light collection efficiency by combining the integrating cylinder and the reflective optical element.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, in the radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, excitation light is emitted between the housing and the light-shielding cover protruding from the housing when storing the image-storing phosphor sheet. Since the transfer is performed for the sub-scan, it is not necessary to provide a space for transporting the stimulable phosphor sheet for the sub-scan of the excitation light in this housing, and the housing can be made extremely small. Therefore, the device of the present invention is a mobile vehicle in which it is difficult to secure a wide space for loading a device for medical diagnosis,
The present invention has an extremely valuable effect in medical diagnosis that it can be easily loaded on a ship or the like and that radiographic image capturing and reproduction thereof can be performed in a place where radiographic image capturing has been conventionally impossible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a state of a radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention at the time of capturing a radiation image, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the apparatus of the above embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing an image reading state of the embodiment apparatus, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are partially cutaway perspective views and side sectional views of a long photomultiplier tube used in the apparatus of the present invention. The figure is a circuit diagram showing an electric circuit of the long photomultiplier tube. 20 …… Main body, 22 …… Storable phosphor sheet 25 …… Case, 25a, 25b …… Case opening 26 …… Shade cover 26a …… Sheet cover sheet passage port 28 …… Photomultiplier tube, 29 …… radiation 32 …… imaging table, 33 …… radiation source 34 …… subject, 40 …… image recording section 50 …… image reading section, 51 …… laser light source 52 …… laser light, 53, 57 ... … Mirror 55, 61, 62 …… Lens, 56 …… Optical deflector 58A, 58B, 58D …… Drive roller 58C, 58E …… Endless belt 63 …… Stimulated emission light, 64 …… Read circuit 70 …… Erase 71, erasing light source 80, image reproducing unit 84, recording sheet supply roller 85, recording sheet, 87, heat source for development D, read image signal, Sd, laser drive control signal

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A housing for accommodating a stimulable phosphor sheet capable of accumulating and recording radiation image information, the housing having an opening for passing a light-shielding cover at one end, and the inside of the housing and the outside of the housing through the opening. And a light-shielding cover that is provided so that it can be jumped out and that has a sheet passage opening at the end that is held by the housing when it jumps out, and an exposure position inside the light-shielding cover that jumps out of the housing. An image recording unit that accumulates and records the radiation image information on the sheet by irradiating the sheet with radiation having image information; the sheet enters the housing through the exposure position and the sheet passage opening. The reading sub-scanning means for moving between the above-mentioned position and the reading main scanning means for main-scanning the excitation light beam on the sheet at a position near the opening in the housing, and the radiation image information is accumulated. Record An image reading unit that irradiates an excitation light beam to the sheet after the irradiation, and reads the stimulated emission light emitted from the sheet by the irradiation of the excitation light beam by a photoelectric reading unit to obtain an image signal, and the image reading unit. Before the image is recorded on the sheet after the image is read in, the erasing unit for releasing the radiation energy remaining on the sheet, and the recording sheet housed in the casing are housed in the casing. A radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus comprising: an image reproducing unit that reproduces and records an image carried by the image signal on the recording sheet while carrying out the recording sheet through an opening for discharging the recording sheet. 2. An image reproducing main scanning means for main scanning a recording beam onto the recording sheet, and an image reproducing means for moving the recording sheet in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction. The radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sub-scanning unit and a modulating unit that modulates the recording beam based on the image signal. 3. A radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the reading main scanning means and the image reproducing main scanning means are common. 4. The radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the reading sub-scanning means and the image reproducing sub-scanning means are common. apparatus. 5. The beam generating source for emitting the excitation light beam and the beam generating source for emitting the recording beam are common to each other, according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The described radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus. 6. A stimulable phosphor sheet having a stimulable phosphor layer formed on a support is used as the stimulable phosphor sheet, and the sheet is arranged in the light-shielding cover so that radiation is irradiated from the support side. The radiation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the image reading unit is formed so as to irradiate the sheet with excitation light from the phosphor layer side. Image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus. 7. The recording sheet is a photothermographic material sheet, and the image reproducing section is provided with a phenomenon section having a heat source for development.
The radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus according to any one of items. 8. The radiation image information recording / reading / reproducing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the developing section is also used as the erasing section.