JPS6347749A - Radiographic image information recording and reproducing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically sort and extract recording sheets in accordance with respective readers by providing an image reproducing device with plural trays and distributing and carrying the recording sheets into the trays in accordance with plural readers connected to the image reproducing device. CONSTITUTION:When a signal indicating the storage of an image signal in any one of three frame memories is inputted from the frame memory to a CPU 101, the CPU 101 outputs a control signal S1 for turning a switch 105 and also outputs a control signal S2 indicating a reader reading image information to be reproduced on a recording sheet to be carried in a tray storing part 130 to a pulse motor 135. Since the pulse motor 135 moves a carrying roller 134 to the upper part of a prescribed tray, the recording sheet 3 is sorted and stored in each tray 131, 132 or 133 by the pulse motor 135 in accordance with the reader which area out the reproduced image information. Thereby the recording sheets sorted in respective reader can be automatically obtained by extracting respective trays 131-133 from the tray storing part 130 as they are.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invention) The present invention stores and records image information on a stimulable phosphor sheet,
this? ! irradiate the multilayer phosphor sheet with excitation light to generate RL-stimulated luminescent light, detect this stimulated luminescent light optically and read the image information, and convert the read image information into a visible image. Regarding the radiation image information recording and reproducing system that reproduces on a recording sheet, in particular, in the image reproducing device that performs the reproduction, the recording sheets on which image information has been reproduced as visible images are distributed into a plurality of trays and carried in, and the recording sheets are carried in and recorded. The present invention relates to a radiation image information recording and reproducing system that can classify and take out sheets.

(Technical background of the invention and prior art) Radiation 1i to some types of phosphors! (X-rays, α-rays, β-rays.

When irradiated with γ-rays, ultraviolet rays, electron beams, etc., a portion of this radiation energy is accumulated in the phosphor, and when this phosphor is irradiated with excitation light such as visible light, the phosphor changes depending on the accumulated energy. is known to exhibit stimulated luminescence, and phosphors exhibiting this property are called stimulable phosphors.

Using this stimulable phosphor, radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is recorded on a sheet of stimulable phosphor, and this stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with excitation light such as a laser beam to emit stimulated light. Generate light, photoelectrically read the resulting stimulated luminescent light to obtain an image signal, and based on this image signal, a radiation image of the subject is displayed as a visible image on a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a display device such as a CRT. The present applicant has already proposed a radiographic image information recording and reproducing system that reproduces the information as follows. (JP-A-55-12429, JP-A-56-11395, etc.) This method has the practical advantage of being able to record images over an extremely wide radiation exposure range compared to conventional radiographic systems using silver halide photography. have. In other words,
In stimulable phosphors, it is assumed that the amount of emitted light that is stimulated to emit light due to excitation after accumulation is proportional to the amount of radiation exposure over an extremely wide range, and therefore, various effects may occur. Even if the amount of radiation exposure varies considerably depending on the conditions, the light weight of the stimulated luminescence light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet is read by the light weight conversion means by setting the reading gain to an appropriate value and converted into an electrical signal. By using this electric signal to output a visible image to a recording material such as a photographic light-sensitive material or a display device such as a CRT, it is possible to obtain a radiation image that is not affected by fluctuations in the tAtiA exposure amount.

In addition, according to this system, radiation image information stored and recorded on a stimulable phosphor sheet is converted into an electrical signal, then subjected to appropriate signal processing, and this electrical signal is used to produce recording materials such as photographic light-sensitive materials, CRTs, etc. By outputting a visible image on the display device, it is possible to obtain a very large effect of being able to obtain a radiographic image that is suitable for observation and interpretation (appropriate for diagnosis).

In the above system, the stimulable phosphor sheet is recorded with image information (copying) in the photographing device, and then sent to a reading device where excitation light is scanned onto the sheet. Image information is read.The read image information is recorded on the recording sheet by scanning the recording sheet with recording light modulated based on this image information, and then developed. The image information is recorded and developed in an image recording section and a developing section, respectively, and the image recording section and developing section are integrated into one image reproducing device. In some cases, this image reproduction IA device is connected to a plurality of the image reading devices,
In some cases, the image information read by these reading devices is reproduced.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, when one image reproducing device is connected to a plurality of reading devices as described above, the recording sheet that is carried out after the reproduction in the image reproducing device is become extremely numerous. In addition, since the reproduction of image information is adjusted as appropriate each time each reading is completed in each connected reading device, the plurality of recording sheets taken out from the image reproducing device after the reproduction is completed contain various recording contents. Things get mixed up. Therefore, when a plurality of recording sheets obtained as described above are used for diagnosis, it is necessary to classify the recording sheets by type in advance, which is extremely troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a radiation image information recording and reproducing system that can classify recording sheets to some extent in advance before taking them out from an image reproducing apparatus.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the radiation image information recording and reproducing system of the present invention, an image reproducing device including an image recording section and a developing section and connected to a plurality of reading devices reads a plurality of trays. In the image reproducing apparatus, recording sheets that have been developed are sorted into one of the plurality of trays and carried in, and the sorting of the recording sheets is used as image information reproduced on the recording sheets. The method is characterized in that the processing is performed depending on which of the plurality of reading devices is the reading device that read the information.

The image reproducing device in this system is equipped with an image recording section that records image information as described above, and a developing section that develops the image information recorded on the recording sheet. The developing section may be integrated into the same unit, or if the configuration is such that the recording sheet carried out from the image recording section is directly carried into the developing section, a sheet conveying means etc. may be used. It may be a separate entity via the

(Function) If a plurality of trays are provided in the image reproducing device as described above, and the recording sheets are sorted and loaded into each tray according to the reading device, the recording sheets can be taken out while being stored in the trays. , it is possible to automatically obtain recording sheets classified for each reading device that read the image information. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to classify the recording sheets taken out from the image reproducing device for each reading device prior to diagnosis, etc., and it is possible to eliminate the need for classification work. Furthermore, even if it is necessary to classify the recording sheets in more detail, the effort required for the classification can be reduced.

(Example) The radiation image information recording and reproducing system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The figure is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radiation image information recording and reproducing system according to the present invention.

In this system, the stimulable phosphor sheet 1 is first photographed in the round device 10 . The sheet 1 is placed in the imaging unit 10 at a position facing a radiation source 11 such as an X-ray source with a subject 12 sandwiched therebetween. The radiation image information of the subject 12 is accumulated and recorded on the sheet 1. When performing garden shadowing, the sheet 1 is placed in a cassette that transmits radiation and has light blocking properties.
The sheets may be stored one by one, or in the case of continuous shooting, a plurality of sheets may be stored in a sheet supply magazine, and the sheets may be taken out one by one from this magazine and used for the memorial service. good. After the photographing is completed, the sheet 1 is taken out from the photographing device 10 and loaded into the reading device, and the image information is read.
The sheets that have been taken out from the sheet supply magazine and photographed are stored in sheet storage magazines that are sequentially carried in after the photographing is completed, and then loaded into the reading device.

In this system, as an example, the first reading device 20,
Image information is read using three reading devices consisting of a second reading device 20' and a third reading device 20''. are the same, and the configuration will be described below by taking the first reading device 20 as an example.In addition, in this system, a plurality of imaging devices may be provided, and each reading device 20, 20', 20 `` may be read from sheets on which image information has been photographed using separate photographing devices.

A reading device 20 scans the sheet 1 with excitation light 2 such as a laser beam.
4A, and the stimulated luminescent light emitted from the sheet 1 by the scanning is photoelectrically read by a photoelectric reading means 25 having a photodetector such as a photomultiplier to produce an electrical image for outputting a visible image. It is used to obtain signals. 24 in the diagram
23 is an excitation light source, 23 is a light deflector such as a galvanometer mirror, and 26 is a light guide 25a of a photoelectric reading means that converts the stimulated luminescence light emitted from the sheet 1 into a photo while totally reflecting the stimulated luminescence light. This is a reflecting mirror that reflects the light toward a photodetector 25b such as a multiplier. After the sheet 1 loaded in the reading device 20 is taken out from the above-mentioned cassette or magazine, it is transported in the direction of the arrow by the sheet transport means 27, and the entire surface of the sheet is 2 Dimensionally scanning produces stimulated luminescence light, which is detected by the photodetector 25b via the light guide 25a. In the photodetector 251), the stimulated luminescent light is converted into an electrical signal, and the obtained electrical signal is sent to the image information processing circuit 28 for image processing, and then sent to an image reproducing device to be described later. The sheet that has been read is taken out from the reading device 120 and sent to an erasing device (not shown), where it is irradiated with erasing light to emit the radiation energy remaining in the sheet, and is in a state where it can be photographed again. becomes.

The three reading bags '1120.20', 20'' are all connected to the image reproduction device 100, and the image information read by each reading device 20.20', 20'' as described above is converted into an image. In the reproducing device 100, the data is reproduced onto a recording sheet 3 such as a photosensitive film. This image reproducing device 100 is provided with a CPU (central processing unit) 101, and under the control of this CPU 101, the image information read by the three reading devices 20, 20' and 20'' is sequentially reproduced. The image reproducing device 100 also receives recording light 113A that is modulated by a modulator 112 and then deflected by an optical deflector 114 for the recording sheets 3 that are transported one by one by the sheet transport means 111. An image recording section 1101 that records image information by scanning the image recording section 110, a developing section 120 that develops the recording sheet 3 carried out from the image recording section 110, and three trays 131. 132. that can store a plurality of recording sheets 3.
133 is provided.

The electrical signal (image signal) based on the image information output from the image information processing circuit 28 of the first reading device 20 is stored in the first frame memory 102 in the image reproduction device 100, and is stored in the second reading device 20. ' image information processing circuit 28'
The image signal output from the second frame memory 10
3, the image information processing circuit 2 of the third reading device 20''
The image signal q output from 8″ is sent to the third frame memory
104, respectively. Said 3
When an image signal is stored in one of the backs of the two frame memories, that frame memory outputs the signal to the CPL as shown by the solid line in the figure. Further, the frame memory 102. 103. 1011 is selectively connected to the modulator 112 of the image recording section 110 by a switch 105, and this modulator is driven based on the stored image signal. Said C
PU101 is one of three frame memories
When a signal indicating that image No. 13 is stored in the frame memory is received, a control signal S1 is issued to the switch 105, and the switch 105 selects the frame memory in which the image signal is stored and the change: Control is performed to take a position that avoids connection with the JJ device 112.

As described above, under the control of the CPU 101, three frame memories 102. 103. 104 to modulator 112
If the image recording section 110 is selectively connected to the three reading devices 20 and 20'.

20'' can be sequentially reproduced. If the light source 113 of the recording light 113A is an ``I'' conductor laser capable of analog direct modulation, the modulator 112 can be sequentially reproduced. It is sufficient to selectively connect the drive circuit of the live conductor laser to each frame memory.

The recording sheet 3 on which the image information has been recorded in the image recording section 110 is sent to the image recording section 120 for development processing. The developing section 120 includes a developing zone 121, a fixing zone 122, a washing zone 123, and a drying zone 124.
The recording sheet 31 is sequentially sent to each zone, developed, and transported out of the developing section 120.

The tray storage section 130 is arranged adjacent to the developing section 120, and the recording sheets 3 carried out from the developing section 120 are stored in three trays 13 in the tray storage section 130.
1. 132. They are sorted into one of 133 and transported. That is, these trays 131,
132. Behind 133, a first tray 131 stores the recording sheet 3 on which the image information read by the first reading section 20 is reproduced, and a second tray 132 stores the recording sheet 3 on which the image information read by the first reading section 20 is reproduced. ′, the third
The trays 133 are for storing the recording sheets 3 on which the image information read by the third reading section 20'' has been reproduced.Furthermore, these trays 131.1
32. In order to carry the prescribed recording sheet into 133,
Above the tray is a carry-in roller 13 that can move in the direction of the arrow.
4 is provided. This carry-in row 5134 is first located at the position shown by the solid line in the figure, and after receiving the recording sheet 3 carried out from the developing section 120, moves in the six directions of arrows, stops on a predetermined tray, and then moves to a predetermined tray. Recording sheet 3 in the tray
will be brought in. Moreover, the movement of this carry-in row 5134 is
It is controlled by a pulse motor 135 that is driven based on instructions from plJ101.

In other words, as described above, when a signal indicating that an image signal is stored in the frame memory is input to the CPU 101 from any one of the three frame memories, the CPU 101
01 outputs a control signal qSl for switching the switch 105, and also sends a control signal S2 to the pulse motor 135 indicating the reading device that has read the image information to be reproduced on the recording sheet that is then carried into the tray storage section 130. Output toward the target. The pulse motor 135 receives this control I signal S.
2, the carry-in roller 134 moves above the predetermined tray, so the carry-in roller 134 moves the recording sheet 3
is the reading \iV that read the reproduced image information.
1 for each tray 131. 132. 133 and are classified and stored. Therefore each tray 131. 132.
If you take out 133 from the tray storage part 130 as it is,
1q of record sheets classified by reading device can be automatically generated, and can be used for manual work, etc. for medical examinations, etc.
This eliminates the need to classify recording sheets.

It should be noted that the number of trays stored in the sheet storage section, the orientation of the trays, etc. are not limited to those shown in the above embodiment. Furthermore, it is not necessary that the reading device and the tray correspond to each other as a pair; one reading device may correspond to a plurality of 1-rays, and if multiple trays are provided, multiple reading devices can be used as needed. A device may be associated with one tray.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the radiation image information recording and reproducing system of the present invention, the image reproducing device is provided with a plurality of trays, and the tray includes a plurality of reading devices connected to the image reproducing device. By sorting and transporting the recording sheets in accordance with each reading device, the recording sheets can be automatically classified and taken out according to each reading device. Therefore, multiple readers can be
Even if the number and types of reproduced images that can be obtained by connecting to one image reproducing apparatus increase, it is possible to prevent the task of sorting recording sheets after reproduction from becoming complicated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a radiation image information recording and reproducing system according to the present invention. 1... Stimulative phosphor sheet 3... Recording sheet 10... Imaging device 20.
...First reading device 20'...Second reading device 2
0″...Third reading device 100...Image playback device

Claims (1)

[Claims] A photographing device irradiates a stimulable phosphor sheet with radiation having image information to accumulate and record the image information on the sheet, and then a reading device scans the sheet with excitation light to produce stimulated luminescence light. is generated, the stimulated luminescence light is read photoelectrically, and the read image information is
In a radiation image information recording and reproducing system in which an image reproducing device scans a recording sheet with a recording light modulated based on the image information to perform recording and then develop and reproduce the image, the image reproducing device It is connected to the apparatus and reproduces the image information read by these reading apparatuses, and is equipped with a plurality of trays, and the recording sheet after the development is distributed to one of the plurality of trays and carried in. A radiation image information recording and reproducing system characterized in that the recording sheets are distributed in accordance with which reading device has read the image information reproduced on the recording sheets.