JP2006006471A - X-ray ct apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a safe and quick motion of an X-ray CT apparatus in order to solve the problem that the X-ray CT system has a gantry and a bed, keeps the gantry tiltable and the bed movable in the vertical direction and in the longitudinal direction, makes a safe motion inevitable for a subject on the bed makes contact with the opening of the gantry, and therefore achieves various kinds of safe motions, and that the safe motions rely on the manual operation by an operator. <P>SOLUTION: A manual switch 30 is a button switch by which the longitudinal movement of the bed 2 and the tilting of the vertically movable strap gantry 3 are manually performed. In this X-ray CT apparatus, touch sensors 5 (5A to 5D) are respectively provided on the top and the bottom, and the right and the left of the gantry 3. At the time of a contact detection of the top and the bottom touch sensors 5A and 5C, a compulsive evasion operation is performed by ignoring the operation content of the manual switch 30. At the time of a contact detection of the right and left touch sensors 5B and 5D, the process of second best remedies such as the shut off of a system power source is adopted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an X-ray CT apparatus, and more particularly to an X-ray CT apparatus having a safety technique in contact between a subject or the like and a gantry.

An X-ray CT apparatus inserts a subject on a bed into an opening of a gantry, irradiates the subject with X-rays from an X-ray source, and transmits the X-ray detector with an X-ray detector arranged opposite to the X-ray source. It is a device that obtains a tomogram by detecting the quantity and reconstructing it.
In recent years, there has been a demand for obtaining a tomographic image from various inclinations of a subject and a subject to obtain a tomographic image, and an X-ray CT apparatus has a mechanism and a structure corresponding thereto. Because the tilt and distance to the subject can be changed variously, contact between the subject and the gantry may occur, and contact that may not be predicted due to abnormal movement of the subject may occur. In addition, there are problems such as how to perform X-ray measurement during the contact. Furthermore, in cases where the puncture is performed while observing the CT image being measured by the surgeon other than the subject, there is a possibility that the surgeon may be touched, and the handling becomes a problem.
There are the following two known documents.
JP 09-140700 A JP 2000-325333 A

Patent Document 1 automatically detects contact with a subject. Actually, a look guide provided in a gantry for guiding a subject who has a hearing impairment and detection of contact with the subject. About. Then, when the subject touches the look guide, it is detected and automatically identified. Here, the look guide is a display board, and since the instruction to the subject who is impaired in hearing is impossible by voice, the voice instruction content (for example, “breathing stop” or (Instructions such as “Accept Absorption”) are displayed and allowed to be recognized by the subject.
Patent Document 2 discloses a CT device that provides a touch sensor for detecting contact with a subject around an opening of a gantry, and when the touch of the subject is detected, causes the operation of the bed or the gantry and the power supply of the entire device. To do. Furthermore, the problem when the operator touches the touch sensor is solved. That is, there is an operation method in which an X-ray CT apparatus is operated to display and display tomographic images while updating them one after another, and a puncture technique is applied accordingly. In such an example, an operator may touch the touch sensor, and there is a problem of whether to continue measurement or surgery at that time. Therefore, in this document, if there is a contact during the operation of the gantry and the bed, the three operations are stopped, but if the operation is not in progress, it is detected that the touch sensor has already entered the measurement. The signal is ignored, the power supply is stopped for a short time in consideration of safety, and the power supply is immediately restored.
The above-mentioned conventional example is an example in which a sensor for detecting contact is installed at a limited position on the gantry, and there is no disclosure of discussion of multipoint contact with the gantry. It is necessary to know the contact with the gantry and take safety measures according to the contact condition.
An object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray CT apparatus that provides at least touch sensors on the upper, lower, left, and right sides of a gantry and enables necessary safety measures in accordance with the upper, lower, left, and right contact cases.

The present invention provides a subject mounting bed,
A gantry with a bed insertion opening,
A first manual switch for operating the gantry tilt drive;
A second manual switch for operating the bed forward / backward / up and down movement;
Touch sensors mounted on the top, bottom, left and right of the insertion opening
First driving means for driving the inclination of the gantry according to the instruction of the first manual switch;
Second driving means for driving forward / backward movement and vertical movement of the bed in accordance with an instruction of the second manual switch;
An X-ray measurement system including an X-ray source mounted on the gantry and an X-ray detector disposed opposite to the X-ray source;
Control means for capturing detection signals of the upper, lower, left and right touch sensors, a signal indicating the inclination of the gantry, and a signal indicating the position and height of the bed,
The control means includes
Gantry tilt control by the first driving means or vertical movement of the bed by the second driving means so that the touch state can be avoided when it is determined from the detection signals of the upper and lower touch sensors that the upper and lower touches are present. Alternatively, an X-ray CT apparatus having means for performing forward / backward control is disclosed.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a subject mounting bed,
A first manual switch for operating the gantry tilt drive;
A second manual switch for operating the bed forward / backward / up and down movement;
A gantry with a subject insertion opening on the bed,
Touch sensors mounted on the top, bottom, left and right of the insertion opening;
First driving means for driving the inclination of the gantry according to the instruction of the first manual switch;
Second driving means for driving forward / backward movement and vertical movement of the bed according to an instruction of the second manual switch;
An X-ray measurement system including an X-ray source mounted on a gantry and an X-ray detector disposed opposite to the X-ray source;
Control means for capturing detection signals from the upper, lower, left and right touch sensors, a signal indicating the inclination of the gantry, and a signal indicating the position and height of the bed,
When the control means determines that there is an up / down or left / right touch from the detection signals of the up / down touch sensors and the left / right touch sensors, the first control unit performs different avoidance operations for the up / down touch and the left / right touch. An X-ray CT apparatus having means for controlling the second driving means is disclosed.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a subject mounting bed,
A gantry with a subject insertion opening on the bed,
A first manual switch for operating the gantry tilt drive;
A second manual switch for operating the bed forward / backward / up and down movement;
Touch sensors mounted on the top, bottom, left and right of the insertion opening;
First driving means for driving the inclination of the gantry according to the instruction of the first manual switch;
Second driving means for driving forward / backward movement and vertical movement of the bed according to an instruction of the second manual switch;
An X-ray measurement system including an X-ray source mounted on a gantry and an X-ray detector disposed opposite to the X-ray source;
Control means for capturing detection signals from the upper, lower, left and right touch sensors, a signal indicating the inclination of the gantry, and a signal indicating the position and height of the bed,
When the control means determines that there is an up / down or left / right touch from the detection signals of the up / down touch sensors and the left / right touch sensors, the first or second drive so as to avoid the touch if the touch is up / down. Disclosed is an X-ray CT apparatus having means for controlling the means and controlling the interruption of measurement if measurement is in progress, and controlling the power interruption or measurement interruption if the touch is left or right.

  Furthermore, the present invention discloses an X-ray CT apparatus in which the control means includes a data table indicating a relationship between a condition including the detection signal of the touch sensor and a corresponding avoidance operation.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform contact detection with the upper and lower touch sensors and contact detection with the left and right touch sensors, and achieve an appropriate risk avoidance operation corresponding to the upper and lower and left and right.

2 and 3 show an X-ray CT apparatus, which includes a bed 2 on which a subject (referred to as a subject in the following example) 1 is placed and a gantry 3 for taking an X-ray image of the subject 1. Become. There is an opening 4 at the center of the gantry 3, and the bed 2 can be moved in parallel (front-rear direction) and up-down direction so that the subject 1 can be taken in and out for imaging positioning. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the gantry 3 tilts back and forth during tilting. In addition, the X-ray tube and the X-ray detector in the gantry rotate around the subject during measurement.
A tape-shaped touch sensor 5 is provided around the opening 4 of the gantry 3. The touch sensor 5 senses when a subject or the like comes into contact with the sensitive site, and generates a detection signal. The touch sensors 5 were provided at four locations on the top, bottom, left, and right around the opening 4. These are sensors 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D. However, since the sensor 5D is not shown in FIG. 2 because it is below the bed 2, it is shown in FIG. The opening 4 has a depth as shown in FIG. 3, and sensors 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D are provided in the same part on the rear side in addition to the front side of the opening, and in addition to the contact on the front side, the rear side is provided. Measure contact. As a matter of course, the touch sensor 5 is fixed to the gantry 3 and is displaced along with the driving of the gantry 3 and the change of the direction (posture).
There are the following examples in addition to the two touch sensors 5 installed in front of and behind the opening 4 of the gantry 3.
(1) An example of installing at one or more positions between the front side and the rear side of the opening 4.
(2) An example of four or more points, such as four points on the top, bottom, left and right, but twelve in 30 ° sections on the circumference.
In the following, the description will be limited to four examples of up, down, left, and right, but it is natural to extend the operation to the above examples (1) and (2).

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an X-ray CT apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. This X-ray CT apparatus emits X-rays to a subject, images a tomographic image of the imaging region of the subject, reconstructs and displays the reconstructed image. The gantry 3, the bed 2, and the system power supply 11 are configured. When the power switch is on, the system power supply 11 always supplies power to the operation system and control system of the console 10 and the gantry 3 and the bed 2 via the power supply lines 12, 13, 14 and 15, respectively. Is supposed to supply.

The gantry 3 can be contacted by an operator or an operator, and the manual switch 30 for outputting the operation command of the bed 2 and the gantry 3 input by the contact operation, the touch sensor 5, and the detection signal are input to the gantry 3. It has a touch sensor detection unit 36 that sends a signal to the scanner control unit 33, an X-ray tube 32, an X-ray detector 31, and a scanner control 33 that controls them. The gantry 3 is tilted in the front-rear direction by a tilt motor 35 as shown in FIG. Further, the X-ray tube 32 and the X-ray detector 31 in the gantry 3 are rotated around the subject by a rotation motor 34. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bed 2 is moved up and down and up and down by the motors 21 and 22 to move the subject 1 to and from the opening 4 of the gantry 3. Each motor 21, 22, 34, 35 and the X-ray tube 32 are connected to the system power supply 11 and operated by a control signal from the scanner control unit 33. A tape switch detection unit 36 is provided between the touch sensor 5 (5A, 5B, 5C, 5D) and the scanner control unit 33, and can input a signal from the touch sensor 5 to the scanner control unit 33. . Upon receiving this signal, the scanner control unit 33 activates the buzzer 38 to generate a buzzer sound and notify that it has touched, and as shown in FIG. 4, the table longitudinal movement motor 21, the table vertical movement motor 22, and The operation is sent to the drive units 23, 24, 37 of the tilt motor 35 via the control lines 39, 40, 41, and the operation of these motors is stopped. The output signal from the touch sensor detection unit 36 is input to the scanner control unit 33, and the scanner control unit 33 performs various safe operations according to the detection at the sensor position of the touch sensor 5.
Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 5 shows the processing steps up to the measurement, Step F ₂ is the console 10 in this process, step F _3, F ₄ is due to the image processing apparatus, the scanner control unit 33, F ₅ is not shown.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the manual switch 30 and the avoidance operation.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a safe operation process in which the avoidance operation is mainly executed by the scanner control unit 33.

In FIG. 5, the power is first turned on (F ₁ ). Further, the measurement conditions of the subject are selected and input by the console 10 (F ₂ ). Based on the measurement conditions and the input of the manual switch 30, the scanner control unit 33 controls the motors 21, 22, 34, 35 and the X-ray tube 32, and controls the gantry 3, the bed 2, and the X-ray tube 32 to a predetermined value. Set the position and condition (F ₃ , F ₄ ). Next, a measurement operation is started, and X-ray irradiation and measurement that goes up to the X-ray detector 31 are performed, and the measurement result is processed and reconstructed by an image processing device (not shown) to obtain a tomographic image. Display and store (F ₅ ).

  FIG. 7 shows a safe operation process flow by the scanner control unit 33. In this process, the safe operation is changed between the top and bottom and the left and right in the touch sensor. The idea is that risk avoidance due to contact with the upper and lower touch sensors 5A and 5C is an important requirement, while the left and right touch sensors 5B and 5D have a low possibility of contact, and even when there is contact, According to the standpoint that it is possible to cope with the next best safe operation.

FIG. 7 will be described in detail. The scanner control unit 33 monitors whether touch detection has been performed by the upper, lower, left, and right touch sensors by capturing the sensor output (F ₁ ). If contact is detected by any of the upper and lower touch sensors 5A and 5C, a sound indicating that contact has been made is sounded (F ₂ ), and the contact duration time is checked. It is determined whether or not the reference contact time T ₀ (for example, T ₀ = 0.2 seconds) or more is used as a reference (F ₄ ), and if it is less than that, it is determined to be accidental contact. The measurement is continued (F ₆ ). If T ₀ or more, a forced avoidance operation for avoiding contact with the gantry and the bed is performed (F ₇ ). If measurement is in progress at that time, measurement is interrupted (F ₆ ). Further, after the process of step _{F 7,} i.e. avoidance operation complete after measurement resume _(F 10).
On the other hand, if there is detection (at least one of them) by the left and right touch sensors 5B and 5D, the buzzer 38 is sounded (F ₃ ), and the duration time is further monitored to check whether it is T ₀ or less ( F _5). If it is less than T _0, there during measurement as it is to continue the measurement (F _9). If T ₀ or more, blocking the system system power supply (e.g., a gantry and a drive power supply of the bed), to interrupt the measurement if being measured at that time (F _8). At this time, the avoidance operation of the gantry and the bed is not performed. If it is interrupted during measurement, measurement is resumed after checking.
Steps F ₆ and F _{9 in} FIG. 7 are temporary contact examples, and specifically, an example in which the subject is rampant or the operator happens to touch.

FIG. 6 will be described. The manual switch 30 is used for manual operation of the gantry 3 and the bed 2. Among the manual switches 30, the switches 30 </ b> A, 30 </ b> B, 30 </ b> C, and 30 </ b> D are related to the bed 2, and the switches 30 </ b> E and 30 </ b> F are related to the gantry 3. That is, with respect to the bed 2, the switch 30A is forward, 30B is backward, 30C is upward, 30D is downward, the button switch for the gantry 3, the switch 30E is forwardly tilted, and the switch 30F is backwardly tilted. It is. In either case, the corresponding operation continues by continuing to press.
In FIG. 6, (a) shows the case where the subject touches the upper part of the gantry during the forward tilting operation of the gantry, and (b) and (c) show the avoidance operation by manual operation corresponding thereto. That is, when it is determined that the operator can move downward, (b) the bed is lowered by pressing the lowering switch 30D. This is the best response for risk avoidance. On the other hand, if the bed cannot be moved downward, the operator determines that and then presses the backward tilt switch 30F to tilt the gantry backward. This is (c). This (c) is slightly safer than (b).
In this embodiment, at the time of contact, the operator's judgment is excluded and forced safety operation is entered. That is (d) and (e). Here, the operator's judgment exclusion means that the scanner controller 33 does not capture the input of each of the switches 30A to 30F or captures whatever operation the operator performs on the switch 30 at the time of contact. But you can either ignore it and not use it. Then, the processing shown in FIG. 7 is executed under this countermeasure. Thus, as shown in (f), it is possible to quickly avoid danger.

8-11 is explanatory drawing of the forced avoidance operation | movement of FIG. 7 of this invention. That is, FIGS. 8 to 11 show examples of forced operation when touch detection on the upper and lower surfaces of the touch sensor 5 is performed. The touch sensor 5 is an example in which upper and lower touch sensors 5A and 5C are installed above and below the front surface of the opening of the gantry, and upper and lower touch sensors 5A ₂ and 5C ₂ are installed above and below the rear surface. These forced avoidance operations are subordinate to “conditions” for forced operation (gantry states, table states, touch sensor detection names in FIGS. 8 to 11), and “forced operations corresponding to each condition”. `` Content '' is registered as a data table on the memory in the scan control unit 33 in contrast, the “condition” at the time of contact is input, the corresponding forced operation content is read, and the scan control unit 33 reads this. This is realized by performing the operation control (up, down, forward, backward) of the table 2 in accordance with the content of the forced operation.

8 to 11, FIG. 8 is an example under a gantry forward tilt stop state, FIG. 9 is an example under a rear tilt stop state, and FIG. 10 is an example under a stop state at the center. FIG. 11 shows an example during the forward tilting operation and the backward tilting operation.
8 to 11 will be briefly described. When the patient touches the touch sensor for a certain period of time (for example, 0.2 seconds), the touch sensor detection unit 36 determines whether each motor is operating, and only when any motor is operating, up / down -Tells the scanner control unit 33 that either the left or right and the touch sensor on either the front or rear of the scanner have been detected.
The scanner control unit 33 that detects contact with the upper or lower touch sensor temporarily stops the gantry forward / backward tilt / table up / down / front / back motion, interrupts the measurement when the measurement is in progress, and stops the X-ray exposure. A certain direction (front / back, up / down, forward / backward tilt) for evacuating the patient is judged as shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, and a motor that moves in one direction is driven when any button of 30A to 30F is pressed. To do. Here, in FIGS. 8 to 11, when the operation direction is “one” (because it cannot originally occur), the operation according to the 30A-30F push button instruction is performed. When there are two movement directions, a and b, a is selected when a is operable, and b is selected when a is not operable (due to a limit state or the like).

  In the above embodiment, an example of driving the inclination of the gantry has been shown, but the present invention can also be applied to an example in which the gantry has a swing mechanism (that is, direction change).

It is a figure which shows embodiment of the X-ray apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the gantry of this invention, and a bed. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the gantry of this invention, and a bed. It is a detailed example figure of the scanner control part 33 of this invention. It is a flow from setting of measurement conditions of the present invention to acquisition of a reconstructed image. It is explanatory drawing of the relationship between the manual switch 30 of this invention, and safe operation | movement. It is a processing flow of the safe operation | movement by the scanner control part 33 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the process flow of the forced avoidance operation example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a forced avoidance operation | movement of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a forced avoidance operation | movement of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a forced avoidance operation | movement of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Test subject 2 Bed 3 Gantry 4 Opening part 5, 5A-5D Touch sensor 33 Scanner control part 38 Buzzer

Claims (4)

A bed for loading an object;
A gantry with a bed insertion opening,
A first manual switch for operating the gantry tilt drive;
A second manual switch for operating the bed forward / backward / up and down movement;
Touch sensors mounted on the top, bottom, left and right of the insertion opening;
First driving means for driving the inclination of the gantry according to the instruction of the first manual switch;
Second driving means for driving forward / backward movement and vertical movement of the bed according to an instruction of the second manual switch;
An X-ray measurement system including an X-ray source mounted on a gantry and an X-ray detector disposed opposite to the X-ray source;
Control means for capturing detection signals from the upper, lower, left and right touch sensors, a signal indicating the inclination of the gantry, and a signal indicating the position and height of the bed,
The control means includes
Gantry tilt control by the first driving means or vertical movement of the bed by the second driving means so that the touch state can be avoided when it is determined from the detection signals of the upper and lower touch sensors that the upper and lower touches are present. Alternatively, an X-ray CT apparatus having means for performing forward / backward control. A bed for loading an object;
A first manual switch for operating the gantry tilt drive;
A second manual switch for operating the bed forward / backward / up and down movement;
A gantry with a subject insertion opening on the bed,
Touch sensors mounted on the top, bottom, left and right of the insertion opening;
First driving means for driving the inclination of the gantry according to the instruction of the first manual switch;
Second driving means for driving forward / backward movement and vertical movement of the bed according to an instruction of the second manual switch;
An X-ray measurement system including an X-ray source mounted on a gantry and an X-ray detector disposed opposite to the X-ray source;
Control means for capturing detection signals of the upper, lower, left and right touch sensors, a signal indicating the inclination of the gantry, and a signal indicating the position and height of the bed,
When the control means determines that there is an up / down or left / right touch from the detection signals of the up / down touch sensors and the left / right touch sensors, the first control unit performs different avoidance operations for the up / down touch and the left / right touch. An X-ray CT apparatus having means for controlling the second driving means. A bed for loading an object;
A gantry with a subject insertion opening on the bed,
A first manual switch for operating the gantry tilt drive;
A second manual switch for operating the bed forward / backward / up and down movement;
Touch sensors mounted on the top, bottom, left and right of the insertion opening;
First driving means for driving the inclination of the gantry according to the instruction of the first manual switch;
Second driving means for driving forward / backward movement and vertical movement of the bed according to an instruction of the second manual switch;
An X-ray measurement system including an X-ray source mounted on a gantry and an X-ray detector disposed opposite to the X-ray source;
Control means for capturing detection signals from the upper, lower, left and right touch sensors, a signal indicating the inclination of the gantry, and a signal indicating the position and height of the bed,
When the control means determines that there is an up / down or left / right touch from the detection signals of the up / down touch sensors and the left / right touch sensors, the first or second drive so as to avoid the touch if the touch is up / down. An X-ray CT apparatus having means for controlling the means and controlling the interruption of measurement if measurement is in progress, and controlling the power interruption or measurement interruption if touching left and right. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes a data table indicating a relationship between a condition including a detection signal of the touch sensor and an avoidance operation corresponding to the condition.

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