30x40cms Fluoroscopy Screen

Ref. J1

This item was removed from a GE radiographic table of the late forties.

It consists of a cardboard Patterson B2 fluoroscopy screen (zinc cadmium sulfide) sandwiched between a black bakelite backing and a thick plate of lead-glass, equivalent to 1.5 mm lead. The total weight of the item is just over 10 lbs (4.6 Kg).

Such fluoroscopy screens were standard equipment until the early sixties when they started to be gradually replaced by electronic image intensifiers, initially equipped with an optical periscope and later with a TV camera and a monitor. Even in the nineties many X-ray machines were still offered with fluoroscopy screens.

These screens fluoresced in green. Fluoroscopic examinations were performed in a darkened X-ray room, with X-ray ratings up to 80 kV and 3 mA. Prior to the examination the radiologist had to adapt his eyesight to low light levels either by staying in a darkened room, or preferably by wearing dedicated dark red goggles, for 15 to 20 minutes.