This invention relates to an optically coupled digital radiography method and
apparatus for simultaneously obtaining two distinct images of the same subject,
each of which represents a different x-ray energy spectrum. The two images may
be combined in various ways such that anatomical features may be separated from
one another to provide a clearer view of those features or of underlying structures.
The two different images are obtained using a pair of scintillators separated by
an x-ray filter that attenuates part of the x-ray spectrum of an x-ray exposure
such that the first and second scintillators receive a different energy spectrum
of the same x-ray exposure. Alternatively, the two different images can be obtained
without a filter and with two scintillators made of different fluorescing materials
that react differently to the same x-ray exposure.