Lindsey Shriner

Lindsey Shriner

For the CR to function the imaging plate material must have the ability to store and release the
image information in a usable form. Common phosphors with characteristics favorable for CR
are barium fluorohalide bromides and iodides with europium activators. The absorption
efficiency above and below 35-50 keV is below that of rare-earth intensifying screens, so more
exposure may be needed.
Acquiring the image begins with the x-ray exposure to the imaging plate. Since the
imaging plate is placed in a cassette it can be used many different ways. Radiation exposure
causes fluorescence of the imaging plate but some of the energy of the beam is also stored in
the plate. This stored energy is used to create an image during reading and processing. The
electrons, which are excited by the absorbed energy, are trapped in the crystal structure of the
phosphor at higher energy levels. So, a latent image is stored in the imaging plate, this is similar
to a latent image on film, but has wider latitude. The imaging plate will then need to be read to
release the stored information.
The incident x-ray beam produces a latent image within the photostimulable
fluorohalides that comprise the active layer of the IP in the cassette. When fluorohalides
luminesce, they do not release all the energy absorbed from the incident x-ray beam. Some light
is emitted, the phosphors retain sufficient energy in the form of a latent image. This latent image
will be used to create a digital image for the computer to record and display. Latent images are
actually created by energy transferring during photoelectric interactions. Photoelectrons that are
produced then excite a number of low-energy electrons to create holes in the crystal phosphor.
Europium electron holes are the actual latent image.
The latent image will lose about 25 percent of its energy in 8 hours, so processing the
cassette shortly after exposure is important. The latent image is processed by loading the
cassette into an image reader device where the imaging plate is scanned by a helium-neon
laser beam. The laser scans the plate with a red light in a raster pattern, which causes the
phosphors to emit the stored latent image in the form of light photons. The red laser lights
emitted at approximately 2 electron volts eV, and that is necessary to allow the trapped
electrons to escape the active layer where they emit visible blue light at 3eV as they relax into
lower energy levels. These are detected and then converted to an electrical signal, that is in
turn converted to a unique digital value for the level of luminescence. Once it is read the plate is
erased so that all vestiges of the latent image are removed. When a plate is highly
overexposed it may not erase completely, this results in a ghosting artifact on the image.
 Lindsey Shriner

CR Processor