Radiographic imaging device

Abstract

A radiographic imaging device 1 comprises a sensor panel SP in which a plurality of radiation detection elements 7 are two-dimensionally arranged, a substantially rectangular housing 40 in which the sensor panel SP is housed, and a protective member 70, the housing 40 being provided with, for example, a front plate 41 that is a first housing, and a back plate 42 that is a second housing facing the first housing, and the protective member 70 being fixed to a corner part 411 of the front plate 41 that is the first housing, and covering the front plate 41 that is the first housing and at least a part of the back plate 42 that is the second housing.

Description

Radiographic imaging apparatus

[0001] The present invention relates to a radiographic imaging apparatus.

[0002] As an apparatus used for radiographic imaging for the purpose of disease diagnosis or the like, development of a radiographic imaging apparatus (also referred to as an FPD (Flat Panel Detector) cassette or the like) has been underway. Inside the housing of the radiographic imaging apparatus, a sensor panel is housed. A plurality of radiation detection elements are arranged on the sensor panel, and the radiation detection elements generate charges according to the dose of radiation that has passed through the subject and been irradiated. The radiographic imaging apparatus captures a radiographic image by reading out the charges thus generated as signal values.

[0003] The radiographic imaging apparatus may be subject to impacts such as sliding on the imaging table and colliding with the end, or falling from a height when being carried. Since the radiographic imaging apparatus is substantially rectangular in plan view, the four corner portions are most likely to be subject to impacts. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which a protective member is provided at the corner portions of the radiographic imaging apparatus to suppress damage to the housing when impacted.

[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-063217

[0005] However, in the radiographic imaging apparatus of Patent Document 1, among the housing divided into a front plate and a back plate that retreats inward from the front plate, a protective member is provided so as to cover only the corner portions of the front plate. With such a configuration, when the back plate collides with a protruding portion at the end of the top surface of the horizontal imaging table, or when the back plate falls and collides on a stepped surface, it is not possible to prevent the back plate from being damaged by the impact.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. The object is to provide a radiographic imaging apparatus that can protect both members of a housing divided into two members.

[0007] To solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is a radiation imaging apparatus comprising: a sensor panel on which a plurality of radiation detection elements are arranged in two dimensions; a substantially rectangular housing in which the sensor panel is housed; and a protective member, wherein the housing comprises a first housing and a second housing facing the first housing, and the protective member is fixed to the corner of the first housing and covers the first housing and at least a part of the second housing.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is a radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is a front plate into which radiation is incident.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is a radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second housing is a front plate into which radiation is incident.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is a radiation imaging apparatus as described in claim 2, wherein the first housing comprises a first planar portion into which radiation is incident and a first side wall portion projecting toward the second housing from the end of the first planar portion, the second housing comprises a second planar portion and a second side wall portion projecting toward the first housing from the end of the second planar portion, the end face of the first side wall portion in the projection direction is a two-tiered stepped surface with a portion cut out, the lower end face of the first side wall portion and the end face of the second side wall portion in the projection direction are in contact, and the difference between the width of the lower end face of the first side wall portion and the width of the end face of the second side wall portion is 1 mm or less.

[0011] The invention described in claim 5 is a radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is spaced apart from the second housing.

[0012] The invention described in claim 6 is a radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises a first planar portion into which radiation is incident and a first side wall portion projecting toward the second housing from the end of the first planar portion, and the first planar portion and the first side wall portion are separate.

[0013] The invention described in claim 7 is a radiographic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective member comprises an inclined surface continuous with the end of the outer surface of the planar portion of the first housing and / or the second housing.

[0014] The invention described in claim 8 is a radiographic imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the inclined surface is curved.

[0015] The invention described in claim 9 is a radiographic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the protective member penetrates the first housing and is fixed within the housing.

[0016] According to the present invention, both components of a housing divided into two parts for a radiographic imaging device can be protected.

[0017] This is a block diagram showing the equivalent circuit of a radiographic imaging apparatus. This is a perspective view of a radiographic imaging apparatus. This is a cross-sectional view of a radiographic imaging apparatus along line III-III in Figure 2. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment along line IV-IV in Figure 2. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example of the first embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example of the first embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example of the first embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example of the first embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a second embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example of the second embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a third embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to another example of the third embodiment. This is a cross-sectional view of a corner of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example of the third embodiment. This is a perspective view of a radiographic imaging apparatus according to a modified example.

[0018] [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, a radiation imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, a so-called indirect type radiation imaging apparatus will be described, which is equipped with a scintillator and the like, and converts emitted radiation into electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths such as visible light to obtain an electrical signal. However, the present invention is also applicable to a so-called direct type radiation imaging apparatus that directly detects radiation with a radiation detection element without using a scintillator and the like.

[0019] [Circuit Configuration of the Radiation Imaging Device] First, the circuit configuration of the radiation imaging device 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the equivalent circuit of the radiation imaging device 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, a plurality of radiation detection elements 7 are arranged in a two-dimensional (matrix) manner on the sensor substrate 51 (described later, see Figure 3) of the radiation imaging device 1.

[0020] (Radiation detection element) A bias wire 9 is connected to the radiation detection element 7. A reverse bias voltage is applied to the radiation detection element 7 from the bias power supply 14 via the bias wire 9 and their connection 10. In addition, a TFT 8 (Thin Film Transistor) is connected to each radiation detection element 7 as a switching element. The TFT 8 is connected to the signal line 6.

[0021] (TFT) In the scanning drive unit 15, the on-voltage and off-voltage supplied from the power supply circuit 15a via the wiring 15c are switched by the gate driver 15b and applied to each line L1 to Lx of the scanning line 5. When the off-voltage is applied to each TFT 8 via the scanning line 5, it turns off, interrupting the conduction between the radiation detection element 7 and the signal line 6, and allowing charge to accumulate in the radiation detection element 7. When the on-voltage is applied to each TFT 8 via the scanning line 5, it turns on, releasing the charge accumulated in the radiation detection element 7 to the signal line 6.

[0022] Each signal line 6 is connected to a respective readout circuit 17 within the readout IC (Integrated Circuit) 16. When an ON voltage is applied from the gate driver 15b to the line L containing the scan line 5 during the readout process of the signal value D, the TFT 8 turns ON. Then, charge flows from the radiation detection element 7 to the readout circuit 17 via the TFT 8 and signal lines 6, and the amplification circuit 18 outputs a voltage value corresponding to the amount of charge that has flowed in.

[0023] (CDS) The correlated double sampling circuit (labeled "CDS" in Figure 1) 19 reads out the voltage value output from the amplification circuit 18 as an analog signal value D and outputs it. In this embodiment, each readout circuit 17 of the readout IC 16 reads out the charge generated in each radiation detection element 7 according to the dose of irradiated radiation as a signal value D.

[0024] The signal value D output from the amplification circuit 18 is sequentially transmitted to the A / D converter 20 via the analog multiplexer 21, where it is sequentially converted into a digital signal value D and sequentially stored in the storage unit 23. Then, by sequentially applying an ON voltage to each line L1 to Lx of the scan line 5 from the gate driver 15b of the scanning drive unit 15 and performing the above readout process, the signal value D is read out from all radiation detection elements 7.

[0025] {Control Unit} The control unit 22 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The control unit 22 may also consist of a computer with input / output interfaces connected to a bus, or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) (neither shown in the diagram). The control unit 22 may also consist of a dedicated control circuit.

[0026] The control unit 22 is connected to a storage unit 23, which consists of SRAM (Static RAM), SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM), NAND flash memory, etc., and a built-in power supply 24, which consists of a lithium-ion battery or lithium-ion capacitor, etc. The control unit 22 is also connected to a communication unit 30 for wireless or wired communication with the outside world via the aforementioned antenna 29 and connector 27.

[0027] Furthermore, the control unit 22 performs various controls. For example, as described above, the control unit 22 controls the application of a reverse bias voltage from the bias power supply 14 to each radiation detection element 7. The control unit 22 also controls the operation of the scanning drive unit 15 and the readout circuit 17 to read the signal value D from the radiation detection elements 7. The control unit 22 also stores the readout signal value D in the storage unit 23, or transfers the stored signal value D to an external source via the communication unit 30.

[0028] [Regarding the configuration of the radiation imaging apparatus] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, and Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the radiation imaging apparatus 1 along the line III-III in Figure 2. In Figure 3, the thickness in the vertical direction is shown to be thicker than it actually is in order to make the internal configuration easier to understand. Also, in Figure 3, the radiation imaging apparatus 1 is shown in a state in which the radiation incident plate 415, which is irradiated with radiation, is located on the lower side in the figure.

[0029] The following explanation will describe the vertical direction of the radiographic imaging device 1, based on the case where the radiographic imaging device 1 is positioned as shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the radiographic imaging device 1 has a sensor panel SP (also called a TFT panel, etc.) housed inside the housing 40.

[0030] (Housing) In this embodiment, the housing 40 of the radiation imaging apparatus 1 is formed by dividing it into two components, a first housing and a second housing. The first housing, the front plate 41, is a front member having a radiation incident plate 415, which is a first planar portion formed in the shape of a substantially rectangular flat plate, and side wall portions 416, which are first side wall portions erected on the outer peripheral edges of its four sides. The second housing, the back plate 42, is a back member having a bottom plate 425, which is a second planar portion formed in the shape of a substantially rectangular flat plate facing the radiation incident plate 415, and side wall portions 426, which are second side wall portions erected on the outer peripheral edges of its four sides. As shown in Figure 3, the front plate 41 and the back plate 42 are connected at the side wall portions 416, 426 at the ends in the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0031] {Front plate} The front plate 41 is made of, for example, fiber-reinforced plastic. More preferably, the front plate 41 is made of CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics). In the radiation imaging apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the front plate 41 is integrally formed with the radiation incident plate 415 and the side wall portion 416 by autoclave or hot press processing.

[0032] {Back Plate} The back plate 42 is made of CFRP, similar to the front plate 41, and the bottom plate 425 and side wall portion 426 are integrally formed by press processing. The back plate 42 may also be made of a light metal such as a magnesium alloy with high specific strength and heat dissipation (for example, AZ31 sheet material for press), or an aluminum alloy with high specific strength, cost-effectiveness, and excellent heat dissipation (for example, A5052).

[0033] Although not shown in Figure 2, the back plate 42 is attached to the side wall portion 416 of the front plate 41 and to the support column 44 which is erected toward the back plate 42 from the base 50 of the sensor panel SP (described later) by an engaging member, a screw 43. The back plate 42 is connected to the front plate 41 to form a box shape. Waterproof members 417, such as O-rings or closed-cell foam cushioning material, are interposed between the back plate 42 and the front plate 41 to ensure airtightness and watertightness inside the housing 40. Protective members 70 are provided at the corners of the front plate 41 and the back plate 42 to protect those corners. The detailed structure of the front plate 41, the back plate 42, and the protective members 70 that constitute the housing 40 will be described later.

[0034] In the following explanation, the front plate 41 of each component constituting the radiation imaging apparatus 1 will be described as the front surface, with the side facing the radiation incident plate 415 (i.e., the lower surface in the figure) being referred to as the front surface, and the back plate 42 (i.e., the upper surface in the figure) being referred to as the back surface.

[0035] {Sensor Panel} The sensor panel SP comprises a base 50 having a metal layer (not shown) such as lead that shields against radiation. A sensor substrate 51 made of a glass substrate or the like is disposed on the surface side of the base 50. Multiple radiation detection elements 7 and the like are arranged in a two-dimensional manner on the surface of the sensor substrate 51. The sensor substrate 51 may be made of a resin material such as polyimide. The material of the base 50 is preferably a light metal such as aluminum or magnesium in order to improve the strength of the sensor panel SP. For further weight reduction, resin or resin foam may be used.

[0036] A scintillator 55 is formed on one side of a scintillator substrate 54, which is made of a glass substrate or a resin film. The sensor substrate 51 and the scintillator substrate 54 are attached to the outer parts of each radiation detection element 7 and the scintillator 55 with adhesive (not shown). With this configuration, the sensor substrate 51 and the scintillator substrate 54 are arranged so that the scintillator 55 and each radiation detection element 7 face each other.

[0037] The signal lines 6 (see Figure 1) wired on the sensor board 51 are connected to a flexible circuit board 56 on which a chip such as a readout IC 16 is incorporated on a film. The flexible circuit board 56 is routed to the back side of the base 50 and connected to a PCB board 57, etc.

[0038] {PCB board} Circuits and electronic components such as the control unit 22 and memory unit 23 (hereinafter collectively referred to as electronic equipment 58) are arranged on the PCB board 57. In Figure 3, the electronic equipment 58 is shown arranged on the front side of the PCB board 57, but it is not limited to this. The electronic equipment 58 may be arranged on the back side of the PCB board 57, or on both the front and back sides.

[0039] As described above, the radiation imaging apparatus 1 has a sensor panel SP. The electronic equipment 58 is located on the back side of the sensor panel SP, that is, on the back plate 42 side. Therefore, the electronic equipment 58 can be accessed simply by removing the back plate 42 (i.e., without removing the sensor panel SP from the housing 40), making it easy to replace the electronic equipment 58.

[0040] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, a spacer 60 is provided between the scintillator substrate 54 and the front plate 41. The spacer 60 may be made adhesive to fix the sensor panel SP to the inner surface of the front plate 41. This prevents the sensor panel SP from moving inside the housing even when subjected to impacts such as drops, and prevents damage from contact with the inner surface of the housing. In addition, a heat conductive member 61 is provided between the read IC 16 and the back plate 42, allowing heat generated by the read IC 16 to be conducted to the back plate 42 and dissipated to the outside of the device from the back plate 42. Furthermore, a heat insulating member 62 is provided between the read IC 16 and the base 50 of the sensor panel SP, preventing heat generated by the read IC 16 from being transferred to the sensor panel SP.

[0041] [Housing] The detailed structure of the housing 40 and the protective member 70 will now be described. Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view along the line IV-IV in Figure 2. That is, Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of one corner of the housing 40.

[0042] (Front Plate) As described above, the front plate 41 includes a rectangular radiation incident plate 415 and four side wall portions 416 erected upward along the outer peripheral edges of the four sides of the radiation incident plate 415. And between adjacent side wall portions 416, there is a substantially right-angled corner portion 411 with an arc-shaped rounding when viewed from above. Further, in the corner portion 411, a fixed portion 411a that retreats inward is provided so as to fit with a fixed portion 71 (described later) of the protection member 70.

[0043] Also, at the upper end portion of each side wall portion 416, a notch portion 412 that is cut out in the inner and downward directions along its outer edge portion is formed, and it has a stepped surface in two upper and lower steps. The end surface (lower end surface) of the notch portion 412 abuts so that the end surface in the protruding direction of the side wall portion 426 engages. When the notch portion 412 is provided on the front plate 41, the waterproof member 417 can be compressed by sandwiching between the upper end portion of the side wall portion 416 excluding the notch portion 412 and the back plate 42, and the waterproof effect can be enhanced. Also, when assembling the radiation imaging device 1, it becomes easier to engage the back plate 42 with the front plate 41.

[0044] On the other hand, if there is a difference between the width of the end surface of the notch portion 412 and the width of the end surface in the protruding direction of the side wall portion 426, and there is a gap a between the inner portion of the side wall portion 426 and the inner edge portion of the notch portion 412, there is a risk that the back plate 42 will be pushed in and damaged when receiving an impact from the outside. Also, when there is a gap a, dust tends to accumulate. Therefore, it is preferable to design the width of the lower end surface of the side wall portion 416 and the width of the end surface of the second side wall portion 426 so that at least the gap a is 2 mm or less, more preferably 1 mm or less. Alternatively, at the assembly stage, it is preferable to fill the gap a with an elastic adhesive to eliminate the gap a.

[0045] (Back Plate) The back plate 42 includes a rectangular bottom plate 425 and four side wall portions 426 hanging downward along the outer peripheral edges of the four sides of the bottom plate 425. A 90-degree corner portion 421 is formed between adjacent side wall portions 426. The corner portion 421 has an arc-shaped rounding when viewed from above.

[0046] [Protective Member] The protective member 70 is attached to, for example, at least one corner portion 411 of the front plate 41. The protective member 70 has different characteristics from those of the front plate 41 and the back plate 42 and is excellent in impact resistance and wear resistance. The protective member 70 may be made of an elastic body such as rubber or elastomer, but considering the impact resistance, it is preferably made of a metal with high strength.

[0047] In particular, considering that the radiation imaging apparatus 1 is exposed to a disinfectant solution, the protective member 70 is preferably made of aluminum, SUS (Steel Use Stainless), or a titanium alloy, etc., which has excellent resistance to the disinfectant solution. Alternatively, it is preferable to perform an anodic oxidation treatment or a coating treatment such as nickel plating on the surface of the metal constituting the protective member 70.

[0048] The protective member 70 includes a convex fixing portion 71. The fixing portion 71 is provided so as to fit with a fixed portion 411a provided at the corner portion 411. By fitting (inserting) the fixing portion 71 into the fixed portion 411a, the protective member 70 is attached to the front plate 41. The protective member 70 is fixed to the front plate 41 by fixing the fixing portion 71 fitted to the fixed portion 411a with a screw or an adhesive.

[0049] When the fixing portion 71 is fixed to the fixed portion 411a by screwing, the protective member 70 may be configured to be detachable so that the protective member 70 worn out due to impact or wear can be arbitrarily replaced.

[0050] Further, the protective member 70 is provided such that its length in the vertical direction is at least longer than the length in the vertical direction of the side wall portion 416 and covers the entire side wall portion 416. Also, the protective member 70 is provided to be shorter than the length in the vertical direction of the radiation imaging apparatus 1. That is, it is provided to have a size that covers at least a part of the side wall portion 426 at the corner portion 421. By providing the protective member 70 in this way, for example, even if the radiation imaging apparatus 1 falls, it is possible to prevent an external object from contacting and damaging not only the front plate 41 but also the back plate 42.

[0051] [Technical Effects of the First Embodiment] As described above, the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment comprises a sensor panel SP on which a plurality of radiation detection elements 7 are arranged in two dimensions, a substantially rectangular housing 40 in which the sensor panel SP is housed, and a protective member 70. The housing 40 comprises a front plate 41 which is the first housing and a back plate 42 which is the second housing facing the first housing. The protective member 70 is fixed to the corner 411 of the first housing 41 and covers the first housing 41 and at least a part of the second housing 42. In this way, the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is fixed so that the protective member 70 covers not only the front plate 41 but also a part of the back plate 42. Therefore, even if the corner of the housing 40 is subjected to an impact, it is possible to protect not only the front plate 41 but also the back plate 42.

[0052] [Modification of the First Embodiment] Figure 4 illustrates a configuration in which the side wall portion 426, which is the end of the back plate 42, is in contact with the protective member 70, but the invention is not limited to this. As shown in Figure 5, the side wall portion 426 may be positioned inward from the side wall portion 416, thereby separating the back plate 42 and the protective member 70. With this configuration, the direct transmission of impact applied to the protective member 70 to the side wall portion 426 is suppressed, and impact applied to the back plate 42 can be suppressed.

[0053] Furthermore, although the above describes a configuration in which the protective member 70 is attached to the front plate 41 and covers at least a part of the side wall portion 426, the configuration is not limited to this. As shown in Figure 6, the protective member 70 may also be configured to cover at least a part of the side wall portion 416, with a fixing portion 71 that fits with a fixed portion provided on the back plate 42. In other words, although the above describes an example in which the first housing is the front plate 41 and the second housing is the back plate 42, the first housing may be the back plate 42 and the first housing may be the front plate 41.

[0054] Furthermore, although the above description assumes that the front plate 41 has a concave fixing portion 411a and the protective member 70 has a convex fixing portion 71, the configuration is not limited to this. As shown in Figure 7, the front plate 41 may have a fixing portion 411b that is convex outward, and the protective member 70 may have a fixing portion 70a that is concave outward.

[0055] Furthermore, although the above example illustrates a configuration in which the protective member 70 is fixed to the front plate 41 by the fixed portion 411a and the fixing portion 71, the configuration is not limited to this. As shown in Figure 8, the fixed portion 411a and the fixing portion 71 may be provided so as to penetrate into the housing 40, and the fixing portion 71 may be fixed to the base 501, which is a base 50 with an engaging portion inside the sensor panel SP, with screws 80, and the sensor panel SP may be attached to the inner surface of the front plate 41. With this configuration, the impact received by the protective member 70 will be received by the entire front plate 41, and the possibility of damage to the corner portion 411 can be suppressed compared to the case in which the impact is received only by the corner portion 411.

[0056] [Second Embodiment] Next, a radiographic imaging apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. Components common to the radiographic imaging apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their detailed descriptions are omitted.

[0057] Figure 9 is a side cross-sectional view of a corner of the housing 40 according to the second embodiment. The radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in that the side wall portion 416 is made of a separate component from the radiation incident plate 415, which has a flat surface, and the back plate 42 does not have a side wall portion 426.

[0058] {Side wall portion} The side wall portion 416 of the second embodiment is made of, for example, aluminum, magnesium, or an alloy thereof. The side wall portion 416 is provided with a fixed portion 416a that retracts inward to fit with the fixed portion 71 of the protective member 70, similar to the fixed portion 411a. The side wall portion 416 is joined to the peripheral edge of the front plate 41 by, for example, a thermosetting adhesive. However, if warping becomes significant when heated, the side wall portion 416 and the peripheral edge of the front plate 41 may be joined by an adhesive that hardens at room temperature. The side wall portion 416 and the back plate 42 are screwed together by screws 43 as described above, but they may also be joined by adhesive.

[0059] [Technical Effects of the Second Embodiment] As described above, in the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment, the front plate 41, which is the first housing, is separate from the radiation incident plate 415, whose side wall portion 416 is a flat portion. With this configuration, since it is not necessary to integrally provide the side wall portion 416 to the front plate 41, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[0060] [Modification of the Second Embodiment] In the above example, the side wall portion 416 is joined to the peripheral edge of the front plate 41, and the peripheral edge of the back plate 42 is covered only by the protective member 70. However, the invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Figure 10, the end of the back plate 42 may be covered by both the side wall portion 416 and the protective member 70. With this configuration, the effect of suppressing damage to the back plate 42 is further enhanced.

[0061] [Third Embodiment] Next, a radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment will be described. Components common to the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the first and second embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted. The radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment differs from the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the other embodiments in that the protective member 70 has an inclined surface 72 on its upper and / or lower surface, as shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0062] Generally, the radiographic imaging device 1 is inserted beneath the subject's body to take radiographic images. However, if the edges of the protective member 70 come into contact with the subject during insertion, it may cause pain to the subject. Also, if the edges of the protective member 70 get caught on a mattress or sheet during insertion, insertion may become difficult.

[0063] {Inclined Surface} Therefore, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is provided with an inclined surface 72 on the upper and / or lower surface of the protective member 70. In detail, the inclined surface 72 is fixed so as to be continuous with the outer surface (lower surface) of the radiation incident plate 415, which is the flat part of the front plate 41, and / or the outer surface (upper surface) of the bottom plate 425, which is the flat part of the back plate 42. Furthermore, the inclined surface 72 is provided so as to be obtuse in angle with the edge of the outer surface of the radiation incident plate 415 or the bottom plate 425 that it contacts. With this configuration, the pain experienced by the subject when inserting the radiation imaging apparatus 1 and the difficulty of insertion due to snagging, as described above, can be alleviated.

[0064] In this embodiment as well, the protective member 70 is preferably made of aluminum, SUS (Steel Use Stainless), or titanium alloy. Alternatively, as described above, the protective member 70 may be made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastomer. However, in this configuration, it is preferable to surface-treat the inclined surface 72 with paint or coating to improve its slipperiness.

[0065] [Technical Effects of the Third Embodiment] As described above, the radiation imaging apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment includes an inclined surface 72 in which the protective member 70 is continuous with the outer edge of the radiation incident plate 415 and / or bottom plate 425. With this configuration, resistance during insertion of the radiation imaging apparatus 1 is reduced, and the occurrence of malfunctions during insertion can be suppressed.

[0066] [Modification of the Third Embodiment] Figures 11 and 12 illustrate a configuration in which the side wall portion 416 abuts against the upper surface portion of the front plate 41 and the lower surface portion of the flat portion of the back plate 42, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in Figure 13, the side wall portion 416 may protrude outward so as to have an inclined portion, and a protective member 70 having an inclined surface 72 may be provided to cover the side wall portion 416. In this configuration, the protective member 70 covering the side wall portion 416 should be provided such that the angle it makes with the outer edge of the outer surface of the radiation incident plate 415 and / or the bottom plate 425 is greater than the angle that the inclination of the side wall portion 416 makes with the outer edge of the outer surface of the front plate 41 and / or the back plate 42.

[0067] Furthermore, while Figures 11 to 13 illustrate the case where the inclined surface 72 is planar, the design is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Figure 14, the inclined surface 72 may be curved. This configuration further reduces snagging at the connection between the front plate 41 and / or the back plate 42 and the protective member 70.

[0068] [Other Embodiments] As shown in Figure 2, in the above configuration the protective member 70 was located near the corner, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Figure 15, the protective member 70 may be arranged to cover the entire circumference of the side surface of the radiation imaging device 1. This makes it possible to obtain the above effects even with impacts received from areas other than the corner.

[0069] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes the scope of the invention as described in the claims and its equivalents.

[0070] The present invention can be used in a radiographic imaging device that can protect both members of a housing that is divided into two parts.

[0071] 1. Radiation imaging device 40. Housing 41. Front plate (first housing, second housing) 415. Radiation incident plate (first flat surface) 416. Side wall (first side wall) 42. Back plate (second housing, first housing) 425. Bottom plate (second flat surface) 426. Side wall (second side wall) 50, 501. Base 70. Protective member 72. Inclined surface 7. Radiation detection element SP. Sensor panel

Claims

1. A radiation imaging device comprising: a sensor panel having a plurality of radiation detection elements arranged in a two-dimensional manner; a substantially rectangular housing housing the sensor panel; and a protective member, wherein the housing comprises a first housing and a second housing facing the first housing, and the protective member is fixed to the corner of the first housing and covers the first housing and at least a part of the second housing.

2. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is a front plate into which radiation is incident.

3. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second housing is a front plate into which radiation is incident.

4. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first housing comprises a first planar portion into which radiation is incident and a first side wall portion projecting toward the second housing from the end of the first planar portion, the second housing comprises a second planar portion and a second side wall portion projecting toward the first housing from the end of the second planar portion, the end face of the first side wall portion in the projection direction is a two-tiered stepped surface with a portion cut out, the lower end face of the first side wall portion and the end face of the second side wall portion in the projection direction are in contact, and the difference between the width of the lower end face of the first side wall portion and the width of the end face of the second side wall portion is 1 mm or less.

5. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is spaced apart from the second housing.

6. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises a first planar portion into which radiation is incident and a first side wall portion projecting toward the second housing from the end of the first planar portion, and the first planar portion and the first side wall portion are separate.

7. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective member comprises an inclined surface continuous with the end of the outer surface of the flat portion of the first housing and / or the second housing.

8. The radiation imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the inclined surface is curved.

9. The radiation imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the protective member penetrates the first housing and is fixed inside the housing.

Images