Laminated storage phosphor panel with thermally-sensitive adhesive and methods of making thereof

1. A phosphor screen comprising:

a substrate;

a stimulable phosphor layer disposed over the substrate, the stimulable phosphor layer comprising a stimulable phosphor material; and

an adhesive layer disposed by solvent coating over the stimulable phosphor layer, the adhesive layer comprising solvent-coatable thermally-sensitive elastomers, wherein the adhesive layer has a dust adhesion of ≦1 dust particles/sq.in.

2. The phosphor screen of claim 1 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is selected from the group consisting of thermoset polymers, thermoplastic polymers, and combinations thereof.

3. The phosphor screen of claim 2 , wherein the solvent-coatable thermoset polymers are selected from the group consisting of polyesters, epoxies, urea/formaldehyde, melamine, cyanate esters, polyurethane, and combinations thereof.

4. The phosphor screen of claim 2 , wherein the thermoplastic polymers are selected from the group consisting of acrylic, polyethylene, polypropylene, cellulose acetate, polystyrene, polyurethane, and combinations thereof.

5. The phosphor screen of claim 1 , wherein the solvent-coatable thermally-sensitive elastomer is a thermoplastic copolyester.

6. The phosphor screen of claim 1 , wherein the solvent-coatable thermally-sensitive elastomer is present in the adhesive layer in an amount ranging from about 10% to about 100%.

7. The phosphor screen of claim 1 , where the stimulable phosphor material comprises a thickness ranging from about 10 μm to about 500 μm.

8. The phosphor screen of claim 1 , where the substrate is selected from the group consisting of glass, plastic films, ceramics, polymeric materials, polymeric materials disposed over a rigid metal sheet, and combinations thereof.

9. The phosphor screen of claim 1 , further comprising a protective polymer film coupled to the phosphor screen by an adhesive layer comprising thermally-sensitive elastomers to form an X-ray imaging element.

10. A method of making a phosphor screen, comprising:

solvent coating an adhesive solution on a storage phosphor screen comprising a storage phosphor material to form a coated surface, the adhesive solution comprising a solvent and a solvent-coatable thermally-sensitive elastomer; and

drying the coated surface of the storage phosphor screen to create an adhesive layer.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

contacting the adhesive layer on the storage phosphor screen with a protective polymer film; and

laminating the protective polymer film and the storage phosphor screen to produce a laminated X-ray imaging element.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is selected from the group consisting of thermoset polymers, thermoplastic polymers, and combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is a thermoplastic copolyester.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is present in the adhesive solution in an amount ranging from about 0.1% to about 50%.

15. A method of making an X-ray imaging panel comprising:

solvent coating an adhesive solution on an X-ray imaging element to form a coated surface, wherein the X-ray imaging element comprises a storage phosphor screen coupled to a protective polymer film, and wherein the adhesive solution comprises thermally-sensitive elastomers;

drying the coated surface of the X-ray imaging element to create an adhesive layer;

contacting the adhesive layer on the X-ray imaging element with at least one protective polymer film; and

laminating the X-ray imaging element to the at least one protective polymer film.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is selected from the group consisting of thermoset polymers, thermoplastic polymers, and combinations thereof, where the protective polymer film is a polyester film about 5-25 microns thick.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is a thermoplastic copolyester or a thermoplastic polybutyral.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the thermally-sensitive elastomer is present in the adhesive solution in an amount ranging from about 0.1% to about 50%.