Storage phosphor plate assembly, X-ray cassette and system for reading out storage phosphor plates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9874643-B2
Application number	US-201515125233-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 17, 2015
Priority date	Mar 18, 2014
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

A storage phosphor plate assembly includes at least one storage phosphor plate having a storage phosphor layer for storing X-ray information and a substrate layer on which the storage phosphor layer is provided. The substrate layer contains a permanent magnetic material, and a support plate contains a magnetic material, the at least one storage phosphor plate being held on the support plate due to magnetic forces. The invention further relates to an X ray cassette and a system for reading out storage phosphor plate. An easy and safe handling of storage phosphor plates of various sizes and/or forms, in particular during the read-out process in the read-out system, is achieved.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A storage phosphor plate assembly comprising:
at least one storage phosphor plate including a storage phosphor layer that emits emission light upon irradiation with stimulating light and stores X-ray information, and a substrate layer including a permanent magnetic material on which the storage phosphor layer is provided;
a support plate including a magnetic material; and
at least one marking element provided on the support plate and including a fluorescent material that emits fluorescent light upon irradiation with the stimulating light; wherein
the at least one storage phosphor plate is held on the support plate by magnetic forces.

2. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the permanent magnetic material in the substrate layer is a ferromagnetic material exhibiting a coercive field strength higher than 70 kA/m and/or a remanence higher than 100 mT.

3. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate layer is a flexible layer.

4. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the magnetic material in the support plate is a ferromagnetic material and/or a ferrimagnetic material.

5. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the support plate includes a layer of steel.

6. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the support plate is a rigid plate.

7. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the support plate has a thickness between 200 μm and 400 μm.

8. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 , wherein
the at least one marking element identifies the storage phosphor plate and/or X-ray information stored in the storage phosphor plate.

9. The storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the at least one marking element includes a permanent magnetic material and is held on the support plate by magnetic forces.

10. An X-ray cassette comprising:
a housing in which the storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 is accommodated.

11. A system for reading out X-ray information stored in a storage phosphor plate, the system comprising:
the storage phosphor plate assembly according to claim 1 ;
a read-out device that irradiates the at least one storage phosphor plate with the stimulating light and that detects the emission light which is stimulated in the at least one storage phosphor plate; and
a transport device that transports the storage phosphor plate assembly relative to the read-out device; wherein
the read-out device further irradiates the at least one marking element with the stimulating light and detects the fluorescent light emitted by the at least one marking element upon irradiation with the stimulating light.

12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the transport device includes at least one magnetic element coupled to the support plate by magnetic forces.

13. The system according to claim 12 , wherein the transport device includes at least one roller that rotates about a rotational axis of the at least one roller; and
the magnetic element is provided on the at least one roller and/or inside of the at least one roller.

Assignees

• Agfa Healthcare Nv

Inventors

• Pirmann Anton
• Mair Stephan

Classifications

• G01T1/2014

  Reading out of stimulable sheets, e.g. latent image · CPC title

• G01T1/2012 Primary

  using stimulable phosphors, e.g. stimulable phosphor sheets · CPC title

• G03B42/047

  provided with marking means · CPC title

• G03B42/023

  Apparatus for indirect X-ray cinematography, i.e. by taking pictures on ordinary film from the images on the fluorescent screen (by transforming the picture information intermediately into electrical signals G03B27/725) · CPC title

• G03B42/08

  Visualisation of records by optical means · CPC title