X-ray Camera Detector Shielding with Angled Mirror Arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image acquisition systems for scintillator screens, particularly in medical radioscopy, face challenges in achieving a compact design while protecting detectors from X-ray radiation, leading to increased camera size and potential radiation damage.
Innovation Solution
A mirror arrangement with a first and second mirror, spaced apart and angled less than 90 degrees, deflects X-ray radiation emitted by the scintillator screen, shielding the detector and allowing only attenuated radiation to reach it, thus protecting it from damage and enabling a compact camera design that scales with the scintillator size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the detector is positioned directly behind the scintillator screen to achieve a compact camera design, then the camera size is minimized, but the detector is exposed to X-ray radiation causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the detector from a direct behind-position to a lateral position relative to the scintillator screen. This spatial reconfiguration in another dimension allows the detector to receive light from the scintillator while being positioned outside the direct X-ray beam path, thus achieving compactness without radiation exposure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a light guide as an intermediary component between the scintillator screen and the detector. The light guide transports the light generated by the scintillator to the laterally positioned detector, enabling the detector to be placed outside the X-ray beam path while still receiving the necessary optical signal
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the detector is positioned laterally to avoid X-ray radiation, then radiation damage is prevented, but the camera size increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide serves as a mediator that bridges the scintillator screen and the laterally positioned detector. By using this optical intermediary, the system can maintain the protective lateral positioning while minimizing the distance and space required, thus controlling the overall camera size
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the lateral dimension for detector positioning while using the depth dimension (via the light guide) to transmit the optical signal. This dimensional strategy allows radiation protection without proportionally increasing the camera's lateral footprint
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a V-shaped mirror arrangement is used to deflect light to lateral sensors, then radiation damage is avoided, but the lateral dimensions of the camera increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the X-ray beam path from the optical path by positioning the detector laterally outside the beam path. This separation allows the optical components to be arranged in a compact configuration without being constrained by the X-ray geometry, reducing the lateral dimensions compared to V-shaped mirror arrangements
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 solution allows for a compact and efficient X-ray camera design that effectively shields the detector from X-ray radiation, reducing the risk of damage and maintaining image quality, while enabling the use of scintillators of various sizes without altering the camera's construction depth.
Implementation Method 1
X-rays are typically converted into visible light by a scintillator screen
Implementation Method 2
a first mirror arranged to reflect radiation generated by the image source and a second mirror arranged to reflect radiation reflected by the first mirror
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2~3
AI summary
The apparatus has a detector (120) for receiving radiation deflected by a mirror arrangement (110), where the detector is arranged within a light path of X-radiation (99). The mirror arrangement includes two mirror spaced apart from one another and forming an angle of less than 90 degrees between them, where the mirror arrangement shields some X-radiation which penetrates a scintillator layer from the detector, such that X-radiation passing through the scintillator layer does not arrive directly at the detector, and passes through the mirrors, for protecting the detector from X-radiation. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for detecting an image (2) a method for manufacturing an apparatus for detecting an image.