Principles of Exposure

Chapter Six

Image Receptors
&
Image Acquisition

Prepared By:
Abdulsalam Khalaf 1
 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

DIGITAL IMAGE RECEPTORS

•Two types of digital IRs are typically used in radiography: computed

radiography (CR) and direct digital radiography (DR) IRs.

•These IRs differ in:

1) their construction.
2)how they acquire the latent image.

•Once the latent image is acquired and the raw data are digitized, image
processing and display are essentially the same, regardless of the type of IR.

Mr. Muhammad Abu Arrah

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Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•The CR IR includes: a cassette that houses the imaging plate (IP).

Mr. Muhammad Abu Arrah

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY

The radiation exiting the patient interacts with the IP

where the photon intensities are absorbed by the phosphor.

some of the absorbed A sufficient amount of energy is

energy is released as stored in the phosphor to
visible light (luminescence) produce a latent image.

•Luminescence is the emission of light when stimulated by radiation.

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors & Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•The IP primarily consists of 1. support layer, 2. phosphor layer, 3. protective

layer.

•The phosphor layer is composed of barium fluorohalide crystals doped with

europium, referred to as the photostimulable phosphor (PSP).

•This type of phosphor emits visible light when stimulated by a high-intensity

laser beam, a phenomenon termed (Photostimulable luminescence).

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•CR imaging requires a two-step process for image acquisition:

1. image capture in the IP & 2.Image readout

The latent image is formed in the PSP

when
Exit x-ray are absorbed by the phosphor and the europium atoms become
ionized.

• The absorbed energy excites the electrons, and they are elevated to a higher
energy state where they become stored.
•These electrons remain in this higher energy state until released during the
laser beam scanning of the readout stage.
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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•The number and distribution of these trapped electrons are proportional to

the tissue’s differential x-ray absorption and form the latent image.

•Exposed IPs should be processed within a relatively short amount of time

(within 1 hour) because the latent image dissipates over time.

•The exposed IP is placed in or sent to a reader unit that converts the analog
data into digital data for computer processing.

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•Reader units are available in single-plate or multiplate configurations.

•The major components of a typical reader unit are:

•a drive mechanism to move the IP through the scanning process
•an optical system, which includes the laser
•a photodetector, such as a photomultiplier tube (PMT)
•the analog-to- digital converter (ADC).

•Manufacturers differ in the CR reader mechanics. Some devices move the IP,
and some move the optical components.

•There are three important stages in digitizing the latent image: 1.scanning,
2.sampling, 3. and quantization.
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Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•The purpose of scanning is to convert the latent image into an electrical

signal.

• Once in the reader unit,

• the IP is removed from the cassette and scanned with a helium-neon laser
beam or a solid-state laser diode to release the stored energy as visible light.
• Absorption of the laser beam energy releases the trapped electrons, and they
return to a lower energy state.
•The scanning of the plate results in a continuous pattern of light intensities
being sent to the PMT,
• PMT output is directed to the ADC for sampling and quantization.

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•A PMT collects, amplifies, and converts the visible light to an electrical signal
proportional to the range of energies stored in the IP.

•The signal output from the PMT is digitized by an ADC in order to produce the
digital image.
•To digitize the analog signal from the PMT, it must first be sampled. An
important performance characteristic of an ADC is the sampling frequency.

•Increasing the sampling frequency of the analog signal increases the pixel
density of the digital data and improves the spatial resolution of the digital
image.

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•Closer samples to each other increased sampling frequency smaller

sampling pitch (distance between sampling points) Spatial Resolution
improved
Increased sampling frequency

decreases the sampling pitch

smaller-sized pixels

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY ( CR )

•Another important ADC performance characteristic is degree of quantization

or pixel bit depth, which controls the number of gray shades or contrast
resolution of the image.

•Before the IP is returned to service, the plate is exposed to an intense white

light to release any residual energy that could affect future exposures.

• PSPs can be reused and are estimated to have a life of 10,000 readings before
they need to be replaced.

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DIRECT DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY ( DR )

•DR IRs have a self-scanning readout mechanism that employs an array of x-ray
detectors that receive the exit radiation and convert the varying x-ray
intensities into proportional electronic signals for digitization.

•DR imaging combines image capture and image readout.

•DR receptors are more fragile and much more expensive than CR IRs.

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FLAT PANEL DETECTORS

•Flat panel detectors are solid-state IRs employing a large area active matrix
array of electronic components.

•Signal storage, signal readout, and digitizing electronics are integrated into
the flat panel device.

•Flat panel digital detectors are also available as mobile IRs and can be
removed from the Bucky and used on the tabletop or a stretcher.

•After exposure, the digital image is available within a few seconds on a viewing
monitor.

•The spatial resolution of flat panel receptors is generally superior to the

spatial resolution of CR.
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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

FLAT PANEL DETECTORS

•Flat panel detectors are manufactured in two different ways to create the
electrical charges : indirect and direct conversion methods.

•Indirect Conversion Detectors. use a scintillator such as cesium iodide (CsI) or

gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S) to convert the exit radiation into visible light.
The visible light is then converted to electrical charges by the photodetectors.

•Direct Conversion Detectors. use an amorphous selenium-coated (a-Se)

detector to convert the exit radiation directly into electrical Charges.

•Regardless of the type of digital imaging system, the varying electrical signals
are sent to the ADC for conversion into digital data.

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

DYNAMIC RANGE

•The dynamic range of the digital imaging system refers to the ability of the
detector to capture accurately the range of photon intensities that exit the
patient.

•Compared with film-screen detectors, digital IRs have much larger exposure
latitude (wide dynamic range).

•The ability of the IR to capture a wide range of exit photon intensities does
not mean a quality image is always created.

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 Chapter 6. Image Receptors &Image Acquisition

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO ( SNR )

•Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a method of describing the strength of the

radiation exposure compared with the amount of noise apparent in a digital
image.

•Increasing the SNR improves the quality of the digital image.

•the SNR means that the strength of the signal is high compared with the
amount of noise, and therefore image quality is improved.

•Quantum noise results when there are too few x-ray photons captured by the IR
to create the latent image. In addition to quantum noise, sources of noise include
the electronics that capture, process, and display the digital image.

•When the digital image displays increased noise, regardless of the source,
anatomic details have decreased visibility.
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