Computed radiography patient identification system

A computed radiography patient identifying method comprising:

• producing a stored x-ray image of a patient in a storage phosphor;
• providing unique bar code identifying means for identifying, respectively, said patient, said storage phosphor and the particular body part and particular x-ray exposure conditions for producing said x-ray image from respective sets of body parts and x-ray exposure conditions;
• at the time of producing said x-ray image in said storage phosphor, using a hand-held bar code scanner having memory to scan said patient bar code identifying means, said storage phosphor bar code identifying means, and said body part and x-ray exposure conditions bar code identifying means, to produce patient identifying information, storage phosphor identifying information, and body part and x-ray exposure conditions identifying information which is stored in said memory;
• reading said stored x-ray image in said storage phosphor and converting it to an x-ray image signal and reading said storage phosphor bar code identifying means to produce a storage phosphor identifying signal matched with said x-ray image signal;
• and
• contemporaneously with said reading of said storage phosphor, reading from said hand-held bar code scanner said storage phosphor identifying information, said patient identifying information and said x-ray image producing conditions information, and matching said information with said x-ray image signal from said storage phosphor.

A computer radiography patient identifying system comprising:

• first and second patient identifying bar code means for identifying first and second patients;
• first and second storage phosphor means for storing an x-ray image of a patient, said first and second storage phosphor means having respective first and second storage phosphor bar code identifying means for identifying the respective first and second storage phosphor means;
• a mobile x-ray source having associated therewith first and second sets of x-ray examination type bar code identifying means for identifying first and second different examination types;
• a hand-held bar code scanner means, having memory, which (1) at the time said mobile x-ray source is used to produce an x-ray image of a first patient in said first storage phosphor means, to scan said first storage phosphor bar code identifying means, said first patient bar code identifying means, and a selected one of each of said first and second sets of examination type bar code identifying means to produce information identifying said first patient, said first storage phosphor means and said selected one of said first and second examination types, and for storing said information in said memory, and (2) at the time said mobile x-ray source is used to produce an x-ray image of a second patient in said second storage phosphor means to scan said second storage phosphor bar code identifying means, said second patient bar code identifying means, and a selected one of each of said first and second sets of examination type bar code identifying means to produce information identifying said second patient, said second storage phosphor means, and said selected ones of said first and second examination types, and for storing said information in said memory;
• storage phosphor reader means for sequentially converting a stored x-ray image in said first storage phosphor means into a first x-ray image signal and a stored x-ray image in said second storage phosphor means into a second x-ray image signal, said storage phosphor reader means having means for reading said first and second storage phosphor bar code identifying means to produce identifying information for each of said first and second x-ray image signals;
• and
• means for receiving, at the time said first and second storage phosphor means are read, from said hand-held bar code scanner memory, said information relating to the first patient identification, the first storage phosphor identification and the first x-ray examination type, and information relating to the second patient identification, the second storage phosphor identification and the second x-ray examination type and for matching said received information with the respective first and second x-ray image signals.