Simplify Design of Flat Panel Detectors for Panoramic Radiography and X-ray Dental Systems

Pleora’s embedded interfaces help manufacturers of X-ray flat panel detectors (FPDs) for panoramic dental systems quickly and easily integrate high-performance sensor connectivity into their products.

Panoramic radiography, or panoramic X-ray, uses small doses of ionizing radiation to capture the entire mouth in a single image, including teeth, jaw structure, and surrounding tissues. Unlike intraoral X-ray where the film is placed inside the mouth, a panoramic X-ray machine consists of an X-ray tube mounted on one side and an FPD on the opposite side. During the examination, the X-ray tube rotates in a semicircle and projects a beam through the patient onto the FPD.

For system designers, Pleora’s embedded hardware products are based on a modular architecture that delivers images over a range of interfaces with high reliability, and low, consistent latency. The architecture supports image transmission over Gigabit Ethernet (GigE), and GigE over NBASE-T (2.5 Gbps and 5 Gbps) and 10 Gbps. This makes it fast and easy for manufacturers to create a family of detector panels with different interface options. For higher bandwidth requirements, Pleora’s FPGA IP Core provides a flexible, zero footprint approach for applications requiring up to 10 Gbps transmission over a standard Ethernet connection.

Images are sent from the FPD over a single low-cost, extended-reach Ethernet cable directly to a processing unit. Images, control data, and power are transmitted over the flexible cable, ensuring reliable performance in the rotating imaging system while eliminating reliability and costs issues associated with slip rings.

For higher bandwidth throughout over existing Ethernet infrastructure, Pleora’s patented RapidPIX lossless compression converts video data into GigE Vision compliant packets that are transmitted at up to 1.5 Gbps throughput rates over existing 1 Gbps infrastructure. The compression technique, integrated into Pleora’s iPORT NTx-Mini-LC platform, is optimized for machine vision to ensures original and post-compression data are identical while supporting ultra-low latency performance for mission-critical dental imaging applications.

The embedded sensor interface solutions are compliant with the GenICam standard, and includes development tools that allow manufacturers to quickly create a GenICam XML file and link features in that file to sensor-specific commands internal to the X-ray detector panel.

Pleora’s embedded interface products are supported by the eBUS Software Development Kit (SDK); a feature-rich application development toolkit that provides comprehensive APIs for controlling GigE Vision sensors and efficiently receiving image streams. By using eBUS, manufacturers can simplify interfacing their end applications to their sensor to further shorten time to market and reduce development costs.