Abstract: A radiation image storage panel composed of a substrate and a layer of stimulable phosphor is prepared in an evaporation chamber kept at a pressure of 0.1 to 10 Pa by the steps of heating a source of the stimulable phosphor in the chamber so that the source is evaporated to give a gaseous product and depositing the gaseous product on the substrate which is arranged above the source to form the layer of stimulable phosphor on the substrate, in which the evaporation chamber has a diffusion preventing wall member surrounding a space between the source and the substrate, a top of which is positioned in the vicinity of a periphery of the substrate and a bottom of which is positioned in the vicinity of the source; and the diffusion preventing wall member is maintained at a temperature lower than a temperature of the source and higher than a temperature of the substrate.

Abstract: One surface of a stimulable phosphor sheet supported at a position for image recording is exposed to radiation, and a radiation image is stored on the stimulable phosphor sheet. Image readout is performed from the side of the other surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet supported at the position for image recording. Energy remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet is then released by irradiating erasing light to an entire area of the stimulable phosphor sheet with a sheet-shaped erasing light source, which has uniform transmissivity to radiation and is located close to the one surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet supported at the position for image recording.

Abstract: One surface of a stimulable phosphor sheet supported at a position for image recording is exposed to radiation, and a radiation image is stored on the stimulable phosphor sheet. Image readout is performed from the side of the other surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet supported at the position for image recording. Energy remaining on the stimulable phosphor sheet is then released by irradiating erasing light to an entire area of the stimulable phosphor sheet with a sheet-shaped erasing light source, which has uniform transmissivity to radiation and is located close to the one surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet supported at the position for image recording.

Abstract: A radiation image storage device composed of a fluorescent sheet which contains a phosphor which absorbs a radiation energy and emits a light of ultraviolet or visible region, and a radiation image storage panel having a fluorescent layer and a radiation image storage layer, in which the fluorescent layer contains a phosphor that absorbs a radiation energy and emits a light of ultraviolet or visible region, and the radiation image storage layer contains a stimulable oxide phosphor that absorbs the light emitted by the phosphors of the fluorescent layer and the fluorescent sheet to store energy of the absorbed light and releases the stored energy in the form of a light upon irradiation with a light of visible or infrared region is favorably employed for a radiation image storing and reproducing method.

Abstract: A radiation image read-out apparatus is provided with a line sensor which detects stimulated emission emitted from a radiation image convertor panel upon exposure to a line-like stimulating light beam extending in a main scanning direction and reads out a radiation image recorded on the radiation image convertor panel while moving the line sensor and the radiation image convertor panel relatively to each other in a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction. The line sensor includes a CCD having a number of light receiving portions two-dimensionally arranged along the main scanning direction and outputs electric charges obtained by photoelectrically converting the stimulated emission received by the light receiving portions after binning the electric charges in a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction.

Abstract: A radiation image storage panel comprises a stimulable phosphor layer capable of emitting light when being exposed to stimulating rays, which cause the stimulable phosphor layer to emit the light in proportion to an amount of energy stored on the stimulable phosphor layer during exposure of the stimulable phosphor layer to radiation. The stimulable phosphor layer is adapted for radiating out the emitted light with an intensity distribution that is compressed in a direction, which is normal to a surface of the stimulable phosphor layer, and into an oblate distribution, which is flatter than a cos ? distribution.

Abstract: A stimulable phosphor sheet, on which a radiation image of an object has been stored, is scanned with stimulating rays, which cause the stimulable phosphor sheet to emit light in proportion to the amount of energy stored on the stimulable phosphor sheet during exposure of the stimulable phosphor sheet to radiation. The light, which is emitted by the stimulable phosphor sheet when the stimulable phosphor sheet is scanned with the stimulating rays, is detected, and an image signal representing the radiation image of the object is acquired. The scanning of the stimulable phosphor sheet with the stimulating rays is performed from an object image-carrying edge area, in which a radiation image pattern representing the object has been stored, the object image-carrying edge area being one of edge areas of the stimulable phosphor sheet.

Abstract: A vehicle floor panel has curved portions formed thereon and protruding downward in a spherical fashion, and each of which is surrounded by a substantially horizontal portion. Ribs extending from the curved portions to a vertical wall portion of a tunnel portion and protruding upward are provided. Ribs extending between the curved portions and protruding downward are also provided. Furthermore, ribs protruding upward are provided. According to the construction, the rigidity of various types of vehicle floor panels can be enhanced in an ensured fashion.

Abstract: Images are obtained with a reading device, such that an efficient pixel existence range of efficient pixels capable of being read out within a read-out sensitivity range of the reading device varies for different images, and such that the efficient pixel existence range in each image contains an overlapping area, which overlaps with the efficient pixel existence range in one of the other images. Correction processing is performed on the images, which have the common overlapping area, for correcting pixel values of pixels in at least either one of the images, such that the pixel values of the pixels in the overlapping area of one of the images become identical with the pixel values of the pixels in the overlapping area of the other image. A single image is composed from the images having been obtained from the correction processing.

Abstract: A method for reading radiation image information from a radiation image storage panel in which a radiation image information is recorded is performed by the steps of moving the storage panel on a plane of the storage panel with scanning on the storage panel in a direction perpendicular to the movement of the storage panel a pulse of stimulating light having a duty of 0.01 to 0.5; continuously detecting photoelectrically a stimulated emission appearing from the storage panel on the scanned surface and/or its back surface to obtain electric signals; sampling the electric signals at a timing synchronous with the scanned stimulating light pulse; and obtaining signals of the radiation image information from the sampled electric signals.

Abstract: Quality degradation of a radiograph obtained from a stimulable phosphor sheet used repeatedly for radiography can be suppressed by an image data correction apparatus. Light emission characteristic storage means stores light emission change characteristic data and section storage means stores a position and a range of each of areas in the sheet obtained by dividing the sheet. Cumulative radiation dose acquisition means obtains an accumulated radiation dose for each of the areas, and light emission change rate acquisition means finds a light emission change rate representing a change in an amount of emitted light in accordance with the accumulated radiation dose for each of the areas, by using the light emission change characteristic data. Correction means corrects a value of image data obtained by reading each of the areas, for the change in the amount of the light with reference to the light emission change rate.

Abstract: A radiography system and the machine readable medium storing program for accurately determining the type of the object taken by the radiography. The radiography system includes: a radiographic image receiving section for receiving the radiographic image of the object using the radiation; an optical image receiving section for detecting light from the object, and for receiving the optical image of the object; an object type determination section for determining an object type of the radiographic image received by the radiographic image receiving section based on the optical image received by the optical image receiving section; and an image storage section storing thereon the radiographic image received by the radiographic image receiving section in association with the object type determined by the object type determination section, and for storing the radiographic image and the object type, being associated with each other.

Abstract: The image display device includes a liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal panel and a backlight and a backlight controller for allowing the backlight of the liquid crystal display device to be bright when environment light is bright and allowing the backlight to be dark when the environment light is dark such that light leak (minimum luminance) which is defined by an extinction ratio of liquid crystal will not grow more than a specified degree. The image display device enables displayed images to be really discernible regardless of brightness of environment light (surrounding light).

Abstract: A cleaning process of exhaust gas which comprises the steps of bringing the exhaust gas containing at least one of nitrogen oxides or organic solvent into contact with a cleaning agent comprising metal as a reductive cleaning agent component and metal oxide as an oxidative cleaning agent component or comprising lower valent metal oxide as a reductive cleaning agent component and higher valent metal oxide as an oxidative cleaning agent component while heating them.

Abstract: A radiation image signal is acquired from a radiation image of an object before being injected with a contrast medium, and a radiation image signal is acquired from a radiation image of the same object after being injected with the contrast medium. A subtraction process for subtracting image signal components of a plurality of the thus acquired radiation image signals, which image signal components represent corresponding pixels in the radiation images represented by the plurality of the radiation image signals, from one another is performed. A contrasted radiation image, in which a pattern of a specific structure of the object having been contrasted with the contrast medium in the radiation image has been extracted or enhanced, is thus formed. The contrast medium is a liposome, which contains a hydrophobic iodine compound as a film forming constituent.

Abstract: The charge read out efficiency of a line sensor utilizing a large photodiode is improved. A line sensor formed of a photoelectric converting portion utilizing a photodiode divided into a plurality of regions and having a potential inclination configuration wherein the potential wells thereof become deeper the closer the position thereof is to a readout gate is provided.

Abstract: A radiation-image data readout apparatus in which the charge transferring time occurring during a readout operation utilizing a line sensor having a broad-width light-receiving portion is shortened is provided. A line sensor having two photodiode portions, each having a width of 100 um, disposed adjacently with a microscopic gap therebetween, and a charge transferring device corresponding to each photodiode portion provided on the exterior side in the width direction of each corresponding photodiode portion, are provided.

Abstract: An EA-DFB module including a DFB laser diode and an EA modulator formed on an InP first-conductivity-type substrate has a mesa stripe, a current blocking structure formed on both side surfaces of the mesa strip and a second InP cladding layer formed on top of the mesa stripe and the current blocking structure. The current blocking structure includes a Fe-doped semi-insulating film, a first conductivity-type buried layer and a carrier-depleted layer. The carrier-depleted layer reduces the parasitic capacitance at the boundary between the first-conductivity-type buried layer and the second InP cladding layer.

Abstract: In a side body structure, a front reinforce is provided between a side body outer panel and a side body inner panel and also, a rear roof side reinforce is provided so as to couple the front reinforce to a rear pillar reinforce along the upper edge of an opening of a rear door, and vehicle body rigidity of the periphery of the opening of the rear door as well as the periphery of an opening of a front door is enhanced.

Abstract: The image display device includes a liquid crystal display device having a liquid crystal panel and a backlight and a backlight controller for allowing the backlight of the liquid crystal display device to be bright when environment light is bright and allowing the backlight to be dark when the environment light is dark such that light leak (minimum luminance) which is defined by an extinction ratio of liquid crystal will not grow more than a specified degree. The image display device enables displayed images to be really discernible regardless of brightness of environment light (surrounding light).