Improved linear illumination sources are disclosed which utilize external, highly reflective enclosures containing one or more linear openings and thereby achieve improved source efficiency, output irradiance and/or output radiance. Such improved illumination sources may be combined with additional optical elements to produce more complex illumination systems.

The quantitative determination of various materials in highly scattering media such as living tissue may be determined in an external, photometric manner by the use of a plurality of light sources positioned at differing distances from a sensor. The light from said sources is amplitude modulated, and, in accordance with conventional frequency domain fluorometry or phosphorimetry techniques, the gain of the sensor is modulated at a frequency different from the frequency of the light modulation. D...

An optical fixing unit for yellow fixes a yellow thermosensitive coloring layer of a color thermosensitive recording paper. This fixation is carried out by simultaneously driving two ultraviolet lamps for yellow. The respective ultraviolet lamps are repeatedly energized since switching transistors corresponding thereto are repeatedly turned on and off based on switching signals. The switching signals respectively inputted to the switching transistors have phases shifted by 180.degree. with each ...

Optical pumping arrangements are provided for the broadband or multiple wavelength pumping of optical sources. Sources may be based on Raman gain media and may use multiple output couplers to couple out different wavelength ranges. Cascaded Raman resonator (CRR) configurations may also be used. Overlapping resonators at different wavelengths may be configured to share gain media, and may have separate portions in separate optical paths. Attenuation filters may also be used that are matched to th...

This device comprises a chamber (4) with a pinhole, the walls of the chamber acting as shielding (6) that absorbs radiation. The chamber contains means of forming images of the sources, due to radiation, and the area in which the sources are located, due to visible light from this area. A part (36) of the shielding in which the pinhole (32) is located, is free to move and is fixed to an optical system (34) capable of providing sharp images in visible light over the required field depth by replac...

A system operable with a Digital Versatile/Video Disc source, provided with a scheme for preferably automatically pausing the playback of a DVD title when a user indicates that another activity is to be engaged. By automatically pausing the title playback, computational load on a processor subsystem associated with the system is minimized while graceful management of the additional video sources is effected. When the user switches to experiencing the DVD source as the primary source, the playbac...

The apparatus and method provide techniques for monitoring the position on alpha contamination in or on items or locations. The technique is particularly applicable to pipes, conduits and other locations to which access is difficult. The technique uses indirect monitoring of alpha emissions by detecting ions generated by the alpha emissions. The medium containing the ions is moved in a controlled manner frog in proximity with the item or location to the detecting unit and the signals achieved ov...

Radiological apparatus is described for producing a representation of the variation of absorption coefficient with position over at least one planar slice taken cross-sectionally through a body under examination. The source of radiation comprises an X-ray tube having a target with an extended dimension in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the aforementioned planar slice, and means is provided for scanning the electron beam of the tube along the extended dimension of the tar...

A convenient reflecting material is a ceramic fiber felt in which the container is partially embedded, the felt being bleached by the radiation from the source to form a pure white reflector conforming to the exterior of the container. The ceramic fiber felt is virtually indestructable, and costs only a few pence. The felt can be made sufficiently thick that the reflector acts as a heat insulator so that heat losses to the back of the reflector are low. The time for the system to warm-up is depe...

A multimodal source for imaging with at least one of a gamma camera, a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner and a single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) scanner, and at least one of a computed tomography (CT) scanner, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and optical scanner. The multimodal source has radioactive material permanently incorporated into a matrix of material, at least one of a material that is a target for CT, MRI and optical scanning, and a container which hol...