JP2009011586A - Maintenance information collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problems: maintenance management items are influenced by an installation environment of a device, since a medical image diagnostic device needs a variety of maintenance management for achievement of its original functions, and such maintenance management needs to add management items later as the number of utility modes of the device increases even after the device is installed. <P>SOLUTION: The medical image diagnostic device performs maintenance management including cases performing succeeding maintenance management by telecommunication, such as the Internet network. Power line communication modems 6, 7, and 50 are provided for an installation site of the device, to which a variety of maintenance management monitors 15, 16, and 17 of the device are connected via a hub 5. To the Internet system 10, a maintenance side is connected, communication is performed via the modems 6, 7, and 50, monitor detection signals are incorporated, and monitored to achieve maintenance management. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for collecting maintenance information on communication, vibration, temperature, etc. of an image diagnostic apparatus.

An image diagnostic apparatus, for example, an X-ray CT apparatus, is installed in various places depending on a hospital, and its use environment varies. Accordingly, it is necessary for maintenance management of the X-ray CT apparatus to qualify and quickly collect maintenance information in accordance with such various situations.
Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known documents related to maintenance management of conventional X-ray CT apparatuses.
JP 2003-16212 A JP 2006-75387 A

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 are documents based on the premise of a remote service in a place where the hospital where the X-ray CT apparatus is installed and the maintenance side (for example, the service center) are different. Reference 1 is an example in which maintenance management and countermeasure information can be exchanged bidirectionally between a hospital and a service center for maintenance management. Reference 2 describes the equipment (X-ray tube, collimator, high voltage generation means, X-ray detector, turntable, bed, data collection circuit, image processing means, control device for controlling them) that constitute the X-ray CT apparatus. Various maintenance data at the time of activation are collected and stored, and these data are also transmitted to the remote service side.

  Maintenance information of the X-ray CT apparatus is acquired by monitoring the above equipment, but a maintenance information collecting system including a monitoring sensor is installed after the equipment is installed, for example, after the equipment is installed. There is an example. Since the former is provided in advance in the device, there are few problems in monitoring accuracy. In the latter, the monitoring system installation environment becomes a problem because the monitoring system is installed in or near existing equipment in order to acquire new maintenance information.

This installation environment includes the presence of an X-ray source and a high-voltage power source for various controls, changes in the ambient temperature of the X-ray tube, changes in humidity, presence of dust, vibration of a rotating body (gantry), and the like.
Maintenance information is acquired reliably, accurately, and quickly in various installation environments, and the acquired maintenance information needs to be transmitted to the maintenance side reliably, accurately, and quickly.
On the other hand, the usage of X-ray CT systems has increased, and more maintenance management information has been required than in the past. However, existing monitoring systems alone cannot meet this requirement, and new monitoring is required. The need to install the system later is increasing.
The situation where such necessity is increasing is the same also in the modality except an X-ray CT apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide a maintenance information collecting apparatus that is strong in the installation environment of a medical image diagnostic apparatus and can reliably, accurately, and quickly collect and transmit maintenance information.
In addition, the object of the present invention is to collect and transmit maintenance information reliably, accurately and promptly even when the installation environment of the device is bad or when it is later installed in that environment in order to obtain maintenance information. An object is to provide a feasible maintenance information collection device.

  The present invention relates to a maintenance information collecting device for a medical diagnostic imaging apparatus, a plurality of monitoring sensors for detecting maintenance information attached to a plurality of parts of the medical diagnostic imaging apparatus, an AC power line of the diagnostic imaging apparatus on the input side, The plurality of sensor output lines are connected to the AC power line, and on the output side, the AC power line output and the sensor output of the plurality of sensor output lines are separated, the AC power line output is output as distribution power, and the sensor output is used as a communication signal. Disclosed is a maintenance information collecting device for a medical image diagnostic apparatus, comprising: a power line communication modem to output; and a transmission means for transmitting a communication signal output from the power line communication modem to a communication line connected to the maintenance side.

  According to the present invention, since the maintenance information is transmitted from the monitor for obtaining the maintenance information of the medical image diagnostic apparatus via the power line communication modem, it is ensured and accurate even in a poor ambient environment. It is now possible to quickly collect and send information.

FIG. 1 shows a maintenance information collection system for an X-ray CT apparatus, which is one modality of a medical image diagnostic apparatus. The X-ray CT apparatus 100 includes a main body 200 and a reconfiguration processing unit (not shown). The main body 200 has an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector, which are attached to a gantry, a subject mounting bed, and a rotating body of the gantry, and an X-ray detector detected by the X-ray detector as electrical signals. It has a signal processing unit that takes out and converts it into AD data. The reconstruction processing unit includes a reconstruction unit that performs tomographic reconstruction from data from the signal processing unit, a display unit that displays the tomographic image, a data storage unit, and an operation unit that performs various operations. Consists of.
Note that modalities other than the X-ray CT apparatus also irradiate the subject with an energy medium such as X-rays, electromagnetic waves, and ultrasonic waves, detect signals emitted from the subject, perform signal processing, and generate diagnostic images. It has a configuration similar to that of an X-ray CT apparatus.

  In FIG. 1, the signal processing unit 11, the X-ray tube 12, and the gantry 13 are separated from the maintenance target of the main body 200 of the X-ray CT apparatus 100, but this is for functional reasons and means the structure. Not done. In the present embodiment, monitoring sensors are provided in proximity to each other, and will be described below.

Signal processing unit 11... The X-ray compatible signal detected by the X-ray detector is sent from the rotating body of the gantry to the stationary body side in an analog or digital format. This sending method is an optical signal, the rotating body has an optical transmission unit, and the stationary body has an optical reception unit for receiving it. Such monitoring of optical communication between the optical transmission unit and the optical reception unit is extremely important in the maintenance information. The above optical communication is the sending of measurement results, and it is absolutely necessary to avoid transmission errors, and because of optical communication, it is easy to be affected by dust and dust and wants to check the influence.
In FIG. 1, an optical monitor (sensor) 15 is provided for monitoring an optical communication path near the signal processing unit 11.

  X-ray tube 12 ... A current flows when a high voltage (for example, 200 V) is applied to generate heat. Due to this heat generation, the characteristics of the X-ray tube 12 change. Therefore, a means for detecting the tube temperature as maintenance information is a temperature monitor 16 provided near the X-ray tube 12. The tube is also subject to monitoring of the vibration of the anode rotation system.

  Gantry 13: The rotational vibration of the rotating body and the influence of the rotational vibration on the stationary body side are also important factors in maintenance management. Therefore, a vibration detection monitor 17 is provided near the rotating body of the gantry 13 to monitor vibration.

Other cases: Humidity, bed position, X-ray detector sensitivity, etc.
The power supply source 1, AC power lines 2 and 20, power transformer 3, AC-DC power supply unit 4, and DC power line 14 in FIG. 1 supply power to the X-ray CT apparatus main body 200. The power transformer 3 performs predetermined transformation on the AC voltage supplied from the power supply source 1 and sends this output to the AC-DC power supply unit 4. The AC-DC power supply unit 4 is a so-called converter, and receives the output of the power transformer 3 to obtain one or a plurality of DC outputs. The DC power line 14 supplies these DC outputs, and DC power is supplied to the devices 11, 12, and 13.

  In FIG. 1, a hub (HUB) 5, a power line communication modem slave unit 6, and a power line communication modem base unit 7 are newly provided to capture the detection signals (data) of the monitors 15, 16, and 17. The power line communication modem refers to a modem used for communication by placing a communication signal (data) on a power line, particularly an AC power line. The present invention is characterized in that a power line communication modem is used in order to avoid the trouble of providing a new communication line and to use the power line that is always installed in the X-ray CT apparatus.

  The power line communication modem slave unit 6 and the master unit 7 are provided on the power line 20 on the output side of the power transformer 3. The power transformer 3 serves as a filter for preventing a communication signal electromagnetically coupled to the power line in the power line communication modem from affecting the power supply source 1 due to its frequency characteristics. Thereby, the power line communication system is separated from the power supply source 1, and a communication circuit closed in the apparatus is configured.

  The power line communication modem slave unit 6 inputs the detection signals (data) of the monitors 15, 16, and 17 in a state of being superimposed on the AC power line. As a result, output is performed in a state of being superimposed on AC power (voltage, current), and is sent to the parent device 7.

The power line communication modem base unit 7 receives power including the sensor detection signal (data) from the AC power line 20 and separates and outputs the monitor detection signal (data) and the original AC power. The separated AC power is used as a power source for other devices such as personal computers. The separated sensor detection signal (data) is sent to the Internet system 10 via the hub (HUB) 8. The Internet system 10 has a maintenance side, and the maintenance side receives this monitor detection signal (data) together with additional information such as which sensor is at what time, stores it as maintenance information, and is urgent If there is a case, send it to the person in charge of inspection or repair immediately. In addition, if inspection and repair by a person in charge at the X-ray CT apparatus site is possible, necessary instructions and necessary inspection / repair information are created for the person in charge at the CT apparatus site via the Internet system 10. send. Further, in addition to the case of sending detection signals from the sensors 15, 16, 17 to the maintenance side, the Internet system 10 → the hub 8 may be used if the sensor mechanism requires the maintenance side to give an instruction regarding the timing and detection method. Two-way communication is performed via modems 7 and 6 → hub (HUB) 5 → monitor.
This configuration is generally applicable to medical image diagnostic apparatuses.

FIG. 2 shows an optical communication between a rotating system 30 mounted with an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector that are opposed to each other in an X-ray CT apparatus, and a stationary system 40 provided around the rotating system 30. An application example is shown. The rotation system 30 includes a transmission unit 31 and a transmission prism 32 as means for transmitting a detection signal of the X-ray detector, and the stationary system 40 includes a reception prism 43, a reception unit 41, and an image or light monitor 42. . The AC-DC power supply unit 4 performs power conversion to AC-DC, and its output serves as a power source for the transmission unit 31 and the reception unit 41.
This configuration has a stationary part and a rotating part, and can be adopted as a modality for exchanging signals between them.

The power line communication modem 50 corresponds to the modems 6 and 7 in FIG. 1 and separates and merges the power source 51 of the monitor 42 and the LAN communication signal 52. The LAN communication signal 52 is a monitor detection signal (data) and includes an instruction signal to the monitor 42 in the case of bidirectional communication.
In FIG. 2, the transmission prism 32 and the reception prism 43 communicate with each other by an optical signal 54, and this is performed while being exposed to the air. Therefore, dust and dust 53 in the air adversely affects communication. Therefore, it was decided to monitor the state of communication, dust and dust on the monitor 42.

  FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of attaching the monitor to the rotating disk 60 of the gantry. A shielding sheet metal part 61 is formed on the outer periphery of the turntable 60, and a transmission part 63 is formed on the inner periphery. The transmission unit 63 takes in detection data from an X-ray detector (not shown) and sends the detection data from the transmission circuit 64 to the reception unit 65 provided in the shielding sheet metal unit 61. Transmission of the detection data from the transmission unit 64 to the reception unit 65 is based on optical communication. The optical signal received by the receiving unit 65 is converted into an electric signal and sent to the receiving circuit 66.

Here, transmission from the transmission circuit 63 is performed via the transmission prism described in FIG. 2, and reception unit 65 is performed via the reception prism described in FIG.
The shielding sheet metal part 61 is further provided with an image / light monitor 62 to monitor the receiving part 65. The image / light monitor 62 monitors the accumulation state of dust in the receiving unit as an image, and monitors the optical signal level (amplitude) of the receiving unit. This can be detected by one monitor, but may be realized by two monitors.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a monitor example of the X-ray tube 67. A temperature / abnormal sound monitor 70 is attached to the side surface of the fixture 68 of the X-ray tube 67 to monitor the temperature rise of the tube and the occurrence and status of abnormal sound and vibration of the rotor in the tube. This is due to two separate monitors.
In addition to the X-ray CT apparatus, this configuration can be applied to an apparatus using an X-ray tube such as an X-ray fluoroscopic apparatus. Moreover, if it is limited to the problem of temperature rise, it can be used for monitoring the coil portion of the MRI apparatus.

It is an Example figure of the maintenance information collection apparatus in CT apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a maintenance information collection device between the rotation system in a CT apparatus of this invention, and a stationary system. It is a signal transmission / reception monitor example figure in the gantry of this invention. It is a monitor example figure with the X-ray tube of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power supply source 3 Power supply transformer 4 AC-DC power supply unit 6 Power line communication modem cordless handset 7 Power line communication modem cordless handset 15, 16, 17 Monitor (sensor)

Claims (1)

  In the maintenance information collecting device of the medical diagnostic imaging apparatus, a plurality of monitoring sensors for detecting maintenance information attached to a plurality of parts of the medical diagnostic imaging apparatus, the AC power line of the medical diagnostic imaging apparatus on the input side, and the AC power line A power line that connects the plurality of sensor output lines, separates the AC power line output and the sensor outputs of the plurality of sensor output lines on the output side, outputs the AC power line output as power for distribution, and outputs the sensor output as a communication signal A maintenance information collecting apparatus for a medical image diagnostic apparatus, comprising: a communication modem; and a transmission unit that transmits a communication signal output from the power line communication modem to a communication line connected to a maintenance side.

Images