JP2008134205A - Nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus capable of reducing a time for a whole body imaging, and the whole body or a plurality of body parts can be imaged simultaneously. <P>SOLUTION: Gantries 10A, 10B equipped with detectors 11A, 11B collecting the nuclear medicine data of a body to be inspected P can be moved by the transfer mechanism 12A, 12B, therefore, imaging can be performed with two gantries. As a result, the whole body or the plurality of the body parts can be imaged simultaneously, and also it does not take the time for the whole body imaging. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to a nuclear medical diagnostic apparatus that obtains nuclear medical data of a subject based on radiation generated from the subject to which a radiopharmaceutical is administered.

Conventionally, this type of apparatus will be described using a PET apparatus as an example. In the conventional PET apparatus, the top plate on which the subject is placed moves relative to the gantry set, and PET imaging is performed. In addition, a technique for performing X-ray CT imaging while the X-ray CT gantry self-runs is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-164829 (5th page, FIG. 1)

  However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems. The conventional apparatus has a single gantry, and it takes time to image a subject over a wide range. Therefore, there is a time lag between the nuclear medicine data collected from the subject at the start of imaging and the nuclear medicine data collected from the subject at the end of imaging, and isochronous data is acquired. Is difficult. Further, if the blood flow in the brain and the heart can be measured at the same time, the conventional apparatus cannot image a plurality of parts at the same time, although it can be expected to have a great diagnostic effect.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus that can simultaneously image the whole body or a plurality of parts and that does not take time when the whole body is imaged. To do.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus that obtains nuclear medicine data of a subject based on radiation generated from the subject to which a radiopharmaceutical is administered, and detects the radiation by detecting the radiation. A plurality of gantry including a group of detectors for collecting medical data, and a moving mechanism for moving at least one of the plurality of gantry.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one of a plurality of gantry provided with a detector group for collecting nuclear medicine data of a subject can be moved by a moving mechanism. Images can be taken using a plurality of gantry. As a result, the whole body or a plurality of parts can be imaged simultaneously, and it takes less time to image the whole body.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of gantry is imaged a predetermined number of times while being fixed to the subject (invention according to claim 2). Thereby, for example, a plurality of closely related parts such as the brain and the heart can be simultaneously imaged, and isochronous data of the plurality of parts can be acquired.

  In this invention, when imaging a predetermined number of times with the plurality of gantry fixed to the subject, it is preferable to move the plurality of gantry to an imaging start position based on position information obtained in advance. Item 3). This saves the trouble of positioning the gantry before imaging.

  In this invention, when imaging a predetermined number of times in a state where the plurality of gantry is fixed to the subject, data analysis means for analyzing the correlation of each nuclear medicine data collected from the plurality of gantry, It is preferable to provide an output means for outputting the analyzed correlation. Thereby, the correlation of the nuclear medicine data collected from a plurality of related areas can be understood, and an accurate diagnosis can be performed.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of gantry is moved within a predetermined range for imaging. For this reason, for example, when the whole gantry is moved by simultaneously moving the plurality of gantry, the time required for the imaging is shorter than when imaging with one gantry, and for nuclear medicine collected from the subject at the start of imaging. There is less time lag between the data and the nuclear medicine data collected from the subject at the end of imaging.

  In the present invention, when the plurality of gantry is moved within the predetermined range and imaged, the movement for controlling the moving mechanism to move the plurality of gantry to the photographing start position based on the predetermined position information. It is preferable to provide a control means (the invention according to claim 6). This saves the trouble of positioning the gantry before imaging.

  According to the nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, since at least one of the plurality of gantry provided with the detector group for collecting the nuclear medicine data of the subject can be moved by the moving mechanism, the plurality of gantry Can be used for imaging. As a result, the whole body or a plurality of parts can be imaged simultaneously, and it takes less time to image the whole body.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a moving mechanism that moves the gantry according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the position information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a graph of the correlation output in the first embodiment. In addition, this Example 1 including Example 2 mentioned later demonstrates taking a PET apparatus as an example as a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus.

  The overall configuration of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment is an apparatus that performs so-called dynamic collection. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to the first embodiment is roughly divided into two gantry 10A and gantry 10B, an examination table 20, and a console 30. The gantry 10A includes a detector group 11A for collecting radiation medical data by detecting radiation generated from a subject to which a radiopharmaceutical is administered. In addition, the gantry 10A includes a moving mechanism 12A that moves the gantry. The other gantry 10B has the same configuration.

  The examination table 20 includes a top plate 22 on which the subject P is placed. The inspection table 20 is commonly used for the gantry 10A and the gantry 10B. The gantry 10A and gantry 10B are arranged such that the top plate 22 passes through the tunnel portion.

  The console 30 includes an input device 31 and a display device 32.

A control system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. For example, when it is desired to simultaneously image the brain and heart of the subject, the position information of the imaging start positions of the gantry 10A and the gantry 10B is input by the input device 31 on the console 30. The input position information is input to the imaging control unit 33. The position information input to the imaging control unit 33 is sent to the gantry control units 13A and 13B of the gantry 10A and 10B. The gantry controllers 13A and 13B drive the moving mechanisms 12A and 12B according to the sent position information, and move the gantry 10A and 10B to the imaging start position. The imaging control unit 33 sends an imaging timing signal together with position information to the gantry control units 13A and 13B. The gantry controllers 13A and 13B send imaging timing signals to the detectors 11A and 11B. The detectors 11A and 11B perform imaging simultaneously according to the imaging timing signal. The nuclear medicine data of the subject obtained by imaging is collected in the data collection unit 34 in the console 30. The collected nuclear medicine data is sent to the data analysis unit 35. The data analysis unit 35 analyzes the correlation between the brain and heart of the subject from the transmitted nuclear medicine data. The analyzed correlation is sent to the display device 32 and displayed. The collected nuclear medicine data is sent to the image reconstruction unit 36, and is reconstructed into a three-dimensional image by the image reconstruction unit 36. The reconstructed three-dimensional image is sent to the display device 32 and displayed.
Here, the imaging control unit 33 according to the first embodiment corresponds to a movement control unit of the present invention. The data analysis unit 35 corresponds to the data analysis means of this invention.

A moving mechanism for moving the gantry will be described with reference to FIG. The gantry moving mechanism 12A is provided below the gantry 10A. The gantry moving mechanism 12A includes a driver D, a motor M, drive wheels 15A, and an encoder E. A rail 16 is provided under the gantry moving mechanism 12A. The positional information of the imaging start position of the gantry 10A is sent from the imaging control unit 33 to the gantry control unit 13A. The position information sent to the gantry control unit 13A is sent to the driver D of the moving mechanism 12A. The driver D drives the motor M according to the position information. The motor M drives the drive wheel 15A. An encoder E is attached to the drive wheel 15A, and the amount of rotation of the drive wheel 15A is detected. The peripheral surface of the drive wheel 15A has a groove shape, and moves on the rail 16 so that the rail 16 is sandwiched between the grooves.
The gantry 10B also includes a similar moving mechanism 12B.

A method of obtaining position information for moving the gantry 10A and the gantry 10B of the first embodiment to the imaging start position will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 shows, for example, when image data of a subject imaged by an X-ray imaging apparatus, an X-ray CT apparatus or the like is recorded on a recording medium and read by a reading means (not shown) of the nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. 4 is a CR image of the subject displayed on the display device 32. FIG. In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the gantry 10A images the heart and the gantry 10B images the brain.

  First, as a premise for obtaining position information, a reference position before the gantry 10A moves to the imaging start position is determined. Here, the position where the right end of the tunnel of the gantry 10A in FIG. At the right end of the gantry 10A tunnel, as shown in FIG. 3, a projector 17A and a light receiver 18A are horizontally opposed to each other (however, in FIG. is there). The projector 17A and the light receiver 18A are optical sensors or the like. When the head of the subject P is detected, a signal for stopping the movement of the gantry 10A or the top plate 22 is sent to the gantry control unit 13A.

  Next, position information for moving the gantry 10A from the reference position to the imaging start position is obtained. The operator determines the position of the top of the head, heart, and toes with a mouse or the like. Thereby, the number of pixels of the CR image from the top of the head to the heart and from the top of the head to the toes is specified. Here, in FIG. 4, the number of pixels from the top of the head to the heart is represented by an English lowercase letter l, and the number of pixels from the top of the head to the toes is represented by an uppercase letter L. The actual length from the top of the subject P to the heart is P1, and the height from the top to the toes is PL. Then, these relationships are expressed by the following formula: l: L = Pl: PL. If the height PL of the subject is substituted, the length Pl from the top of the head to the heart can be obtained. Furthermore, since the detector 11A is usually provided inside the both ends of the gantry 10A, the length from the right end of the gantry 10A tunnel to the right end of the detector 11A is set to the length Pl from the top of the subject to the heart. Add. The length calculated in this way corresponds to the position information of the present invention. The position information is calculated by the imaging control unit 33.

4 is a whole body image of the subject P, but when the CR image is a part of the subject P, for example, an upper body image, the gantry 10A is moved to the imaging start position as follows. Find the location information for
First, as a premise for obtaining position information, a reference position before the gantry 10A moves to the imaging start position is determined. The method for determining the reference position is as described above.
Next, position information for moving the gantry 10A from the reference position (the top of the head) to the imaging start position (the heart) is obtained. At this time, the CR image is an upper body image from the top of the subject P to the marker attached to the subject P.
The operator uses the mouse or the like on the CR image to determine the marker portion corresponding to the top of the head, the heart, or the lower end of the upper body image. Thereby, the number of pixels of the CR image from the top of the head to the heart and from the top of the head to the marker portion is specified. At this time, the symbol L in FIG. 4 is the number of pixels from the top of the subject P to the marker portion, and the height PL of the subject P is the length from the actual top to the marker portion. The actual length PL from the top of the head to the marker portion is obtained by actual measurement when attaching the marker to the subject P. The number l of pixels from the top of the CR image to the heart, the number L of pixels from the top of the CR image to the marker portion, and the length PL from the top of the actual head to the marker portion are expressed as l: L = Pl: PL By substituting, the length Pl from the top of the head to the heart is obtained. Further, by adding the length from the right end of the tunnel of the gantry 10A to the right end of the detector 11A to the actual length Pl from the top of the head to the heart, the gantry 10A is moved from the reference position (top) to the imaging start position (heart). Position information is required.

In addition to the method of obtaining the position information by calculation as described above, when the enlargement ratio of the CR image is known in advance, the number of pixels and the pixel pitch from the top of the CR image to the imaging start position are determined. If it is known, the length from the top of the head to the imaging start position can be obtained without performing the above calculation.
The gantry 10B similarly obtains position information.

  The output to the display device of Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The display device 32 displays the correlation between the brain and heart nuclear medicine data of the subject P as shown in FIG. In the graph of FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the amount of radiation detected from the bloodstream of the brain or heart by the detector groups of the gantry 10A and 10B. The solid line graph is obtained from the gantry 10A that images the heart, and the dotted line graph is obtained from the gantry 10B that images the brain. From these graphs, doctors can diagnose the relationship between cerebral blood flow and cardiac blood flow.

  According to the invention described in the first embodiment, at least one of the gantry 10A and 10B including the detectors 11A and 11B that collect the nuclear medicine data of the subject P can be moved by the moving mechanism 12A or 12B. Since it can, it can image using two gantry. As a result, the whole body or a plurality of parts can be imaged simultaneously, and it takes less time to image the whole body.

  According to the invention described in the first embodiment, a plurality of closely related parts such as the brain and the heart are simultaneously imaged a predetermined number of times simultaneously with the gantry 10A and 10B fixed to the subject P. Thus, isochronous data of a plurality of parts can be acquired.

  According to the invention described in the first embodiment, by including the imaging control unit 33 that controls the moving mechanisms 12A and 12B to move the gantry 10A and 10B to the imaging start positions based on the predetermined position information, This saves you the trouble of positioning the gantry before imaging.

  According to the invention described in the first embodiment, when imaging is performed a predetermined number of times while the gantry 10A, 10B is fixed to the subject, the correlation between the nuclear medicine data collected from the gantry 10A, 10B is calculated. By providing the data analysis unit 35 for analysis and the display device 32 for outputting the analyzed correlation, the correlation between the nuclear medicine data collected from the two related regions can be understood and an accurate diagnosis can be performed. be able to.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to the second embodiment is an embodiment that assumes a case where a whole body is subjected to PET imaging for cancer screening, for example. 6, 7, and 8 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the gantry according to the second embodiment.

  Since the overall configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a description thereof is omitted here.

  Since the configuration of the control system of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the description thereof is omitted here. The nuclear medicine data collected by the data collection unit 34 in the console 30 is reconstructed into a three-dimensional image by the image reconstruction unit 36 and displayed on the display device 32.

  Since the moving mechanism for moving the gantry of the second embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the description thereof is omitted here.

  Since the method for obtaining position information for moving the gantry 10A and the gantry 10B of the second embodiment to the imaging start position is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

The operation of the gantry 10A and 10B of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 6, the gantry 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B move away from each other from the center of the subject P to perform whole-body PET imaging. FIG. 6A is a diagram before the movement, and FIG. 6B is a diagram after the movement. By moving in this way, the nuclear medicine data collected from the gantry 10A and the nuclear medicine data collected from the gantry 10B have isochronism at each corresponding position.
In FIG. 7, the gantry 10 </ b> A and 10 </ b> B move toward each other toward the center of the subject, and whole-body PET imaging is performed. FIG. 7A is a diagram before the movement, and FIG. 7B is a diagram after the movement. By moving in this way, the nuclear medicine data collected from the gantry 10A and the nuclear medicine data collected from the gantry 10B have isochronism at each corresponding position.
In FIG. 8, PET imaging of the whole body is performed by moving the gantry 10A and 10B at the same time in the same direction from the foot toward the head. The direction of movement may be from head to foot. FIG. 8A is a diagram before the movement, and FIG. 8B is a diagram after the movement.

  A method of image reconstruction according to the second embodiment will be described. In the image reconstruction method of the second embodiment, the nuclear medicine data obtained by the gantry 10A and the nuclear medicine data obtained by the gantry 10B are reconstructed independently, and the reconstructed image is made into one image. May be displayed on the display device 32 later. Further, the nuclear medicine data obtained by the gantry 10A and 10B may be reconstructed as one nuclear medicine data and displayed on the display device 32 as one image. The nuclear medicine data obtained by the gantry 10A and the gantry 10B may be reconstructed and displayed on the display device 32 as two images.

  According to the invention described in the second embodiment, it is possible to move the gantry 10A, 10B within a predetermined range and take an image. For example, when the gantry 10A, 10B is moved simultaneously to image the whole body, one gantry is used. Compared to when imaging is performed, the time required for imaging is shortened, and the time between the nuclear medicine data collected from the subject at the start of imaging and the nuclear medicine data collected from the subject at the end of imaging is Misalignment is reduced.

  According to the invention described in the second embodiment, by including the imaging control unit 33 that controls the moving mechanisms 12A and 12B so as to move the gantry 10A and 10B to the imaging start position based on predetermined position information, This saves you the trouble of positioning the gantry before imaging.

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

  (1) In each of the above-described embodiments, the PET apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention detects a single gamma ray and reconstructs a tomographic image of the subject. It can also be applied to devices.

  (2) Although the detectors 11A and 11B that detect radiation may be stationary types that detect radiation while still, the radiation detectors 11A and 11B detect radiation while rotating around the subject P. A rotating type may be used.

  (3) In each embodiment described above, when the gantry 10A, 10B is moved to the imaging start position, both gantry are moved. However, only one of the gantry 10A, 10B and the top plate are used. It is also possible to use a configuration in which In the second embodiment, when PET imaging is performed with the gantry 10A, 10B, both gantry are moved. However, only one of the gantry 10A, 10B and the top plate are moved. Is possible. As described above, there is no particular limitation as long as at least one of the plurality of gantry is moved.

  (4) In each of the embodiments described above, two gantry have been described, but three or more gantry may be used.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram according to the first embodiment. It is the schematic of the moving mechanism which moves the gantry of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure where it uses for description which calculates | requires the positional information of Example 1. FIG. 4 is a graph of correlation output in Example 1. It is the schematic of operation | movement description when the gantry of Example 2 moves outside from a center. It is the schematic of operation | movement description when the gantry of Example 2 moves from an outer side to a center. It is the schematic of operation | movement description when the gantry of Example 2 moves from right to left of drawing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10A ... Gantry 10B ... Gantry 11A ... Detector 11B ... Detector 12A ... Movement mechanism 12B ... Movement mechanism 20 ... Examination table 22 ... Top plate 30 ... Console 31 ... Input device 32 ... Display device P ... Subject

Claims (6)

  A group of detectors for collecting the nuclear medicine data by detecting the radiation in a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus for obtaining nuclear medicine data of the subject based on radiation generated from the subject to which the radiopharmaceutical is administered A nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus, comprising: a plurality of gantry including: a moving mechanism that moves at least one of the plurality of gantry.   2. The nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein imaging is performed a predetermined number of times while the plurality of gantry are fixed to a subject.   The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a movement control unit that controls the movement mechanism so as to move the plurality of gantry to an imaging start position based on position information obtained in advance. Medical diagnostic device.   3. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to claim 2, wherein data analysis means for analyzing the correlation of each nuclear medicine data collected from the plurality of gantry, and output means for outputting the analyzed correlation. A nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus characterized by comprising.   2. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of gantry is moved and imaged within a predetermined range.   6. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising movement control means for controlling the moving mechanism so as to move the plurality of gantry to an imaging start position based on predetermined position information. Nuclear medicine diagnostic equipment.

Images