Radiant energy – Invisible radiant energy responsive electric signalling – Semiconductor system
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-12
2002-02-05
Hannaher, Constantine (Department: 2878)
Radiant energy
Invisible radiant energy responsive electric signalling
Semiconductor system
C250S580000, C378S189000, C378S098500, C378S098800
Reexamination Certificate
active
06344652
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a radiation detecting cassette, which accommodates a radiation detector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Techniques for performing radiation image recording and read-out operations by utilizing radiation detecting cassettes, which accommodate radiation detectors, have heretofore been used in practice. With the techniques, radiation is irradiated to an object, such as a living body, and the radiation carrying image information of the object is detected with the radiation detector accommodated in the radiation detecting cassette.
The radiation detecting cassettes are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7(1995)-140255 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,309. With the disclosed radiation detecting cassettes, the radiation carrying image information of the object is converted by a scintillator into visible light having an intensity in accordance with the intensity of the radiation. The visible light is photoelectrically converted into an image signal by solid-state detecting devices, which constitute the radiation detector and are arrayed in a two-dimensional form. The thus obtained image signal is stored in an image memory. Thereafter, the image signal is fed from the image memory into a signal processing unit, which is located at the exterior of the radiation detecting cassette. The image signal having been obtained from the signal processing unit is utilized for reproducing the radiation image of the object as a visible image.
As an example of a radiation detector having no scintillator and directly detecting radiation, a solid-state radiation detector utilizing a semiconductor, such as CdTe, has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1(1989)-216290. As another example of a radiation detector having no scintillator, a solid-state radiation detector comprising two or more layers overlaid via a metal plate with respect to the direction along which radiation is transmitted has been proposed in, for example, “Metal/Amorphous Silicon Multilayer Radiation Detectors,” IEE TRANSACTIONS ON NUCLEAR SCIENCE, Vol. 36, No. 2, April 1989. In the direct conversion types of solid-state radiation detectors, a capacitor is connected to each of charge collecting electrodes, and electric charges having been collected by each charge collecting electrode are accumulated at the corresponding capacitor as latent image charges carrying image information.
Operations for recording radiation images of patients (objects) are controlled from a console of an image recording apparatus, which is located at a predetermined site in an image recording room. When a radiation image of a patient is to be recorded, an image recording card, on which instructions of a medical doctor have been written, is carried by the patient to the console, or the instructions of the medical doctor are transferred through a network to the console. A radiation engineer at the console investigates the instructions written on the image recording card or the instructions displayed on the console and thereby obtains information necessary for the image recording operation, such as identification (ID) information, information concerning an image recording method to be used, and information concerning a portion of the object, the image of which is to be recorded. In accordance with the obtained information, the radiation engineer sets image recording conditions from the console, locates a radiation detecting cassette at the position for the recording of the image of the portion of the object, and performs the image recording operation. With respect to the same patient, a plurality of images are often recorded successively with different image recording methods and/or for different portions of the object. In such cases, each time one image is recorded, the radiation engineer makes reference to the instructions of the medical doctor, sets the image recording conditions to be used, and locates the radiation detecting cassette at a predetermined position.
As described above, heretofore, it has been necessary that, after confirming the portion of the object, the image of which is to be recorded, and the like, at the console, or the like, the radiation engineer goes to the image recording site and locates the radiation detecting cassette at a predetermined position. Particularly, in cases where a plurality of images are to be recorded successively with different image recording methods and/or for different portions of the object, each time one image is recorded, the radiation engineer must confirm the portion of the object, the image of which is to be recorded, the order in which the images are to be recorded, and the like, at the console, or the like, and must locate the radiation detecting cassette at a predetermined position at the image recording site. Therefore, considerable time and labor are required to perform the image recording operations. Also, the image recording conditions vary for different portions of the object, the images of which are recorded, and therefore preparations in accordance with the image recording conditions must be made. For example, it is often necessary that a grid is replaced by a grid of a pitch appropriate for the portion of the object, the image of which is to be recorded.
Further, in order to confirm whether the patient being present at the image recording site is or is not the patient, whose image is to be recorded, it has heretofore been necessary for the radiation engineer to investigate the information on the image recording card or the console and to inquire of the patient being present at the image recording site. Considerable time and labor are required to make such confirmation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a radiation detecting cassette, which enables an image recording menu, such as image recording conditions to be used, an image recording method to be used, and a portion of an object, the image of which is to be recorded, to be found at an image recording site in cases where a radiation image of a patient is to be recorded.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a radiation detecting cassette, which enables identification (ID) information, such as the name of a patient, to be found at an image recording site.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a radiation detecting cassette, wherein an image processing method and parameters are capable of being set from the cassette side, or a transfer destination of an image signal, the order, in which image signals are to be transferred, and the like, are capable of being specified from the cassette side.
The present invention provides a first radiation detecting cassette, comprising:
i) a radiation detector provided with a plurality of solid-state detecting devices, which are arrayed in a two-dimensional form and which detect radiation carrying image information of an object and convert the radiation into an image signal representing a radiation image of the object, and
ii) a flat-shaped case housing for accommodating the radiation detector,
wherein the improvement comprises the provision of:
receiving means for receiving necessary information from the exterior (i.e., a console) in cases where an image recording operation is to be performed, and
displaying means for displaying the information having been received by the receiving means.
In the first radiation detecting cassette in accordance with the present invention, with the displaying means, an image recording menu, which is to be used, or the like, is displayed on the radiation detecting cassette when the image recording operation is to be performed.
Also, in the first radiation detecting cassette in accordance with the present invention, the displaying means may be located on a surface of the case housing, which surface is on the side opposite to the surface exposed to radiation.
The receiving means may be provided with a terminal, a circuit, a connector, an antenna, and the like, for
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Gagliardi Albert
Hannaher Constantine
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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