Printhead for Medical Imaging Hardcopy

Our objective is to create a compact and portable high-resolution film recorder for producing hardcopies of electronic medical images. The target product will be price-competitive with CRT-basedrecorders, but will offer higher resolutions that will keep pace with those expected from low-doseelectronic x-ray systems and other present and future electronic imaging modalities. The printer will becapable of resolutions in excess of 4096 x 4096 pixels, with up to 12 bits of grey scale in each of threecolors. It relies on a fast liquid crystal light modulator arrays that can simply and inexpensively beintegrated with high-resolution silicon integrated circuit driver arrays. The printer's portability, highimage quality, and low cost will make it an important adjunct to digital image- management systemsfor all modalities, permitting radiologists to interpret electronically-acquired images at locations withoutfull work station capabilities, and will lower the cost to small hospitals of obtaining advanced,high-performance imaging instruments. In addition, these same features could speed the acceptanceof many new imaging technologies in small as well as major hospitals.