How does the scanner reset the PSP plate?

• A. Floods with visible light
• B. Floods with X-rays
• C. Applies magnetic field
• D. Heats the plate

Answer: (A)

The plate is erased by flooding it with visible light. After X-ray exposure, the storage phosphor traps electrons that form the latent image. Exposing the plate to bright visible light provides enough energy to release those trapped electrons, resetting the plate so it’s ready for a new exposure. This erasure happens independently of the readout process, which uses a laser to stimulate luminescence for image capture. Flooding with visible light specifically clears the stored data; using X-rays would re-expose the plate, heating doesn’t reliably erase the image, and a magnetic field doesn’t clear the traps.