Study on a portable X-ray preview system

Presently, the movement toward home medical care serves is increasing in order to maintain the Quality of Life of the Japanese aged society. The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare recently permitted medical staffs performing X-ray photography in home medical care if required. However, taking a photograph is very difficult with a conventional system. Because the taken image cannot be checked on that spot unless and until it bring to the hospital. A flat type detector that can be viewed on that spot is very expensive and its maintenance is troublesome for use as portable radiographs in home medical care. Therefore in this study, we proposed a preview system, which supports X-ray photography by a conventional film screen system or an imaging plate system. This system is composed by X-ray intensity paper and an array of optical resistances. The optical resistance unit is piled up under the X-ray film cassette and use the X-ray penetrated by the cassette. The optical resistance array is composed with 30 CdS in its row and 30 CdS in the column that set on a 35cm x 35cm cassette. With this form, only one expose is enough for one patient. As our proposed system is integrated into the correctional X-ray film cassette it neither generate additional expose, nor increase additional workload for taking photographs. As a fundamental study, we have investigated electrical and optical properties as well as measured penetrated intensity of the X-ray. The result showed good characteristic suggesting high possibility of its clinical use. It also suggested that our proposed system is not only effective for home medical care but also can play an important role during disaster.