JPS61288186A - Scintillator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the influence of the re-reflection, etc. of the scintillation light released to a sample side from a sample surface by forming layer which allows the transmission of radiation from the sample and prohibits the transmission of the light from the sample on the sample side surface. CONSTITUTION:The scintillation light is subjected to image pickup by an image pickup tube 4 of an image pickup device via an image pickup optical system 3 disposed on the opposite side of the sample 2. A metallic layer 1a consisting of aluminum, etc. is deposited by evaporation on one surface of the scintillator 1 to the thickness of the extent at which no influence is exerted to the transmission of the radiation. The scintillation light released to the sample 2 side is reflected uniformly by the surface of the layer 1a on the scintillator side and is returned to the image pickup side without arriving at the sample surface. The scintillation light released toward the optical system 3 side is imaged on a photoelectric surface 4a of the tube 4 by the optical system 3 by which the image is picked up. An image processing technique for uniformly removing the components below the specified level is applied to the image formed in the above-mentioned manner by which the video having the excellent resolution is obtd.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a scintillator that can be used in the field of autoradiography, etc., which performs quantitative imaging of radioactive substances.

(Prior Art) A scintillator used in the field of conventional autoradiography and examples of its use will be briefly described.

As objects of observation in the field of autoradiography, ■tissue sections containing the radioisotope RI, ■TLC (Thin
layer chromatography) plate,
■There are gels that contain the radioactive isotope RI.

In addition, as a scintillator, a liquid scintillator, for example, schiferoxazole-2methylnaphthalene (=P
There are solid scintillators, such as plastic scintillators.

A liquid scintillator is applied to the sample, and a solid scintillator is used in close contact with the sample.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a solid scintillator 10 is arranged on a sample 20.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) When the scintillator 10 is placed directly in close contact with the surface of the sample 20 as shown in FIG. 2, scintillation occurs within the scintillator 10 due to β rays from the sample 20, and photons are emitted. .

The scintillation light emitted to the sample 20 side
reach the surface.

Depending on the condition of the surface of the sample 20, the light may be absorbed or reflected and scattered.

The condition of the surface of the sample is not uniform and is affected by the color of the sample surface.

If the surface of the sample has a color (state) that absorbs photons, as shown in (1) on the left side of Figure 2, the photons emitted to the sample side will be absorbed by the 2O2 part of the sample 20, and the photons will be observed. is not subject to.

However, as shown on the right (n), the surface 20 of the sample 20
The scintillation light locally reflected at part b is reflected to the camera side (not shown) and is observed while being mixed with the scintillation light emitted to the observation side.

Therefore, the state of the sample other than the radioisotope R1 in the sample is also imaged, which poses a problem of impairing the accuracy of quantifying the radioisotope.

An object of the present invention is to provide a scintillator that can extract only scintillation light caused by radiation from a sample, regardless of the influence of the surface condition of the sample.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to solve the above problem, the scintillator according to the present invention is a plate-shaped scintillator for measuring the spatial distribution of radioactive substances in a sample, and a scintillator is provided on the surface of the scintillator on the sample side from the sample. It is constructed by forming a layer that allows the transmission of radiation from the sample and blocks the transmission of light from the sample.

(Example) The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and the like.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an embodiment of the scintillator according to the present invention and its usage condition.

The scintillator 1 according to this embodiment is used closely or close to the sample 2 in the same way as the conventional solid scintillator 10.

The scintillation light is imaged by an imaging tube 4 of an imaging device via an imaging optical system 3 disposed on the opposite side of the sample 2.

On the scintillator side: 97% polystyrene, 2.5% p-terphenyl, 09.0% tetraphenylbutadiene
A plate made of a 3% solid solution with a thickness of about 1 mm is used.

A metal I'W1a such as aluminum is deposited on one surface of the scintillator 1 to a thickness that does not affect the transmission of radiation. The thickness of the metal layer 1a is several hundred μg/c
It should be about m2.

In this example, a sample 2 is used in which a solution containing an RI labeled compound is dropped onto one end of a TLC plate and developed.

The scintillation light emitted to the sample 2 side is transmitted through this layer 1.
It is uniformly reflected by the scintillator side surface of a, returns to the imaging side, and does not reach the sample surface.

The scintillation light emitted toward the imaging optical system 3 is imaged by the imaging optical system 3 on the photocathode 4a of the imaging tube 4, and is imaged.

By applying image processing techniques such as uniformly removing components below a certain level to images captured in this manner, it is possible to obtain images with excellent resolution.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained in detail above, the scintillator according to the present invention is a plate-shaped scintillator for measuring the spatial distribution of radioactive substances in a sample, in which radiation from the sample passes through the surface of the scintillator on the sample side. A layer is formed that allows light to pass through the sample and blocks the transmission of light from the sample.

Therefore, effects such as re-reflection of scintillation light emitted to the sample side from the sample surface can be completely eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a scintillator according to the present invention and its usage state. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional scintillator and how it is used. 1...Scintillator 1a...Layer 1b that allows the transmission of radiation and blocks the transmission of light from the sample...Scintillator body 2...Sample 3...Imaging optical system 4...Imaging by the imaging device Administrative Patent Applicant: Hamamatsu Photonics Co., Ltd. Agent: Patent Attorney: Inoro Jusai Figure 1

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a plate-shaped scintillator that measures the spatial distribution of radioactive substances in a sample, a layer is formed on the surface of the scintillator on the sample side to allow radiation from the sample to pass through and to prevent light from passing through the sample. A scintillator characterized by comprising: (2) Claim 1, wherein the layer that allows the transmission of radiation from the sample and prevents the transmission of light from the sample is formed of a vapor-deposited metal layer, and the surface facing the sample is a light-reflecting surface. scintillator.