System for and method of reading out storage phosphor screen using pulsed semiconductor light source array

Abstract

A system for and method of reading out a storage phosphor screen (or a storage phosphor sheet or an imaging plate) sensitive to radiation is used to perform radiography by optically stimulating the storage phosphor screen to induce luminescence and acquire a digital image of a subject. A semiconductor light source array is used as a stimulating light source to which an optical fiber array consisting of a bundle of optical fibers having diverse forms is connected; a starting of the semiconductor light source array is controlled with an electric pulse; and a semiconductor light source array starting pulse for generating a stimulating light is interlocked with a photomultiplier tube for collecting a luminescence light signal induced from the storage phosphor screen by the stimulating light to represent the collected luminescence light as a distribution of a two-dimensional position and thereby acquire the digital image of the subject from the storage phosphor screen.