PORTABLE, DIGITAL X-RAY APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING, STORING, AND DISPLAYING ELECTRONIC RADIOSCOPIC IMAGES

摘要

A portable, self-contained, electronic radioscopic imaging system (10) uses an X-ray source (12), preferably configured to operate in a low-power pulsed mode, a remote X-ray sensor (14) , and a self-contained, display and controller unit (16) to produce, store, and/or display digital radioscopic images of an object (22) under investigation. The X-ray source (12) typically transmits a burst of narrow pulses of X-rays at the object being investigated at a low repetition rate. The X-ray sensor (14) utilizes an X-ray scintillating screen (42) in combination with either an integrating CCD camera (48), or an active matrix (52) of thin film transistors (60) and sample-and-hold photodiodes (62), to produce an integrated signal representative of the accumulated number of flashes of radiation (X-ray pulses that pass through the object) that are sensed in a given pixel area of the scintillating screen. The self-contained display and controller unit (16) utilizes digital signal processing within an enhanced portable computer, including a flat solid state display panel (28) and associated drive circuitry, in order to display the full dynamic range and resolution of the sensor. A modem (36) allows the digitized image to be sent to a remote location where the exact same image can be recreated for analysis by of-site experts.