Slightly off topic but I have just purchased a Gendex GXS-700 USB digital X-Ray imaging plate. It is not working but may be repairable as the cables are normally the issue with these units. If it has corrupted serial number (another known issue) it may be scrap but I decided to take the risk as it was cheap.
These X-Ray imaging plates are used by Dentists and I have bought the larger No2 size. It is a fully integrated solution that needs no special interface box etc. Basically a CMOS USB camera with some on board processing. The resolution is excellent. These things normally cost $7000 each ! The software to drive the sensor is free from Gendex so it should be possible to use the sensor without any super expensive dental image management software. A TWAIN software interface is also available.
The construction of the unit is very nice. A highly integrated piece of electronics is located inside the thin sensor head. The technology used is not revolutionary. A high resolution scintillator plate produces light when exposed to an X-Ray beam. The light is passed through a fibre optic light channel array and illuminates the pixels of the CMOS imaging chip. The read-out electronics then converts the pixel data to a format that may be sent over USB for processing by the host PC. The sensor electronics also detects when X-Ray is present and triggers a capture event automatically. Auto exposure functionality stops the image capture automatically.
Technical details of the sensor
Sensor size : 31mm x 42mm
Pixels: 19.5um / 1842p x 1324p / 2.4 Megapixels
Resolution : 25.6 lp/mm
Scintillator : Csl
Camera technology : High sensitivity Enhanced CMOS imaging array
Interface to Host : USB 2.0
Power supply : 5V @ 350mA
The anatomy of the sensor may be seen here along with a description of the parts inside the sensor head. Dexis make the GXS-700 for Gendex. The Dexis version is called the Dexis Platinum sensor.
http://www.dexis.com/sensor-anatomyAs can be seen from the attached picture from an ebay auction..... the sensor is usable for imaging PCB's and chips.
If I get the sensor running I will add images to this thread. In case anyone wonders, I already have a working 65kVp Gendex Dental X-Ray generator that may be used with this sensor plate. I also have the non digital Faxitron MX-20 cabinet (spares for my digital camera units) and the Tel-X-ometer X-Ray experimentation platform. These should all provide enough energy to work with the Csl scintillator used in the sensor.
When used with the Gendex 65kVp dental X-Ray generator I will gain a greater penetration capability, but the down side is that it is open site X-Ray so much greater safety precautions are needed, such as an exclusion zone and stand-off to the user (me)
Fraser