KR101063290B1 - Digital x-ray image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

Digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a scintillator unit for converting and outputting the X-rays received through the subject into an optical signal; An optical transmission unit receiving the optical signal output from the scintillator unit and transmitting the optical signal; And an image sensor unit for arranging a plurality of image sensors to convert an optical signal received from the light transmitting unit into an electrical signal to digitalize the X-ray image of the subject, and further, outputting from the image sensor unit. The apparatus may further include a controller configured to receive the electrical signal, convert the digital signal into digital data, and display the X-ray image of the subject on the screen using the converted digital data.

X-ray, image, digital, scintillator

Description

Digital X-ray Image Processing Equipment {APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING DIGITAL X-RAY IMAGE}

The present invention relates to digital X-ray image processing, and more particularly, X-rays are irradiated to a subject by using X-ray, which is a kind of radiation, and X-rays passing through the subject are converted into an optical signal and then converted into an optical signal. The present invention relates to a digital X-ray image processing apparatus capable of displaying an X-ray image of a subject on a screen and realizing high resolution at a low price by converting the digital data into digital data.

Until now, the imaging apparatus using radiation is composed of an X-ray generator that emits X-rays and a film that develops a film that is dark and bright in proportion to the intensity of the X-rays emitted from the X-ray generator and shows the state of the subject. .

However, such a conventional photographing apparatus requires a process of mounting a new film original and developing it every time a picture is taken, which is time-consuming and cannot be taken continuously. There is a lot of effort and expense in storing and finding the film. This situation was taking.

Accordingly, many researches and developments have been conducted on the real-time digital imaging apparatus that can replace the analog film system. In order to convert the X-ray into digital information, the X-ray emitted from the X-ray generator is converted into visible light and visible light Is mainly developed to convert the signal into an electrical signal.

For example, a system in which Phosphor is deposited on CCD, CMOS, and TFT liquid crystal plates has high resolution, good light conversion efficiency, and small volume, but the manufacturing yield is low and the price is high, so it is for a relatively small sized reading device. It can be used only, there is a problem that can not be used as a device for reading a large area.

In order to solve this problem, the system can be inexpensively configured by using a photoconversion device and a charge coupling device, but this has a problem that the resolution is low to be used for medical or nondestructive testing for the purpose of diagnosing diseases requiring high resolution. have.

Of course, in order to compensate for the problem of low resolution, a method of increasing the resolution by arranging a plurality of charge coupling elements and lenses (application number 10-1999-0009289) has been proposed, which is because charges are arranged because a plurality of charge coupling elements and lenses are disposed. Errors between coupling elements may occur, and the curvature of the lens must be constant, and precise placement of these elements can be precisely controlled in order to obtain an accurate image.

As described above, an image may be distorted due to the use of a lens, and thus, an error rate may also increase because a single image is obtained by synthesizing the distorted images.

An object according to an embodiment of the present invention was created to solve the above problems, a plurality of image sensors for converting the X-rays received through the subject into an optical signal, and receives the converted optical signal to convert into an electrical signal By adjoining them, it is possible to reduce the unit cost of the device and to provide a digital X-ray image processing apparatus capable of capturing a high-resolution X-ray image.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital X-ray image processing apparatus capable of receiving a large area X-ray image by arranging a plurality of image sensors adjacently.

In order to achieve the above object, a digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a scintillator unit for converting and outputting the X-rays received through the subject into an optical signal; An optical transmission unit receiving the optical signal output from the scintillator unit and transmitting the optical signal; And an image sensor unit for arranging a plurality of image sensors to convert the X-ray image of the subject into digital data and converting the optical signal received from the light transmitting unit into an electrical signal.

The scintillator part is a gadolinium oxysulfide doped with at least one of terbium and europium, a barium fluorochloride doped with at least one of yttrium oxide, calcium tungsten and europium, and barium sulfate and strontium sulfate doped with at least one of terbium, thulium and dysprosium. And zinc sulfide at least one.

The optical transmission unit may include an optical fiber, one surface of the optical fiber may be in close contact with the scintillator unit, and the other surface of the optical fiber may be in close contact with the image sensor unit. In order to receive all of the optical signals, an area of the other surface may be equal to or larger than that of the image sensor unit.

The image sensor unit may be any one of a CCD, a CMOS, and a photodiode.

The apparatus may further include a controller configured to receive an electrical signal output from the image sensor unit, convert the electrical signal into digital data, and display an X-ray image of the subject on the screen using the converted digital data.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above objects will be apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, a digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

1 illustrates an embodiment system for describing a digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the system includes an X-ray generator 110 and a digital X-ray imaging apparatus 120.

The X-ray generator 110 generates X-rays for capturing an image of a subject, and irradiates the generated X-rays onto a subject to which the X-ray image is to be photographed.

When the X-rays generated by the X-ray generator 110 are irradiated to the subject, the digital X-ray image processing apparatus 120 receives the X-rays passing through the subject, converts the received X-rays into an optical signal, and converts the converted optical signals into adjacent ones. A plurality of image sensors are used to convert an electric signal, and the electric signal is digitalized to display an X-ray image of a subject structure on a screen.

Here, the process of digitalizing the electrical signal and the process of displaying the image by processing the digital data can be known to those skilled in the art, so a description thereof will be omitted.

A digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of an embodiment of the digital X-ray image processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the digital X-ray image processing apparatus 120 includes a scintillator unit 210, a light transmitting unit 220, an image sensor unit 230, and a controller 240.

The scintillator unit 210 receives the X-rays passing through the subject and converts the received X-rays into an optical signal and outputs the converted X-rays.

In this case, a phosphor scintillator material forming the scintillator unit 210 may be a material used to reinforce the screen image, and as such material, gadolinium doped with at least one of terbium and europium. oxysulfide, barium fluorochloride doped with at least one of yttrium oxide, calcium tungsten and europium, and barium sulfate, strontium sulfate and zinc sulfide doped with at least one of terbium, thulium and dysprosium.

The scintillator unit 210 is formed by coating or depositing on one side of the light transmitting unit 220 or manufactured in the form of a screen to closely adhere to the light transmitting unit 220, thereby converting the converted optical signal into the light transmitting unit 220. Can be delivered.

Here, the scintillator is a material that emits light after the impact of ionized particles or gamma-quanta, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The light transmitting unit 220 receives a light signal output from the scintillator unit 210 and transmits the light signal to the image sensor unit 230.

The light transmitting unit 220 may be configured using an optical fiber, one surface of the optical fiber is configured to be in close contact with the scintillator unit 210, the other surface of the optical fiber is in close contact with the image sensor unit 230. It can be configured to.

In this case, the other surface of the optical fiber that is in close contact with the image sensor 230 may have an area equal to or larger than that of the image sensor 230 so that the image sensor 230 may receive all of the optical signals. Do.

The image sensor 230 is configured by arranging the plurality of image sensors 231 adjacent to each other for a large area and a high resolution, and is transmitted from the light transmitting unit 220 by using the plurality of adjacently arranged image sensors 231. The received optical signal is converted into an electrical signal and output.

That is, the image sensor 230 may be configured by arranging a plurality of image sensors adjacent to each other at predetermined intervals and shapes for converting the X-ray image of the subject to be photographed into digital data, thereby increasing the resolution of the X-ray image of the subject. The image sensor unit 230 may be configured by arranging image sensors such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS), a photodiode, and the like in a plurality of arrays to form an image sensor unit 230. Large area X-ray imaging apparatus may be implemented.

Here, the plurality of image sensors configured in the image sensor unit 230 may be disposed adjacent to each other in a grid form (a) or adjacent to each other in a delta or triangle shape (b), as shown in the example illustrated in FIG. 3. The arrangement shape and spacing of the sensors 231 may vary depending on the application field and the resolution required for the X-ray image of the photographed subject.

The control unit 240 receives an electric signal output from the image sensor unit 230 and converts the X-ray image of the subject into digital data, and uses the converted digital data to store the X-ray image of the subject in the device. Stored in a separate storage means, and displays the stored digital data on the screen through the image processing process.

In addition, the controller 240 may output the X-ray image of the digitalized subject according to a user's selection using an output means such as a printer.

Of course, the control unit 240 may convert the digital data of the electrical signal for each of the plurality of image sensors to the X-ray image using a digital signal processing technology, such a control unit 240 converts the analog signal into a digital signal The present invention can be equipped with any technology capable of image processing using the converted digital data, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In addition, although not shown in Figure 2, the digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention preferably blocks the light and the housing in order to remove the influence of the external light.

As described above, the digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is required to produce a device capable of receiving a large area desired by making a plurality of small area image sensors arranged at a predetermined interval and shape. The cost of doing so can be greatly reduced.

In addition, since a plurality of image sensors can be densely configured at regular intervals, a high-resolution X-ray image can be obtained, which is suitable for use in medical or non-destructive testing for the purpose of diagnosing a disease requiring high resolution.

In addition, the digital X-ray image processing apparatus of the present invention can reduce the maintenance cost because only the image sensor of the portion where the failure occurs in maintenance, and furthermore, the scintillator, optical fiber and the plurality of image sensors Because it can be manufactured by using, it is not necessary to introduce a separate production facility for producing a lens for an image sensor chip of a large size to receive the existing large area, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the device.

The digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to the present invention may be modified and applied in various forms within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, and is not limited to the above embodiments. In addition, the embodiments and drawings are merely for the purpose of describing the contents of the invention in detail, not intended to limit the scope of the technical idea of the invention, the present invention described above is common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs As those skilled in the art can have various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention, it is not limited to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. And should be judged to include equality.

1 illustrates an embodiment system for describing a digital X-ray image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration of an embodiment of the digital X-ray image processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.

3 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement structure of a plurality of image sensors constituting the image sensor unit.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

210: scintillator

220: light transmission unit

230: image sensor unit

231: image sensor

240: control unit

Claims (6)

A scintillator unit for converting the X-rays received through the subject into optical signals and outputting the light signals; An optical transmission unit receiving the optical signal output from the scintillator unit and transmitting the optical signal; An image sensor unit for converting an optical signal received from the light transmission unit into an electrical signal by arranging a plurality of CCD image sensors or CMOS image sensors adjacently in a grid or delta form within a predetermined area to digitalize the X-ray image of the subject; And A control unit which receives an electrical signal output from the image sensor unit, converts the digital signal into digital data, and displays an X-ray image of the subject on the screen using the converted digital data; The light transmitting unit includes an optical fiber whose one surface is in close contact with the scintillator unit and the other surface is in close contact with the image sensor unit, and the area of the other surface allows the image sensor unit to receive all of the optical signals. Digital X-ray image processing apparatus, characterized in that more than the area of the sensor. The method of claim 1, The scintillator unit gadolinium oxysulfide doped with at least one of terbium and europium, barium fluorochloride doped with at least one of yttrium oxide, calcium tungsten and europium, and barium sulfate, strontium sulfate and zinc sulfide doped with at least one of terbium, thulium and dysprosium. Digital x-ray image processing apparatus comprising at least one. delete delete delete delete

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