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X-Ray Fans only: Latest arrivals in Fraser's lab - Large Wi-Fi X-Ray plates :)
Posted by Fraser on 07 May, 2017 15:16 -
Dear X-Ray fans,
I thought I would share some pictures and thoughts on some modern digital X-Ray plates that have just come into my possession.
I have four large Digital X-Ray plates that are ex hospitals. They are fully digital DR plates rather than the CR plate system. That is to say, they contain a large CCD or photodiode imaging array that has a Scintillator sheet in front of it to create an image when illuminated by X-Ray radiation.
It will come s no surprise that these cost a small fortune new. Mine are all suspected faulty so may never work again. This does give the opportunity to investigate the technology however. How far i go with a tear-down has yet to be decided as you will see later.
These X-Ray plates are stated as being wireless and self contained. They contain wireless transceivers that link them to the host PC that contains the image display and processing software. The Canon plates are definitely standard 2.4GHz and 5Ghz Wi-Fi with AES encryption to protect patient data. The Canon units also have an IRDA communications port that enables them to be easily logged onto the PC system as individual identifiable X-Ray plates. One PC can serve several X-Ray plates at the same time in a multi X-Ray room deployment.
The Samsung X-Ray plates are also wireless but I have not established whether it is Wi-Fi complaint or proprietary. I have had no time recently to research these plates.
More information when I have it, but to be honest, without the PC software I am not certain knowing the communications bearer is of much use anyway.
So what is wrong with these plates ?
A visual inspection has revealed the most likely faults with these plates.
1. The two Canon CXDI series plates have both suffered from the diligent use of wet anti-bacterial cleaning solutions after each use. This is standard anti-bug transfer protocol in Hospitals these days. Sadly the fluid has crept past the rubber bungs and case cover and caused some not too serious looking corrosion. The external (diagnostics?) socket on the CDXI-80C is badly corroded which cannot be good for the plate. The corrosion does not look terminal however.
2. Samsung S4335 plates are both the victims of physical abuse. Both have obvious bending of the case. Some detector arrays are on glass and others are more flexible so such bending may or may not mean the destruction of the imaging array. Interestingly, one of the bent plates has had its battery taped back into position so presumably it still worked after the accident ? This could also have been a desperate attempt to see if teh plate survived the damage of course
The Cannon plates are easily disassembled by removal of many screws that secure the rear plate in place. The Samsung plates are a little more challenging to disassemble and I have yet to get into one. They do not appear to share the corrosion issues of the Canon plates. possibly due to the more watertight construction that makes disassembly paths less obvious without damaging the front or rear plastic covering.
None of the plates rattle when give a good shake so no shattered glass inside The canon units are equipped with glass plate detector arrays but are rated to be stood on by the average human adult !
So what to do with these plates ?
1. All except the CDXI-80C are too large for use in my Faxitron MX-20 and the 35kVp maximum voltage on the micro focus tube may not be enough for these plates either. They are designed to work with a tube running around 75KVp. The plates are self contained in that they self trigger upon exposure to X-Ray energy and have their own auto exposure system to obtain the best image. The complete images are then sent to the host PC as a file for display and user manipulation. I suspect the file sent is a Dead Pixel and Non uniformity corrected ADU data set that the PC manipulates as required.
2. Ripping these plates down to their component parts might be fun and interesting but I hate doing that if others can make good use of them. The canon plates look repairable. Even the Samsung plates may still function well if they do contain a flexible imaging array and can be flattened with some careful metal 'bashing'
3. I am unclear whether the data emitted from these plates may be decoded and viewed without the original PC software that is very expensive. Ift might be interesting to see if one of the Canon plates can be repaired to see if communications can be established with it. there is also the diagnostic/hard wired port to explore on all of the plates. Hours of fun for someone maybe ?
4. Am I going to use these plates for X-Ray ? Unlikely as I have no need of such large X-Ray images at this time. The smaller CDXI-80C looks more useful but it i still quite large.
So what next I wonder ? I welcome thoughts fro m the readership but please consider my comments above. It seems sacrilege to tear down a £10K+ wireless Digital X-Ray plate for pure curiosity when someone else needs such for more serious work. It is not like I do not already know what resides inside the plates design. It is the same technology as used in many digital X-Ray plates and cameras that I have seen described in great technical detail.
I hope the pictures are of some interest and maybe we can come up with some ideas on what I should do with these lovely bits of X-Ray imaging kit ?Before anyone suggests I set to an repair them.... I am not sure that I have the time or enthusiasm to do that at the moment. A recent loss in my family has robbed me of enthusiasm for very much these days.
If anyone wants these plates for serious use please let me know and we may be able to do a deal. Sadly I cannot give them away for free as they owe me some pennies.
Fraser
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More pics
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Last set of pics
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Samsung S4335 plate paper
http://rps.zb4u.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Samsung-DR_S4335W_Whitepaper_v1-0.pdf -
Samsung FDA approval paper.
Page 5 details the S-4335 "Wired/Wireless" plate
Fraser
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Samsung plate has an FCC ID plate behind the battery.
FCC ID = A3L WIDT30Q
It is Wi-Fi enabled and has the MAC address on the FCC label
The FCC ID database provides the WIDT30Q Wi-Fi module user manual
(attached below)
I shall have to look up the Canon Wi-Fi module next
Fraser
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Canon use the BM 7 0659 Radio module. Sadly Canon claimed confidentiality on the design so the FCC does not release the tech detail.
FCC ID is AZD BM70659
Wiki on the BM 70659:
https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Canon_BM70659_Wireless_Module
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I missed out on a similar one on ebay quite a while ago.
They would be useful for use in conjunction with a dental head, or something like my mailroom scanner - would be interesting to see if they can do better resolution.
As regards getting them running, I think my approach would probably be to ignore the wifi stuff and find some internal sensor signals & interface to those.
My guess is they'll have an x-ray sensor to trigger them automatically when exposed. ( photodiode+scintillator).
With luck maybe they can transfer an image to internal memory before/without dealing with any protocol to an external system beforehand. If this is the case it may not be too hard to extract the data somewhere during that process .
Would definitely be interested to see further inside to see what the electronics look like. I wonder if they use a standard sensor plus their own interface electronics - could be a documented interface between the two.
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Mike,
I will take the covers off of the Canon plates as they are easiest to open. There are cable contacts on all of the plates for hard wire connection but, as you say, we need to better understand the internal design.
Whether you have to arm the plate over the Wifi or IRDA link is another question. The plate stores the last collected image for repeat downloads which suggests it probably has to be told to erase the stored image and arm for the next.
Internal pictures soon.
Fraser -
Mike,
Might be inetersting to look for some operating procedures etc. that may give some cluse - probaby hard to find the user manuals etc., but there may be info in things like hospitals' internal training guides etc. I've often found useful snippets on lab gear from sources like this.
I will take the covers off of the Canon plates as they are easiest to open. There are cable contacts on all of the plates for hard wire connection but, as you say, we need to better understand the internal design.
Whether you have to arm the plate over the Wifi or IRDA link is another question. The plate stores the last collected image for repeat downloads which suggests it probably has to be told to erase the stored image and arm for the next.
Internal pictures soon.
Fraser -
Mike,
The Canon PC software user manual is available for download. I shall take a look at its contents.
In the mean time.... as you requested...... internal pictures of the larger of the two Canon plates. This plate looks to be in excellent condition and may even work ! I expected the same corrosion as found in the smaller plate but none visible. I will charge the battery and see if the plate comes up with a 'Ready' light.
Now the pictures. I had to compress them to fit them into this forums restrictions. better detailed images can be uploaded at 2MP resolution.
the electronics are nicely spaced out in this large plate. Much less crowded than in the smaller plate. The various parts are easily identified including the H and V mutliplexers and associated concentrator board.
Enjoy
Fraser
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More
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more inc processor board chip details
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getting them working would be the ultimate hackaday project.
even if you don't need such a large imaging area now, it's nice to have it available if you ever do.
i think your 35kv x-ray source will be your primary limiting factor though.
at least at the hospital nearby the problems they seem to have with these mostly stems from the batteries. they are designed to take a lot of abuse from clumsy technicians. -
I do have a nice Gendex Oralix 60 Dental X-Ray head but the is not supposed to illuminate such a large area. It has 60KVp on the tube.
To be honest I am not that interested in large target X-Ray imaging. All my needs are met by the little Faxitron MX-20 120mm x 120mm digital plate.
If I get one running I suspect I would just move it on to someone who has a use for such a plate. I may just move them on as 'projects' as my spare time is very limited for such a project.
Fraser -
This will probably sound stupid, but, is there some kind of X-ray shield plate between the sensor sheet and the electronics behind it?
Or are the expected X-ray intensities too low to have any effect on the electronics, flash memories, etc?
[ Edit: ha ha, otoh, maybe putting firmware in unshielded flash in an X-ray imaging device is a new kind of planned obsolescence? ]
I hope you or someone can get them working. For one thing, you could take X-ray shots of larger bits of electronics like laptops, phones, tablets, etc.
LCD screens even, which seems pretty funny considering these look like LCD screens (with blank faces.)
Sorry to hear of your loss. -
I'd be surprised if there wasn't a layer of shielding at the back of the sensor. maybe something carefull chosen to reduce backscatter.
Micrel chip is an ethernet PHY, so there is probably ethernet on the connector.
I can't see anything that's obviously an ADC, but could be on other side of PCB
How much would you part with them for? I may be interested.
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I recently tore down a large-ish digital imager, and it had a ~3mm sheet of lead directly behind the sensor. Said sensor being essentially a reversed TFT monitor, with photodiodes and read-out circuitry patterned on a sheet of glass. Which was connected to the motherboard via 60 individual FFCs...
Do be careful with the sensor, though - mine had a Cesium Iodide scintillator layer which was (supposedly, anyway) doped with a couple grams of thallium. Nasty stuff. As long as you don't break the hermetic sealing foil over it, you should be fine. -
Ow. Thalium. With a couple of PM tubes with (iirc) KI-Thalium-doped scintillator blocks around here somewhere, I'd read up on Thalium risks. I'm amazed anything with Thalium in it can be marketed at all, let alone WITHOUT extreme safety warning notices all over the device.
I second the 'be careful' comment. Don't puncture the containment. Just don't.
Note the scintillator material is sealed from air because it's deliquescent - absorbs moisture from the air. Also creating a Thalium transporting goo.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6338655
Thallium poisoning: a review. -
Thanks for the comments guys.
It looks like the four X-Pay plates have found a new home with a well known and very clever fellow forum member. I shall not be doing a teardown on them.
Fraser -
Oh man, I'd love to have got my hands on one of those. I have access to an ex-veterinary 125kVp machine that something like this would be perfect for, I use film currently but it's a pain in the butt. I've been hoping to find a repairable digital plate some day, normally they are prohibitively expensive.