JP2007000490A - Diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a diagnostic apparatus facilitating the installation of both casings. <P>SOLUTION: If it affects the installation and adjustment when PET (Positron Emission Tomography)/CT supporting members 33 and 35 are brought into contact with PET/CT supporting rods 12 and 22, the installation and adjustment are performed by adjusting the supporting rods 12 and 22 in the vertical direction relative to the respective PET/CT gantry bodies. After vertically adjusting the supporting rods 12 and 22, the PET/CT supporting members 33 and 35 are slid with their brought into contact with the support rods 12 and 22, and the both gantries are installed mutually with a joint cover constituted of PET/CT fitting covers 31 and 32. In the installation after the adjustment, the PET/CT supporting members 33 and 35 are vertically fixed with their brought into contact with the support rods 12 and 22 so as to dispense with the pushed fixing of the joint cover and the respective gantries and facilitate the installation of the both gantries (casings) with their fixed together. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes a nuclear medicine diagnostic casing that encloses all parts for performing a diagnosis for nuclear medicine, and an X-ray CT casing that encloses each part for performing tomographic imaging of X-ray CT. Relates to a diagnostic device.

  As nuclear medicine diagnosis, that is, ECT (Emission Computed Tomography), PET (Positron Emission Tomography) will be described as an example. In PET, a casing-like PET gantry is provided that encloses each part (scintillator block, photomultiplier, etc.) for diagnosis. As in the PET gantry, the X-ray CT includes a housing-like CT gantry that encloses all components (such as an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector) for X-ray CT tomographic imaging. In the case of a diagnostic apparatus that combines a PET gantry and a CT gantry, the gantry is arranged side by side in the body axis direction of the subject, X-ray CT tomographic imaging is performed on the same tomographic plane of the subject, and nuclear medicine Diagnosis is performed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Each gantry is configured by combining front, back, side, and top covers (see, for example, Patent Document 2). When combining such a PET gantry or CT gantry, (1) a structure in which each gantry of the PET gantry 110 and the CT gantry 120 is constituted by a cover, as shown in the side view of FIG. As shown in the side view of FIG. 8B, there is a structure in which the entire gantry is further surrounded by the cover 130 after the gantry is arranged side by side and combined.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-20245 (page 3, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-149899 (pages 2, 3 and 1)

  However, when each gantry is configured with a separate cover as in (1) (see FIG. 8 (a)), there is a gap between the PET gantry and the CT gantry, and there is an object in the gap. There is a possibility of falling or being caught. Further, when the whole is surrounded by a cover as in (2) (see FIG. 8B), since the two gantry are combined, the cover itself becomes large, and it becomes difficult to remove each gantry during adjustment. . Therefore, if each gantry has its own cover and is integrated with a joint cover that attaches the two gantry to each other, adjustment and the like become easy, but adjustment that attaches the joint cover between different gantry becomes difficult. .

  This invention is made in view of such a situation, Comprising: It aims at providing the diagnostic apparatus which can attach both housing | casings easily.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a nuclear medicine diagnosis housing that encloses each part for performing nuclear medicine diagnosis and an X part that encloses each part for performing X-ray CT tomographic imaging as a whole. A diagnostic apparatus comprising a line CT housing, the device comprising a joint cover that spans the nuclear medicine diagnostic housing and the X-ray CT housing and attaches the two housings to each other; The body includes a first support member that extends in a horizontal direction and supports the joint cover, and a first fixing member that fixes the joint cover, and the joint cover contacts the first support member, and Each of the first support member and the first fixing member includes a second support member configured to be slidable in the horizontal direction of the first support member, and a second fixing member configured to be fitted to the first fixing member. For each The first support member supports the joint cover body by bringing the support member into contact with the first support member, and the second fixing member is fitted to the first fixing member while the first support member supports the joint cover body. The first fixing member is configured to fix the joint cover body and attach the two housings to each other by the fixed joint cover. They are arranged so as to be adjustable in the direction.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 1, the joint cover that spans between the nuclear medicine diagnosis casing and the X-ray CT casing and attaches both casings to each other is provided. Each housing includes a first support member that extends in the horizontal direction and supports the joint cover described above, and a first fixing member that fixes the joint cover. The joint cover is configured to be fitted to the first support member and the second support member configured to be in contact with the first support member and slidable in the horizontal direction of the first support member. The second fixing member is provided for each of the first support member and the first fixing member.

  The first support member supports the joint cover main body by bringing the second support member described above into contact with the first support member, and the first fixing member described above is supported in a state where the first support member supports the joint cover main body. The first fixing member fixes the joint cover main body by fitting with the fixing member, and the two housings are attached to each other by the fixed joint cover. If the second support member is brought into contact with the first support member, the attachment position of the joint cover to each housing may not match, or the contact position of the first support member of one gantry may not match. When the attachment adjustment is hindered, the first support member is adjusted in the vertical direction with respect to each housing body to perform the attachment adjustment. After adjusting the vertical direction with respect to the first support member, the second support member is brought into contact with the first support member and slid, and both housings are attached to each other by the joint cover. At the time of attachment after this adjustment, since the second support member is in contact with the first support member and fixed in the vertical direction, it is not necessary to press and fix the joint cover or each housing, and it is attached in a fixed state. Can do. As a result, both housings can be easily attached.

  According to the diagnostic device of the present invention, if the mounting adjustment is hindered when the second support member is brought into contact with the first support member, the first support member is vertically moved with respect to each casing body. To adjust the mounting. After adjusting the vertical direction with respect to the first support member, the second support member is brought into contact with the first support member and slid, and both housings are attached to each other by the joint cover. At the time of attachment after this adjustment, since the second support member is in contact with the first support member and fixed in the vertical direction, it is not necessary to press and fix the joint cover or each housing, and it is attached in a fixed state. Can do. As a result, both housings can be easily attached.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. In the present embodiment, PET (Positron Emission Tomography) will be described as an example of nuclear medicine diagnosis.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the embodiment apparatus includes a casing-like PET gantry 10 that encloses all parts (scintillator block, photomultiplier, etc.) for nuclear medicine diagnosis, and a tomographic X-ray CT. A housing-like CT gantry 20 is provided that encloses each part (such as an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector) for performing imaging. In the present embodiment, the PET gantry 10 and the CT gantry 20 are arranged at the positions shown in FIG. 1, and after the X-ray CT tomographic imaging with the CT gantry 20 is performed on the imaging portion of the subject (not shown), the same. Diagnosis for nuclear medicine is performed on the imaging region with the PET gantry 10. The PET gantry 10 corresponds to the nuclear medicine diagnosis casing in the present invention, and the CT gantry 20 corresponds to the X-ray CT casing in the present invention.

  The PET gantry 10 is configured to enclose a plurality of scintillator blocks (not shown) and a plurality of photomultipliers (not shown) arranged close to each other. The scintillator block and the photomultiplier are arranged in a ring shape so as to surround the body axis of the subject. The photomultiplier is disposed outside the scintillator block. A γ-ray detector is composed of a scintillator block and a photomultiplier.

  A scintillator block converts γ-rays generated from a subject administered with a radiopharmaceutical, that is, a radioisotope (RI), and the photomultiplier photoelectrically converts the converted light into an electrical signal. . The electrical signal is sent as image information (pixels) to an image processing unit (not shown).

  More specifically, when a radiopharmaceutical is administered to a subject, the positron emission type RI positron disappears and a plurality of γ rays are generated. The image processing unit checks the position of the scintillator block and the timing of γ-ray incidence, and the sent image information is only appropriate when γ-rays are incident simultaneously on the two scintillator blocks that are opposite each other across the subject. It is determined to be correct data. When γ-rays enter only one of the scintillator blocks, the image processing unit treats it as noise instead of γ-rays caused by the annihilation of the positron, and determines that the image information sent at that time is also noise and rejects it. . Since the image information obtained in this way is projection data, the projection data is reconstructed to obtain a tomographic image for PET in consideration of the absorption of γ rays in the body of the subject.

  The CT gantry 20 is configured to surround an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector (both not shown). The X-ray tube and the X-ray detector are arranged to face each other with the subject interposed therebetween. A large number of detection elements constituting the X-ray detector are arranged in a fan shape around the body axis of the subject.

  The X-ray tube and the X-ray tube detector are rotated around the body axis of the subject in the CT gantry 20 while maintaining the opposing relationship. An X-ray detector detects X-rays irradiated from the X-ray tube and transmitted through the subject, and outputs them to an electrical signal. This electric signal is image information (pixel) and also projection data. This projection data is reconstructed to obtain an X-ray CT tomographic image of the subject.

  In order to attach the PET gantry 10 and the CT gantry 20 having the above-mentioned configuration in combination, a joint cover 30 is provided as shown in FIG. The joint cover 30 is configured across the PET gantry 10 and the CT gantry 20. Specifically, the joint cover 30 includes a PET fitting cover 31 that fits on the PET gantry 10 on the PET side, and a CT fitting cover 32 that fits on the CT gantry 20 on the CT side. The fitting covers 31 and 32 are configured to branch from each other in the middle. Therefore, with the PET gantry 10 and the CT gantry 20 in close contact with each other, the PET fitting cover 31 is fitted to the PET gantry 10 and the CT fitting cover 32 is fitted to the CT gantry 20. As shown in FIG. 1, both gantry 10, 20 are attached to each other. The joint cover 30 corresponds to the joint cover in the present invention.

  Next, specific structures of the gantry 10, 20 and the joint cover 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A is an enlarged schematic view of the part A in FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is an enlarged schematic view of the part B in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 (a) is an arrow view of FIG. 2C, FIG. 4 (b) is an arrow view of FIG. 2D, and FIG. 5 (a) is a support for PET. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of the CT support member 35, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the fixtures 34 and 36.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the PET gantry 10 is configured by combining a plurality of PET covers 11. The PET gantry 10 extends in the horizontal direction and supports the joint cover 30. The mounting bracket 13 for PET which fixes the cover 30 is provided. The PET mounting bracket 13 is directly disposed on the PET cover 11. In this embodiment, the PET support rod 12 is directly disposed on the PET mounting bracket 13. As shown in FIG. 3B, the CT gantry 20 is configured by combining a plurality of CT covers 21. The CT gantry 20 extends in the horizontal direction and supports the joint cover 30 in the same manner as the PET support rod 12. A CT support rod 22 and a CT mounting bracket 23 for fixing the joint cover 30 similarly to the PET mounting bracket 13 are provided. The CT mounting bracket 23 is directly disposed on the CT cover 21. In this embodiment, the CT support rod 22 is directly disposed on the CT mounting bracket 23. The PET support bar 12 and the CT support bar 22 correspond to the first support member in the present invention, and the PET mounting bracket 13 and the CT mounting bracket 23 correspond to the first fixing member in the present invention.

  At the position where the PET support rod 12 is disposed, the PET mounting bracket 13 has a long hole (not shown) whose vertical diameter is longer than the horizontal diameter. Is inserted, the PET support rod 12 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the PET mounting bracket 13. By moving the PET support rod 12 in the vertical direction with respect to the PET mounting bracket 13, the PET support rod 12 moves relative to the PET cover 11 on which the PET mounting bracket 13 is disposed, and further to the PET gantry 10 body. (See FIGS. 3 (a) and 7 (b)).

  Similarly, at the position where the CT support rod 22 is disposed, the CT mounting bracket 23 has a long hole (not shown) whose vertical diameter is longer than the horizontal diameter. By inserting the support rod 22, the CT support rod 22 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the CT mounting bracket 23. As the CT support rod 22 moves in the vertical direction with respect to the CT mounting bracket 23, the CT support rod 22 moves relative to the CT cover 21 on which the CT mounting bracket 23 is disposed, and further to the CT gantry 20 body. (See FIG. 3B and FIG. 7D).

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4C, the joint cover 30 includes the above-described PET fitting cover 31 and CT fitting cover 32. The PET fitting cover 31 has a flat PET support member 33 configured to come into contact with the PET support rod 12 and to be slidable in the horizontal direction of the PET support rod 12. A fixing bracket 34 for PET configured to be fitted to a part of the mounting bracket 13 is provided. The CT fitting cover 32 includes a flat CT support member 35 that is configured to come into contact with the CT support rod 22 and to be slidable in the horizontal direction of the CT support rod 22, and the CT mounting bracket described above. A fixing bracket for CT 36 that can be fitted to a part of 23 is disposed. The PET support member 33 and the CT support member 35 correspond to the second support member in the present invention, and the PET fixing bracket 34 and the CT fixing bracket 36 correspond to the second fixing member in the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the PET support member 33 is provided with a plurality of sheet metals so as to be disposed along the inner wall surface of the PET fitting cover 31 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). It is formed by bending. As shown in FIG. 5B, the CT support member 35 is also provided with sheet metal at a plurality of locations so as to be disposed along the inner wall surface of the CT fitting cover 32 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). It is formed by bending. The front ends of the support members 33 and 35 are bent from the fitting covers 31 and 32, and are bent so that the front ends are brought into contact with the support rods 12 and 22 at the time of mounting. (See FIG. 7 (a) and FIG. 7 (c)).

  In this embodiment, the same metal fixture is used for the PET fixture 34 and the CT fixture 36, and the shape thereof is as shown in FIG. Both the fixing brackets 34 and 36 are formed to be bent in accordance with the shape at the fitting position of each mounting bracket 13 and 23. As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), both ends of each fixing bracket 34, 36 are disposed in contact with each other along the inner wall surface of each fitting cover 31, 32.

  Next, a specific method at the time of attachment will be described with reference to FIG. The PET support member 33 is brought into contact with the PET support rod 12 as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, and the CT support member is shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D. 35 is brought into contact with the CT support rod 22 so that the support rods 12 and 22 support the joint cover 30 main body, and the fixing brackets 34 and 36 are attached in a state where the support rods 12 and 22 support the joint cover 30 main body. By fitting the mounting brackets 13 and 23 respectively, the mounting brackets 13 and 23 fix the joint cover 30 main body, and the gantry 10 and 20 are attached to each other by the fixed joint cover 30. Specifically, of the joint cover 30, the PET fitting cover 31 is fitted to the PET gantry 10, and the CT fitting cover 32 is fitted to the CT gantry 20. Attach to each other.

  7A, when the PET support member 33 is brought into contact with the PET support rod 12 and is slid, the support rod 33 is such that the PET support member 33 stays at the tip of the PET support rod 12. A stopper 14 having a diameter longer than 12 is provided at the tip of the support bar 12. Similarly, when the CT support member 35 is slid in contact with the CT support rod 22 as shown in FIG. 7C, the CT support member 35 is supported so that it stays at the tip of the CT support rod 22. A stopper 24 having a diameter longer than the diameter of the rod 22 is provided at the tip of the support rod 12.

  If the PET support member 33 is brought into contact with the PET support rod 12 or the CT support member 35 is brought into contact with the CT support rod 22, the attachment positions of the joint cover 30 to the gantry 10, 20 are aligned. If the mounting adjustment is hindered such that the contact position of the support rods 12 and 22 of one gantry 10 and 20 does not match, the support rods 12 and 22 are attached to the gantry 10 and 20 main body. To adjust the mounting direction.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the PET support rod 12 is moved upward or downward, the PET support member 33 that is in contact with the support rod 12 is also moved upward or downward. The PET fitting cover 31 provided with the PET support member 33 and the joint cover 30 also move upward or downward. When the CT support rod 22 is moved as shown in FIG. 7D, the CT support member 35 that is in contact with the support rod 22 is also moved upward or downward, and the CT support member 35 is moved. The PET fitting cover 32, and thus the joint cover 30, provided with the above-mentioned are moved upward or downward. The support bars 12 and 22 are adjusted in the vertical direction so that the fixing brackets 34 and 36 are fitted to the mounting brackets 13 and 23. 20 are respectively fitted.

  After the vertical adjustment with respect to both the support rods 12 and 22, as shown in FIG. 7A, the PET support member 33 is slid in contact with the PET support rod 12, as shown in FIG. 7C. As shown, the CT support member 35 is brought into contact with the CT support rod 22 and slid, and the gantry 10 and 20 are attached to each other by the joint cover 30. At the time of attachment after this adjustment, the support members 33 and 35 are in contact with the support rods 12 and 22 and are fixed in the vertical direction, so there is no need to press and fix the joint cover 30 and the gantry 10 and 20. Can be attached in a fixed state. As a result, both gantry 10 and 20 can be attached easily.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the above-described embodiments, PET has been described as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to SPECT (Single Photon Emission CT) for reconstructing a tomographic image of a subject by detecting a single γ-ray. Applicable.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, a diagnosis for nuclear medicine is performed based on γ rays generated from a subject to which a radiopharmaceutical is administered, but a line source that irradiates the subject with the same γ rays as the radiopharmaceutical. To obtain transmission data (absorption correction data) by detecting the γ-rays, and based on the transmission data, data obtained by detecting γ-rays generated from the subject administered with the radiopharmaceutical ( The present invention can also be applied to the absorption correction of emission data.

  (3) In the embodiment described above, the PET gantry 10 and the CT gantry 20 are placed at the positions shown in FIG. 2 in order to perform nuclear medicine diagnosis with the PET gantry 10 after X-ray CT tomographic imaging with the CT gantry 20. However, the positions of the PET gantry 10 and the CT gantry 20 shown in FIG. You may let them.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, the first support member in the present invention is a rod-like member such as the PET support rod 12 and the CT support rod 22, but the shape is not particularly limited. For example, it may be flat like the PET support member 33 and the CT support member 35. Moreover, although the 2nd support member in this invention was a flat member (sheet metal) like the support member 33 for PET and the support member 35 for CT, it does not specifically limit about a shape. For example, it may be rod-shaped like the PET support rod 12 or the CT support rod 22.

  (5) In the above-described embodiment, the first support members represented by the PET support rod 12 and the CT support rod 22 are arranged so as to be adjustable in the vertical direction with respect to the gantry 10 and 20 main bodies. The support rods 12 and 22 are arranged directly on the mounting brackets 13 and 23, respectively, but depending on the positions of the fixing brackets 34 and 36 fitted to the mounting brackets 13 and 23, the support rods 12 and 22 are arranged. 22 and the mounting brackets 13 and 23 are separated from each other, the support rods 12 and 22 may be directly disposed on the PET / CT covers 11 and 12, Members other than 23 may be directly disposed on the PET / CT covers 11 and 12, and the support rods 12 and 22 may be directly disposed on the members.

It is a schematic perspective view of the diagnostic apparatus which concerns on an Example. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1. (A) is the schematic which expanded the part A of FIG. 2, (b) is the schematic which expanded the part B of FIG. It is the schematic regarding a joint cover, Comprising: (a) is the arrow view of C of FIG. 2, (b) is the arrow view of D of FIG. (A) is the schematic of the support member for PET, (b) is the schematic of the support member for CT. It is the schematic of a fixing metal fitting. (A)-(d) is the side view which showed typically each support rod and support member at the time of attachment. (A), (b) is a schematic side view of the conventional diagnostic apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... PET gantry 12 ... PET support rod 13 ... PET mounting bracket 20 ... CT gantry 22 ... CT support rod 23 ... CT mounting bracket 30 ... Joint cover 33 ... PET support member 34 ... PET fixing bracket 35 ... Support member for CT 36 ... Fixing bracket for CT

Claims (1)

A diagnostic apparatus comprising a nuclear medicine diagnostic casing that encloses all parts for performing a diagnosis for nuclear medicine and an X-ray CT casing that encloses each part for performing tomographic imaging of X-ray CT. The apparatus includes a joint cover that spans the nuclear medicine diagnosis casing and the X-ray CT casing and attaches the two casings to each other, and each casing extends in a horizontal direction, and A first support member that supports the joint cover and a first fixing member that fixes the joint cover are provided. The joint cover is in contact with the first support member and is slidable in the horizontal direction of the first support member. A second support member configured and a second fixing member configured to be fitted to the first fixing member are provided for each of the first support member and the first fixing member, and the second support member is provided. Contact the first support member Thus, the first support member supports the joint cover body, and the first fixing member is fitted to the first fixing member in a state where the first support member supports the joint cover body. The main body is fixed, and each case is configured to be attached to each other by a fixed joint cover, and the first support member is arranged to be vertically adjustable with respect to each case main body. Diagnostic device characterized by.

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