CONTENT

 Introduction
 Computed radiography equipment
i. Imaging plate
ii. CR reader
iii. Work station
 Film digitizer
 Comparison of film screen , CR and DR
• A digital image is a representation of a real image as a set of
numbers that can be stored and handled by a digital computer.
• The image is displayed in rows and columns called image matrix.
A matrix is a square arrangement of numbers in columns and rows.
• In order to translate the image into numbers, it is divided into
small areas called pixels (picture elements).
• Pixel is the smallest element in digital imaging.
• For each pixel, the imaging device records a number, or a small set
of numbers, that describe some property of this pixel, such as its
brightness (the intensity of the light) or its color.
• The numbers are arranged in an array of rows and columns that
correspond to the vertical and horizontal positions of the pixels in
the image.
• Image can be made of thousands, preferably millions of these
small cells.
• In digital imaging, each pixel will have a numerical value that
determines the brightness (density) or other details of the cell.
• Each cell in the image matrix is called a picture element or pixel.
• The difference between a pixel and a voxel is that a pixel is a
square inside of a 2D image with a position in a 2D grid and a
single color value, whereas a voxel is a cube inside of a 3D model
that contains a position inside a 3D grid and a single color value .
• Matrix- a digital radiographic image is formed as an electric image
that is displayed on a grid called a matrix.
• Resolution is expressed in the number of pixels per inch (ppi). A
higher resolution gives a more detailed image
• Spatial resolution refers to the amount of detail present in any
image.
• Spatial resolution of a digital image is related to pixel size. Spatial
resolution =image detail.
• The smaller the pixel size the greater the spatial resolution. The
larger the matrix the greater the resolution
• Computer manipulates data based on what is called a binary
numbers, meaning two digits.
• Binary system requires that any binary number can have only one
of two possible values.
• For computer technology, the two digits used are zero or one (0 or
1) and are referred to as binary digits or bits.

• A bit (binary digit) is the smallest unit of data that a computer can
process and store.
8 bits=1 byte
• For one byte there are 256 possible values for the density of each
pixel.
• The brightness of the phosphor corresponding to that area covered
by each pixel can be assigned.
• Pixel bit depth- is defined by the number of bits used to define
each pixel. The greater the bit depth , the greater the number of
tones (grayscale or color) that can be represented.
• Number of gray shades available
• Pixel pitch- this is the distance between pixels in an image
• The smaller the distance between pixels , the better the resolution of
the image
• Measured from the center of one pixel to the center of an adjacent
pixel
• Optimum pixel pitch is between 100-150 microns
• Pixel density- this is the number of pixels per a unit area
• Sampling frequency- the number of pixels sampled per millimeter
as the laser scans each line of the imaging plate
• The more pixels sampled per mm, the greater the sampling
frequency
 Nyquist frequency-
• Nyquist frequency- The relationship between the sampling
frequency (number of pixel per mm scanned by the laser) and
the spatial resolutions (resulting image detail, sharpness etc)

• It determines the level of spatial resolution for an image

receptor.
• The Nyquist theorem states that for a given spatial frequency,
resolution , you must sample the signal at twice the desired
sampling frequency.
• Determines the maximum spatial resolution for a given
sampling frequency
• It states that if a desired spatial resolution is x , the sampling
frequency must be 2x
Digital imaging
Definition
• Any acquisition process that produces an electronic image that
can be viewed and manipulated on a computer.
• This means both computed radiography (CR) and digital
radiography (DR).
• In radiology, the term was first used in the 1970s for CT
Analog vs digital
• Digitizing a signal- assigns a discrete numeric value to each
frequency
• Analog – represents changing values as continuously variable
physical quantities
Digital imaging cont…
It is a Conventional Projection Radiography in which the image is
 acquired in digital format using the Imaging Plate Rather than film.

Cassette-Based
Equipment
Historical Development

 CT, MRI and Ultrasound were all digital since their introduction.

 But General Radiography remained Analog.

 In 1981, at International Conference of Radiology at Brussels, Fuji presented the concept
of CR employing Photostimulable Phosphor ( special luminescent material that stores x
ray energy and emits light proportional to the stored x ray energy when stimulated by the
energy such as visible light from a laser)
 In 1983, CR first Clinically used in Japan.
 CR Cassette
 Looks like conventional Radiography cassette.

 Made of durable light weight plastic material

 Backed by thin sheet of Aluminium that

absorbs x ray
 Instead of Intensifying Screen inside, there is
antistatic material that protects against static
electricity build up, dust collection and
mechanical damage to plate.
 Imaging Plate
 In CR, Image in captured in thin sheet of plastic known as imaging Plate.
 Has several layers:
 Protective layer
 Phosphor/ Active layer
 Reflective layer
 Conductive layer
 Color layer
 Support layer
 Backing layer

Barcodes are used to identify the cassette or imaging plate and examination request to link the imaging plate with
the patient examination.
 Protective Layer: thin, tough, clear plastic that protects the phosphor layer.

 Phosphor/ Active layer: This is a layer of photostimulable phosphor that“traps”

electrons during exposure.
 It is usually made of phosphors from the barium fluorohalide family (e.g.,
barium fluorohalide, chlorohalide, or bromohalide crystals).
 This layer may also contain a dye that differentially absorbs the stimulating light
to prevent as much spread as possible and functions much the same as dye added
to conventional radiographic screens.
 Reflective layer. This is a layer that sends light in a forward direction when released in the cassette reader.
This layer may be black to reduce the spread of stimulating light and the escape of emitted light.
 conductive layer. This is a layer of material that absorbs and reduce static electricity.

 color layer. Newer plates may contain a color layer, located between the active layer and the support, that
absorbs the stimulating light but reflects emitted light.
 A support layer. This is a semi rigid material that gives the imaging sheet some strength.

 A backing layer. This is a soft polymer that protects the back of the cassette.
Doping Barium Flurohallide with Europium
 When Pure crystals of Barium flurohallide are doped with small amount of
Europium, Crystals develop a tiny defect called metastable sites of F center.
( From German Farbzentren or Color center).
 F centres acts like electronic holes in the crystals that can trap electrons.
 Acquiring and forming the latent Image

 Remnant beam interacts with the electron in the barium

flurohallide crystals within IP.

 Gives energy to the electron in the crystal, allowing them

to enter in conductive layer, where they are trapped in the
area in the cystal known as color or phosphor center.
 The trapped signal will remain for hour or even for a day.*

 According to the American Association of Medical Physicist in

Medicine, it will lose about 25% of the stored signal between 10
min and 8 hrs after an exposure resulting in the loss of the
energy through spontaneous phosphorescence .
THE READER/CR READER
 No chemicals and dark room Necessary.

 Cassette is fed into reader.

 Removes IP and scans plate with the laser to

release the stored energy.

Laser in Imaging Plate
 The extracted imaging plate is scanned with red laser and gives energy to trapped electron and
energizes them.
 Extra energy allows the trapped energy to escape active layer where they emit blue light at energy of 3eV.

 Laser scans IP multiple times.

 Scanning produces lines of light intensity information that are detected by photomultiplier tube that
amplifies and send it to digitizer.
 Typical

Through
output is
50/hr.
COMPONENTS
Beam Deflector-The beam deflector moves the laser beam rapidly back and forth across the screen to

stimulate sequentially each point along a scan line

Transport Stage The transport stage moves the image plate (IP) in a direction (roughly) perpendicular

to the fast-scan direction. This direction is often called the “slow-scan,” the “page-scan,” or the “cross-line”

direction.
Photodetector-The photodetector converts the emitted light photons into an electrical signal that can

be processed into a digital image.

Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC)-The ADC is the boundary between the analog and digital worlds

and encompasses two processes: sampling and quantization. The ADC works with the control electronics

to produce a digital image that is at least equivalent, for purposes of the imaging application, to the

analog image from which it stems.

Imaging Plate Movement
PhotoMultiplier Tube

 When the laser beam in the CR reader stimulates the PSP plate, the
visible light emitted from it is directed through a light-channeling guide
onto a photocathode layer on the input side of a PM tube.
 electrons are emitted from the photocathode.

 But, this electronic signal is too small to be detected by most other

types of electronic devices, so it needs to be amplified.
 This is accomplished through a series of dynode plates.
Dynodes Plates.
 Dynodes are electrodes which can be switched back and forth between positive
and negative charges. With each strike, the dynode plate switches from positive
to negative, repelling the stream of electrons toward the next plate, but with
increasing effect such that the number of electrons in the stream is multiplied.
 Each collision of an incident electron with a dynode plate releases about 5
electrons from the plate. By having the electron beam pass through 10–12 of
these dynodes in succession, the electronic signal can be amplified by more
than a million times.
Digitizing the Signal
 It is assigning the numerical value to each light photon.

 Each phosphor storage is scanned and the electrons eneters the digitizer
where the analog image is converted into square matrix and assigns each
matrix a number based on the amount of signal .
 More Pixel= greater resolution.

 No of Photons detected determines the Grey level.

 Grey level will determine the Quality of Image.

Erasing
 Not all electrons have came back to the initial phase after reading.

 System automatically erase the plate by flooding it with light to

remove any electron still trapped after initial plate reading.
Computer Control
The output of the photodetector is a time-varying analog signal that is transmitted to
a computer system that has multiple functions
The time-varying analog signal from the photodetector is processed for amplitude,
scale, and compression.
This shapes the signal before the final image is formed.
Then the analog signal is digitized, with attention paid to proper sampling (time
between samples) and quantization (the value of each sample).
Sampling and quantization are the two processes of analog-to-digital conversion
(ADC).
Workstation
The digitized image data is processed
on a processing server and is displayed
on its monitor
Wider Dyanamic Range
Spatial Resolution

 Amount of detail present in any image is known as spatial resolution.

 Phosphor layer thickness and Pixel size determines

 Film Screen Radiography 10 lp/mm and CR 2.5-5 lp/mm

Speed
 CR system “speeds” are a reflection of the amount of photostimulable
luminescence (PSL) given off by the imaging plate while being scanned by the
laser.
 For example, Fuji Medical Systems reports that a 1-mR exposure at 80 kVp and a
source-to-image distance of 72 inches will result in a luminescence value of 200,
hence the “speed” number.
 In CR, most cassettes have the same “speed”; however, there are special extremity
or chest cassettes that produce greater resolution. These are typically 100 relative
“speed.”
 Great care must be taken when converting to a CR system from a film/screen
system to adjust technical factors to reflect the new “speed.”
Advantage of CR
 Improved diagnostic and expanded diagnostic scope.

 X ray dosage reduction.

 Repeat rate reduction

 Teleradiographic transmission

 Picture Archival and Communication System possible.

Recent Development in CR
 Dual Sided reading: there are two sets of detectors in the reader that capture light
from both sides of the plate upon stimulation by the laser beam. Combined with a
thicker phosphor layer on the plates, the signal to-noise ratio is improved in these
systems.
 New Line scan Reader: have increased the speed of processing. They use a laser
line source and a shaping lens to refine the beam into a fine line rather than a point.
Stimulated light is then emitted from the phosphor line-by-line, captured by a lens
array and fed to a CCD photo detector array.
 many newer CR readers now use solid-state semiconductor laser diodes rather
than helium-neon gas lasers. These emit a slightly different wavelength of light,
but are more reliable and consistent in the long run.
Efficiency of CR Phosphors
 Any receptor system using a phosphor or scintillation layer to convert x-rays into light
must be good at absorbing x-rays, converting their energy into light and emitting that
light efficiently.
 Absorption efficiency is the ratio of x-ray photons absorbed by the phosphor crystals to
the x-ray photons incident upon the phosphor layer. Elements with high atomic numbers,
thicker phosphor layer are good in Absorption. The more x-rays are absorbed by the
phosphor layer, the more light is emitted when the plate is stimulated by a laser beam in
the digital reader (processor).
 Conversion efficiency is the percentage of energy from absorbed x-ray photons that
is converted into light rather than into infrared or heat energy.
 Emission efficiency is the ability of the light produced by the phosphor crystals to
escape the phosphor layer and reach the light guides in the CR reader that direct it to
the light detector, a photomultiplier tube.
 Background and Scatter radiation
• Approximately 10 times more sensitive than the older film/screen.
 A red laser beam scans the photostimulable screen stimulating the
emission of the blue light photons.
 Stored energy is set free with the emission of blue light equivalent to the absorbed
remnant beam.
 Blue light is captured by photodiode and converted to electric charge.

 Analog to digital converter converts it into a corresponding digital image.

 Residual latent image electron is flushed with high intensity white light
and erased without reintroducing electrons from the ground energy level.
  A way to take a projection radiograph to a digital
Film Digitizers format other than CR and digital DR
 Scans the analog film and produces numeric
signals for each part of the scanned film.
 The film digitizer scans the analog film and
produces numeric signals for each part of the
scanned film.
 The numbers are fed into a software application
that is attached to the scanner, and the scanner
digitally reproduces the image using the numeric
signals that represent each part of the radiograph
 Types:-
i. Laser technology
ii. Charge-coupled device (CCD) technology.
 Both are equal in quality, but currently the ccd
digitizers are less expensive.
 Take up to 80seconds to scan one film
through the digitizer,
 Have problems with extreme light and dark
areas on the film
 Cheaper
Common Uses of Film Digitizers

i. Tele radiology - Transferring digitized images for delivery at a

distance to radiologists
ii. Compare outside or old films- PACs
iii. Film duplication
iv. Computed aided diagnosis (CAD)-most currently used in
mammography and chest imaging
Computer will analyze the densities seen on the image and
alert the radiologist of questionable densities
Imagers
 Film printers, receive an image from a workstation and print the image based on
printer LUTs and preset print layouts.
 Two major types of imagers that are still in use today:
i. Wet (chemical)
ii. Laser imagers-use heat to process the latent image that is etched into the silver
emulsion by the laser.
( Read about Wet and Laser imagers)
Common Uses of Imagers
iii. Backup: The ability to print just in case the PACS goes down
iv. Difficult PACS locations: Theatre, wards
v. Outside physicians
vi. Legal cases: For legal cases, films can be printed to be viewed in court
vii. Teaching purposes: Most hospitals train students at their institution
 CD/ DVD Burners
 A CD/DVD burner can burn images to be shared outside of the radiology
department. Along with the images, a DICOM viewer is burned to the
disk for ease of viewing.
Summary
 The basic CR imaging cycle has three steps
(1) expose,
(2) readout, and
(3) erase.
 When the SPS is exposed to the X-ray the energy of the incident radiation is
absorbed and excites electrons to high-energy levels.
 These excited electrons remain trapped at unstable energy levels of the atom.
 This trapped energy can be released if stimulated by additional light energy of
the proper wavelength by the process of photostimulated luminescence (PSL).
 the SPS is scanned in a separate CR reader device