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EP-4209809-B1 - RADIOGRAPHY IMAGE READING APPARATUS

EP4209809B1EP 4209809 B1EP4209809 B1EP 4209809B1EP-4209809-B1

Inventors

  • YOSHIOKA, TADASHI
  • SUGIHARA, YOSHITO
  • FUJII, YUSUKE

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221121

Claims (13)

  1. A reading apparatus (1, 1C) that is configured to read a radiograph (101a, 101b, 151a) from an imaging plate (10), the reading apparatus (1, 1C) comprising: a first light source (30) that is configured to irradiate the imaging plate (10) with excitation light (L10); a first detector (40) that is configured to detect photostimulated light (L5) from the imaging plate (10) emitted due to the irradiation by the excitation light (L10); a second light source (30, 130) that is configured to irradiate the imaging plate (10) with light (L1) and a second detector (40, 140) that is configured to detect reflected light (L4, L40) that is the light (L10, L1) that has been reflected from the imaging plate (10).
  2. The reading apparatus (1) according to claim 1, wherein the first light source (30) and the second light source (30) are the same, and the excitation light (L10) and the light (L1) are the same.
  3. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first detector (40) is configured to detect the photostimulated light (L5) within IP acted light (L2), the second detector (40, 140) is configured to detect the reflected light (L4, L40) within the IP acted light (L2), the first detector (40) and the second detector (40,140) are respectively configured to output an IP acted light image signal as a result of detection of the IP acted light (L2), and the IP acted light (L2) is light originated from the imaging plate (10) on which at least one of the excitation light (L10) and the light (L1) have acted.
  4. The reading apparatus (1) according to claim 3, wherein the first detector (40) and the second detector (40) are the same and are respectively configured to output an IP acted light image signal.
  5. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising a size identification unit (81) that is configured to identify a size of the imaging plate (10) based on the IP acted light image signal.
  6. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to claim 5, wherein the size identification unit (81) is configured to identify, based on the identified size, a type of the size of the imaging plate (10).
  7. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the first detector (40) is configured to detect the reflected light (L40) from the imaging plate (10) from which the radiograph (101a, 101b, 151a) has been erased, and to output an erasing-time IP image signal being an image signal as a result of detection of the reflected light (L40), and the size identification unit (81) is configured to identify the size of the imaging plate (10) based on the erasing-time IP image signal.
  8. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising a tilt angle identification unit (81) that is configured to identify a tilt angle of the imaging plate (10) relative to a reference orientation based on the IP acted light image signal.
  9. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to claim 8, further comprising a correction processing unit (81) that is configured to correct a tilt of an image of the imaging plate (10) based on the tilt angle.
  10. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to any one of claims 5 to 9, further comprising an image processing unit (81) that is configured to perform image processing on a detected image signal from the first detector (40) and the second detector (40, 140) and the image processing unit (81) sets a cutout frame (150) of an IP biological radiographically captured image (101a, 101b, 103b) from a biological radiographically captured image (100a, 100b), the biological radiographically captured image (100a, 100b) being an image acquired by scanning the imaging plate (10) with the excitation light (L10), the IP biological radiographically captured image (101a, 101b, 103b) being an image based on detection of the IP acted light (L2).
  11. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to any one of claims 5 to 9, further comprising an image processing unit (81) that is configured to perform image processing on a detected image signal from the first detector (40) and the second detector (40, 140), and the image processing unit (81) sets a cutout frame (150) of the radiograph (101a, 101b) and an unexposed region image (103b) from a biological radiographically captured image (100a, 100b), the biological radiographically captured image (100a, 100b) being an image acquired by scanning the imaging plate (10) with the excitation light (L10).
  12. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to any one of claims 3 to 11, further comprising a display (3, 13); and a display control unit (82) that is configured to control the display (3, 13), wherein the display control unit (82) is configured to simultaneously and separately display an acquire image (100a, 100b, 151) acquired in biological radiography and an imaging plate shape extraction image (200, 500, 501) representing a shape of the imaging plate (10) extracted by performing processing on the IP acted light image signal.
  13. The reading apparatus (1, 1C) according to claim 12, further comprising an unexposed region image identification unit (81) that is configured to identify an unexposed region image (103b, 151b) of a portion not exposed to radiation in the acquired image (100a, 100b, 101a, 101b, 151) acquired in biological radiography.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates to reading apparatuses. Description of the Background Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-267451 discloses technology of reading image information from a storage phosphor sheet. JP H04 256846 A is concerned with classifying a material that causes X-ray contrast on an X-ray image created by computer radiography by deriving the distribution of an average atom number from the ratio of the absorption rate of two storage fluorescent substances with different absorption characteristic curves. To this end, X rays that are fed from a high-voltage generator and are generated by an X-ray tube are transmitted through a measurement target such as a filter made of aluminum and a luggage, and X rays that are absorbed and weakened hit against a storage plate. The storage plate contains the layer or mixture of, at least, two fluorescent substances, for example, bromide fluoride barium doped with europium and strontium sulfide doped with europium and samarium. X rays that hit against the storage plate generate two latent images in the storage plate into each fluorescent substance. Then, the distribution of an average atom number is derived from the ratio of the absorption of, at least, two storage fluorescent substances with different absorption characteristic curves US 2014/070104 A1 discloses a system for reading out X-ray information stored in a storage phosphor plate, comprising a storage phosphor plate and a device for reading out X-ray information stored in the storage phosphor plate comprising a light source for generating stimulating light, which can excite the storage phosphor plate to have it emitting first emission light, and a detector for detecting the first emission light emitted by the storage phosphor plate. At least one marking is provided that is arranged and configured in such a way that stimulating light can impinge on the marking and can be at least partially reflected and/or scattered by the marking and/or can excite the marking to have it emitting second emission light, in particular luminescent light, wherein the reflected or scattered stimulating light, respectively, or emitted second emission light, respectively, can be detected by the detector, and marking information can be derived therefrom. Furthermore a control device is provided that permits controlling the reading out of the storage phosphor plate and/or a processing of the read out X-ray information depending on the marking information. EP 0 089 665 B2 discloses that two or more stimulable phosphor sheets carrying radiation images of an object stored therein under conditions different from one another are scanned with stimulating rays to convert the radiation images into light, which is photoelectrically read out and converted into digital image signals. The digital image signals are subjected to subtraction between corresponding picture elements of the images, thereby to obtain a signal for forming an image of a specific structure of the object. Markers for providing reference points or lines are recorded together with the radiation images in a positioned fixed with respect to the radiation images to correct the deviations among the radiation images prior to the substraction. To improve the quality of the subtraction image, image size reduction is conducted on the radiation image before or after the subtraction. JP 2004 007340 A is concerned with providing a radiation image reading device which can detect an exact position of a stimulable phospher plate at a low cost. To this end, a reading device is disclosed that can read regions including the all stimulable phospher plate and comprises a plate region determining means which detects an end part of the stimulable phospher plate from an image signal read by a reading means and determines a position of the stimulable phospher plate, and a plate region extracting means which cuts out an image recorded in the stimulable phospher plate from the image signal read by the reading means based on the position of the stimulable phospher plate determined by a plate region determining means US 2007/081631 A1 discloses a method for preserving orientation information in an image that comprises: collecting image data, including orientation information inherent to collecting the image data; and embedding in the image data an orientation mark unambiguously identifying when the image data is presented in a correct viewing orientation. Image data is stored in a medium together with data forming an embedded orientation mark which is bilaterally asymmetrical in at least two orthogonal axes. In a variation, the data forming the embedded orientation mark further comprises at least one humanly recognizable text or punctuation character, word or trademark. It would be desirable to improve usability of a reading apparatus that reads a radiograph from an imaging plate. SUMMARY It is thus an object of the present disclosure