An extended resolution confocal image acquisition instrument

It is argued that the current commercial storage phosphor based X-ray imaging readout technique based on raster scanned laser beam has reached a threshold in readout speed due to the inherent serial readout mode. Furthermore, the resolving ability of the instrument will not support the intrinsic high spatial resolution of the next generation (glass-ceramic) storage phosphor imaging plates. This book documents the development of a new computed radiography readout technique which features confocal optics for plate illumination and imaging, using a CCD for image detection. The design permits image tiling for resolution enhancement, though with a trade-off between resolution and readout speed. For high resolutions, the instrument is translated relative to the imaging plate, capturing a grid of sub-image tiles. The tiles are stitched together offline using the normalised correlation coefficient technique and Gaussian decomposition blending removes seam artifacts present at the stitch point. X-ray images are presented, which demonstrate the present capabilities of the instrument. The target audience are those interested in the field of X-ray imaging.