JPH11338078A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make structure simple, compact and inexpensive by providing an LED stimulating light source having specified emitted light center wavelength and a cooling CCD camera. SOLUTION: The red LED excitation light sources 21 and 22 whose emitted light center wavelength is 550 to 700 nm are provided in a black box 2. A stimulable phosphor sheet 18 is set in the black box 2. The sheet 18 is irradiated with red light emitted from the light sources 21 and 22 so as to excite a stimulable phosphor included in a stimulable phosphor layer. A radiographic diagnostic image and an autoradiographic image are recorded in the stimulable phosphor layer. The stimulated light emitted from the stimulable phosphor is made incident on a band-pass filter 23 so that the red light having the wavelength of 550 to 700 nm is cut, and it is made incident on the photoelectric surface of an image intensifier 15 through the camera lens 16 of the cooling CCD camera, so that an image is formed on the fluorescent screen of the intensifier 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, and more particularly, to reading of an image in a radiation diagnostic system, an autoradiography system, a detection system using an electron microscope, and a radiation diffraction image detection system. The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus which has a simple structure and can be reduced in size and cost.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When irradiated with radiation, the energy of the radiation is absorbed, stored, recorded, and then excited using electromagnetic waves in a specific wavelength range. A stimulable phosphor layer formed on a stimulable phosphor sheet by using a stimulable phosphor having a characteristic of emitting a stimulable amount of radiated light as a radiation detecting material, and storing energy of the radiation transmitted through the subject. In the stimulable phosphor contained in, accumulated, recorded, and then, by electromagnetic waves, scan the stimulable phosphor layer, excited the stimulable phosphor, emitted from the stimulable phosphor A radiation device configured to photoelectrically detect photostimulated light, generate a digital image signal, perform image processing, and generate a radiation image on display means such as a CRT or a recording material such as a photographic film. Known diagnostic system That (for example, JP-A-55-12
Nos. 429, 55-116340 and 55-
163472, 56-11395, 5
No. 6-104645. ).

[0003] Further, a similar stimulable phosphor is used as a radiation detecting material, and a substance provided with a radioactive label is administered to an organism, and then the organism or a part of the tissue of the organism is sampled. By overlapping this sample with the stimulable phosphor sheet on which the stimulable phosphor layer is formed for a certain period of time, the radiation energy is accumulated in the stimulable phosphor contained in the stimulable phosphor layer, After recording, the stimulable phosphor layer is scanned by an electromagnetic wave to excite the stimulable phosphor, and the photostimulable light emitted from the stimulable phosphor is photoelectrically detected, and digitally recorded. Autoradiography systems configured to generate an image signal, perform image processing, and generate an image on a display means such as a CRT or on a recording material such as a photographic film are known (for example,
Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-60784, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-60782, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-3952, etc.).

Further, when irradiated with an electron beam or radiation, the energy of the electron beam or radiation is absorbed,
After accumulating, recording, and then exciting with electromagnetic waves in a specific wavelength range, a stimulable phosphor having the property of emitting a quantity of stimulating light in accordance with the amount of irradiated electron beam or radiation energy is generated. Used as an electron beam or radiation detection material, irradiates a metal or non-metallic sample with an electron beam, detects the diffraction image or transmission image of the sample, etc., analyzes the element, analyzes the composition of the sample, analyzes the structure of the sample Or by irradiating a biological tissue with an electron beam to detect an image of the biological tissue by an electron microscope, irradiating the sample with radiation, detecting the obtained radiation diffraction image, A radiation diffraction image detection system for performing structural analysis and the like is known (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-517).
No. 38, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-93538, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
No. 9-15843).

A system using these stimulable phosphor sheets as a material for detecting an image, unlike the case of using a photographic film, not only does not require a chemical process of development but also obtains image data. By performing image processing on the image, the image is reproduced as desired, or
It has the advantage that quantitative analysis by computer becomes possible.

[0006]

The image reading apparatus used in the radiation diagnostic system, the autoradiography system, the detection system using an electron microscope, and the radiation diffraction image detection system includes a stimulable fluorescent light containing a stimulable phosphor. While scanning the surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet having the body layer with the laser beam in the main scanning direction, the stimulable phosphor sheet is moved in the sub-scanning direction, and the entire surface of the stimulable phosphor layer is scanned with the laser beam. Alternatively, the stimulable phosphor layer is wound around a drum, and the surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned in the main scanning direction with a laser beam, and the drum is rotated in the sub-scanning direction to form a stimulable phosphor layer. Was scanned with a laser beam, the stimulable phosphor was excited, and the emitted stimulating light was photoelectrically detected by a photomultiplier.

However, the conventional image reading apparatus has a complicated structure because it has a scanning mechanism as described above, and has a large casing because it uses a photomultiplier as a photodetector. There was a problem of becoming. Therefore, the present invention can read an image in a radiation diagnostic system, an autoradiography system, a detection system using an electron microscope, and a radiation diffraction image detection system, and has a simple structure, and can be reduced in size and cost. It is intended to provide a device.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is as follows.
This is achieved by an image reading apparatus provided with an LED excitation light source having an emission center wavelength of 550 to 700 nm and a cooled CCD camera. According to the present invention, since the image reading device includes the LED excitation light source having the emission center wavelength of 550 to 700 nm and the cooled CCD camera, the stimulable phosphor sheet can be stimulated without scanning the excitation light. The entire surface of the stimulable phosphor layer can be scanned to excite the stimulable phosphor, and the structure can be simplified, and the stimulable phosphor is emitted from the stimulable phosphor by a cooled CCD camera. Since the photostimulated light is photoelectrically converted, the size of the housing can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an image intensifier is further provided in front of the CCD of the cooled CCD camera.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
Weakness due to the presence of a page intensifier
It is possible to detect the stimulating light with high sensitivity. Departure
In the light, as a stimulable phosphor that can be used
Can store radiation or electron beam energy,
Radiation or electrons excited and accumulated by magnetic waves
Anything that can emit line energy in the form of light
Although not particularly limited, for example,
Alkaline earth gold disclosed in JP-A-55-12145
Fluorohalide based phosphors (Ba)_1-x,M²⁺ _x) FX:
yA (where M²⁺Are Mg, Ca, Sr, Zn and C
at least one alkaline earth selected from the group consisting of d
X is selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I.
At least one halogen, A is Eu, Tb, C
e, Tm, Dy, Pr, He, Nd, Yb and Er
At least one trivalent metal element selected from the group consisting of
x is 0 ≦ x ≦ 0.6, and y is 0 ≦ y ≦ 0.2. ),
Alkaline earth disclosed in JP-A-2-276997
Metal fluorinated halide-based phosphor SrFX: Z (here
X is a member selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I.
At least one kind of halogen, Z is Eu or Ce
You. ), U.S. Pat.
-Lopium activated complex halide phosphor BaFX.xN
aX ': aEu²⁺(Where X and X 'are both
At least selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I
X is 0 <x ≦ 2, a is 0 <a ≦
0.2. ), Published in JP-A-58-69281.
Cerium-activated trivalent metal oxyhalide-based fluorescence shown
MOX: xCe where M is Pr, Nd, P
m, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb
And at least one member selected from the group consisting of
X is one or both of Br and I
On the other hand, x is 0 <x <0.1. ), JP-A-60-1
01179 and 60-90288
Cerium-activated rare earth oxyhalide phosphors shown
LnOX: xCe (where Ln is Y, La, G
at least one member selected from the group consisting of d and Lu
Rare earth element, X is selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I
At least one type of halogen, x, is 0 <x ≦ 0.
It is one. ) And JP-A-59-75200.
The indicated europium-activated composite halide phosphor M^II
FX ・ aM^IX'bM^'IIX^'' _Two・ CM^IIIX^''' _Three
XA: yEu²⁺(Where M^IIAre Ba, Sr and C
at least one alkaline earth selected from the group consisting of
Class metal element, M^IIs Li, Na, K, Rb and Cs
At least one alkali metal element selected from the group consisting of
Elementary, M '^IIIs a small number selected from the group consisting of Be and Mg
At least a kind of divalent metal element, M^IIIIs Al, Ga, I
at least one member selected from the group consisting of n and Tl
A is a trivalent metal element, A is at least one metal oxide, and X is
At least selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I
A kind of halogen, X ', X^''And X^'''Is F, Cl,
At least one member selected from the group consisting of Br and I
A is 0 ≦ a ≦ 2, b is 0 ≦ b ≦ 1
0^-2, C is 0 ≦ c ≦ 10^-2And a + b + c ≧ 1
0^-2Where x is 0 <x ≦ 0.5 and y is 0 <y ≦
0.2. ) Can be preferably used.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an image generation system including an image reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image generation system includes a cooled CCD camera 1, a dark box 2, and a personal computer 3. The personal computer 3 has a CRT 4 and a keyboard 5. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the cooled CCD camera 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooled CCD camera 1 is
CCD 6, heat transfer plate 7 made of metal such as aluminum, and Peltier element 8 for cooling CCD 6
A shutter 9 disposed in front of the CCD 6;
An A / D converter 10 for converting the analog image data generated by the A / D converter 6 into digital image data; an image data buffer 11 for temporarily storing the image data digitized by the A / D converter 10; 1 and a camera control circuit 12 for controlling the operation of the camera. An opening formed between the dark box 2 and the dark box 2 is closed by a glass plate 13, and radiating fins 14 for radiating heat generated by the Peltier element 8 are provided around the cooled CCD camera 1.
Are formed over almost half of the longitudinal direction.

On the front surface of the glass plate 13, an image intensifier 15 arranged in the dark box 2 is provided.
On the front surface of the image intensifier 15, a camera lens 16 having a lens focus adjusting function is mounted. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the dark box 2. Dark box 2
A pair of red LED excitation light sources 21 and 22 having an emission center wavelength of 550 to 700 nm are provided therein.
On the front surface of the camera lens 16 of the CD camera 1, a band-pass filter 23 for cutting red light of 550 to 700 nm and transmitting blue light is provided. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 18 denotes a stimulable phosphor sheet provided with a stimulable phosphor layer (not shown) on which a radiation diagnostic image, an autoradiographic image, an electron microscope image, a radiation diffraction image, and the like are recorded. .

FIG. 4 is a block diagram around the personal computer 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the personal computer 3 includes a cooled CCD camera 1
A CPU 30 for controlling the exposure of the CCD 6;
The image data generated by the camera 1 is stored in an image data buffer 1
1 is provided with an image data transfer unit 31 to be read from the image data transfer unit 1 and an image processing unit 33 that performs image processing on the image data read by the image data transfer unit 31 and stores the image data in the image data storage unit 32. CPU 30 is a cooled CCD
Various signals can be output to the camera control circuit 12 of the camera 1. The image reading apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above has a radiation diagnostic image recorded on the stimulable phosphor layer (not shown) of the stimulable phosphor sheet 18 as follows. Read autoradiographic, electron microscope or radiation diffraction images.

First, after the stimulable phosphor sheet 18 is set in the dark box 2 and the lens focus of the camera lens 16 is adjusted, when the user inputs an image reading signal to the keyboard 5, the CPU 30 activates the red LED. When the light sources 21 and 22 are turned on, the camera control circuit 12
An image reading signal is output to the camera control circuit 12, and the camera control circuit 12 opens the shutter 9 to start image reading.
The red light emitted from the red LED excitation light sources 21 and 22 is uniformly applied to the stimulable phosphor layer of the stimulable phosphor sheet 18, and the stimulable phosphor contained in the stimulable phosphor layer is included. To excite. The photostimulable light emitted from the photostimulable phosphor by the excitation is incident on the band-pass filter 23, where the red light of 550 to 700 nm is cut off.
The light enters the photocathode of the image intensifier 15 via the hologram, is amplified, and forms an image on the phosphor screen of the image intensifier 15. The CCD 6 of the cooled CCD camera 1 receives the light of the image formed on the phosphor screen of the image intensifier 15 and accumulates the light in the form of electric charge. Since the excitation light having a wavelength of 550 to 700 nm is cut off by the band-pass filter 23, the luminance emitted from the stimulable phosphor contained in the stimulable phosphor layer of the stimulable phosphor sheet 18 is reduced. Only the glow is C
Light is received by CD6.

When a predetermined exposure time has elapsed, the CPU 30
Outputs an image reading completion signal to the camera control circuit 12 of the cooled CCD camera 1. The camera control circuit 12
Upon receiving the exposure completion signal from the PU 30, the CCD 6 of the cooled CCD camera 1 transfers the analog image data accumulated in the form of electric charges to the A / D converter 10 and digitizes the analog image data. The image data is transmitted to the image data transfer means 31 of the personal computer 3. The image processing unit 33 performs image processing on the image data output from the image data transfer unit 31 and stores the processed image data in the image data storage unit 32. If necessary, the image data storage unit 3
2, image data is read out, and on the screen of the CRT 4,
A radiation diagnostic image, an autoradiographic image, an electron microscope image, or a radiation diffraction image is displayed.

According to the present embodiment, the stimulable phosphor layer of the stimulable phosphor sheet 18 is evenly irradiated with the pair of red LED excitation light sources 21 and 22 so that the stimulable phosphor is irradiated. Excited photostimulated light emitted from the photostimulable phosphor is cooled by a cooled CCD.
Since the image is read by photoelectric detection by the camera 1, a scanning mechanism for scanning the excitation light is not required, and therefore, the structure of the image reading apparatus can be simplified, and the photodetector can be used as a photodetector. Since the cooled CCD camera 1 is used instead of the multiplier, the size of the image reading device can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since the weak intensified light is amplified by the image intensifier 15, it is possible to read a radiation diagnostic image, an autoradiographic image, an electron microscope image or a radiation diffraction image with high sensitivity.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that it is a thing. For example, in the above embodiment, the image intensifier 15 is provided to amplify the photostimulable light. However, the image intensifier 15 is not always required.

[0017]

According to the present invention, a radiation diagnostic system,
It is possible to provide an image reading apparatus which can read an image in an autoradiography system, a detection system using an electron microscope, and a radiation diffraction image detection system, has a simple structure, and can be reduced in size and cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an image generation system including an image reading device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a cooled CCD camera.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a dark box.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the periphery of a personal computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cooling CCD camera 2 Dark box 3 Personal computer 4 CRT 5 Keyboard 6 CCD 7 Heat transfer plate 8 Peltier element 9 Shutter 10 A / D converter 11 Image data buffer 12 Camera control circuit 13 Glass plate 14 Heat radiation fin 15 Image intensifier Reference Signs List 16 camera lens 18 stimulable phosphor sheet 21, 22 red LED excitation light source 23 band pass filter 30 CPU 31 image data transfer means 32 image data storage means 33 image processing means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An emission center wavelength of 550 to 700 nm.
An image reading device comprising: the LED excitation light source of claim 1; and a cooled CCD camera. 2. The CCD of the cooled CCD camera.
The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein an image intensifier is provided on a front surface of the image reading device.