Scintillator Panel Layered Structure Light Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional phase contrast imaging technologies in X-ray image diagnosis require large-scale facilities and insufficient X-ray doses, limiting their practical use in general medical facilities, and existing scintillator panels face challenges in increasing area and ensuring adequate X-ray shielding due to limitations in silicon wafer size and etching capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A scintillator panel with a layered structure where a scintillator layer and a non-scintillator layer are repeatedly arranged parallel to the radiation incident direction, with the scintillator layer containing phosphor, binder resin, and voids, and the non-scintillator layer being radiolucent and containing transparent fine particles, utilizing the non-scintillator layer as a light transmission path to enhance image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a silicon wafer etching method is used to form lattice structures, then X-ray shielding properties are improved, but the area is limited due to wafer size and etching device constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The scintillator panel is divided into multiple independent scintillator chips that can be arranged in a large area configuration. Each chip contains its own lattice structure formed by etching, and multiple chips are assembled together to achieve both sufficient X-ray shielding and large imaging area.
Solution Approach 2:
The lattice structure is formed by etching recesses into the silicon wafer and then filling these recesses with high-Z materials. This nested configuration allows the shielding material to be contained within the scintillator structure itself, maximizing space utilization and maintaining structural integrity while achieving adequate X-ray attenuation.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If deep recesses are etched on silicon wafer to improve X-ray shielding, then shielding capability is enhanced, but manufacturing difficulty increases due to etching limitations
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of etching extremely deep recesses that are difficult to manufacture, the patent uses moderate-depth etching combined with filling the recesses with high-Z materials. This partial approach achieves sufficient X-ray shielding without requiring excessively deep etching that would be difficult to manufacture uniformly across the wafer.
Solution Approach 2:
The lattice structure combines silicon wafer material with high-Z filling materials (such as tungsten or other heavy metals) to achieve superior X-ray shielding. This composite approach allows the structure to benefit from both the mechanical properties of silicon and the X-ray attenuation properties of high-Z materials, achieving effective shielding without requiring extremely deep recesses.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If metal is filled into deep recesses to enhance X-ray shielding, then shielding effectiveness is improved, but uniformity of metal distribution becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses moderate-depth etching that is sufficient for metal filling but not so deep as to create manufacturing difficulties. By controlling the etching depth to an optimal range, the recesses are deep enough to provide adequate X-ray shielding when filled, but not so deep that metal distribution becomes non-uniform or difficult to control during the filling process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the etching depth parameter and metal filling parameters to achieve uniform metal distribution. By carefully controlling the etching depth, metal particle size, metal concentration, and filling process parameters, uniform metal distribution is achieved throughout the recesses, ensuring consistent X-ray shielding properties across the entire lattice structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for high-brightness and high-modulation transfer function (MTF) images, enabling effective phase contrast imaging in Talbot systems, particularly for thick subjects like thoracoabdominal parts, and reducing costs and time compared to MRI for soft tissue imaging.
Implementation Method 1
a scintillator panel having a structure in which a scintillator layer and a non-scintillator layer are repeatedly arranged in a direction substantially parallel to a radiation incident direction
Implementation Method 2
the non-scintillator layer is radiolucent and contains transparent fine particles, utilizing the non-scintillator layer as a light transmission path
Implementation Method 3
the boundary interface between the scintillator layer and the non-scintillator layer have an irregular structure, and an arithmetic surface roughness Ra attributed to irregularities is 1/400 to 1/10 of the width of the non-scintillator layer
Data Source
AI summary
[Problem] Provided is a layered structure in which a non-scintillator layer is utilized as a light transmission path to a sensor so as to transmit light in a vertical direction through the non-scintillator layer without allowing the light to re-enter a scintillator layer.[Means for Solution] Provided is a scintillator panel having a structure in which a scintillator layer and a non-scintillator layer are repeatedly arranged in a direction substantially parallel to a radiation incident direction. In this scintillator panel, the scintillator layer contains at least a phosphor, a binder resin, and voids; the non-scintillator layer is radiolucent; the scintillator layer and the non-scintillator layer have an irregular structure at their interface; and an arithmetic surface roughness Ra attributed to irregularities is 1/400 to 1/10 of the width of the non-scintillator layer.