JP2009207562A - X-ray photography equipment and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide X-ray photography equipment and its method that relaxes the pains of the breast when photographed by X-ray equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The X-ray photography equipment is provided with a photographing stand 22 where the subject W's breast N contacts a photographing surface 20, and front and rear press plates 50 and 51 that contact the breast N and press her breast N against the photographing surface 20. The front press plate 50 gives pressure to the root area of the breast N, while the rear press plate 51 gives pressure to its tip area. Forces applied to both front and rear press plates 50 and 51 are controlled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical X-ray imaging apparatus and an X-ray imaging method.

  In the current medical device industry, various devices have been developed due to intense competition due to various social backgrounds. As the competition in the medical device industry increases and matures, there is a demand for the development of a device that is more comfortable for the subject than before.

One example of such an apparatus is an X-ray imaging apparatus (mammography) that images a subject's breast for the purpose of early detection of breast cancer (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). In recent years, X-ray receivers that directly acquire digital images using FPD have been developed from X-ray receivers that use cassettes by CR, and the development of the device itself is free as well as further digitization and networking in the medical field. The degree is promoted. As described above, since the cassette telescope is realized by the FPD, in the X-ray imaging apparatus, technical progress has been seen such that the thickness of the imaging stand becomes thinner than before.
JP 2002-219124 A US5706327 US2005 / 0063509 US6577703

  By the way, in the X-ray imaging apparatus, the screening rate is sluggish because the breast is compressed and painful. For this reason, it has been required to reduce the pain of the subject so that the patient can be comfortably consulted. In particular, since the subject after the operation for breast cancer feels pain more sensitively than a healthy person, this demand is strongly expressed.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray imaging apparatus and an X-ray imaging method in which pain felt by a subject at the time of imaging is reduced.

  The invention described in claim 1 includes an imaging table on which a subject's breast abuts on the imaging surface, and a compression plate that abuts on the breast and presses the breast toward the imaging surface, wherein two or more compression plates are provided. It is divided into a plurality of compression plate portions, and each force applied to the compression plate portions is controlled.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the subject brings the breast into contact with the imaging surface of the imaging table. In this state, the compression plate presses the breast against the imaging surface by moving the compression plate toward the imaging surface.

  Here, the compression plate is divided into two or more and is composed of a plurality of compression plates, and each force applied to each compression plate is controlled at the time of photographing. Therefore, a large force can be applied to the compression plate portion that contacts the breast portion that needs to be pressed with a large force, and a small force can be applied to the compression plate portion that contacts the breast portion that may be pressed with a small force. . Thereby, it can avoid that the breast part pressed with unnecessary force arises, and the pain which a test subject feels reduces significantly. Normally, the breast part that needs to be pressed with a large force is the root side part, and the breast part that may be pressed with a small force is the tip side part (nipple side part).

  The invention according to claim 2 is an apparatus capable of MLO imaging, and at the time of MLO imaging, each of the four locations of the breast root side upper part, the breast root side lower part, the breast tip side upper part, and the breast tip side lower part, respectively. The pressing plate is divided into four so as to be pressed, and four pressing plate portions are provided.

  Thereby, it is possible to efficiently reduce pain at the breast portion where pain is most easily felt during MLO imaging.

  The invention described in claim 3 is an X-ray imaging method in which a subject's breast is pressed against the imaging surface of the imaging table and X-rays are irradiated to perform imaging, wherein the breast is pressed with a predetermined pressure distribution. It is characterized by shooting.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to press the breast portion that needs to be pressed with a large force with a large force and press the breast portion that may be pressed with a small force with a small force. This greatly reduces the pain felt by the subject.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the base side of the breast is pressed with a large force and the distal end side of the breast is pressed with a small force.

  When imaging with an X-ray imaging apparatus, the breast portion that normally needs to be pressed with a large force is the root portion, and the breast portion that may be pressed with a small force is the tip side portion. Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 4, it is possible to achieve a great effect on pain reduction with a simple pressure distribution.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the X-ray imaging device and X-ray imaging method which reduced the pain which a test subject feels in a breast at the time of imaging | photography are implement | achieved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described and embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the second and subsequent embodiments, the same components as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

[First Embodiment]
First, the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an X-ray imaging apparatus (mammography) 10 according to the present embodiment. The X-ray imaging apparatus 10 is an apparatus that images the breast of a standing subject W (see FIG. 4) with X-rays. CC (head-to-tail direction (Cranio &#8722; Caudal)) imaging and MLO (inner / outer oblique) This is a device that can perform both of the lateral direction (Medium-Lateral-Oblique) imaging.

  The X-ray imaging apparatus 10 includes a substantially U-shaped measurement unit 12 provided on the front side of the apparatus and a base unit 14 that supports the measurement unit 12 from behind. The measurement unit 12 is provided with a rotation shaft 16 that extends to the back surface and is rotatably supported by the base portion 14. Measurement is performed by the rotation shaft 16 being supported by the base portion 14. The part 12 is rotatably supported by the base part 14.

  The measurement unit 12 includes an imaging table 22 on which a planar imaging surface 20 that abuts a breast N (see FIGS. 3 and 4) of a standing subject W (patient) and an X-ray tube (not shown). ) To irradiate X-rays for examination toward the imaging surface 20, a front-side pressing unit 26 and a back-side pressing unit 27 that press the breast N against the imaging surface 20, and the imaging table 22. A holding unit 28 that holds the radiation irradiation unit 24, the front-side pressing unit 26, and the back-side pressing unit 27 is provided. The holding unit 28 holds the imaging table 22 and the radiation irradiation unit 24 so that the imaging surface 20 and the radiation irradiation unit 24 are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. And the holding | maintenance part 28 is the front side press part 26 and the back side so that the space | interval of the front side press part 26 and the imaging | photography surface 20 and the space | interval of the back side press part 27 and the imaging | photography surface 20 are each variable. The pressing portions 27 are individually slidably held.

  A pair of handles 40 that the subject W grips with both hands at the time of CC imaging are integrally formed on the imaging table 22 on the radiation irradiation unit side of the imaging surface 20. The grip portion 42 that constitutes the handle 40 and is gripped by the subject W is a substantially straight rod-shaped portion that is inclined to the opposite side to the subject side (that is, the back side for the subject) with respect to the normal line of the imaging surface 20. As it gets closer, it gradually approaches the subject W side. The handle 40 is made of a soft member. In addition, the imaging table 22 has a chest wall abutting portion 30 on the front side (subject side) that abuts a chest part below the breast N of the subject W (see FIG. 4) during CC imaging. The front side of the chest wall contact portion 30 is flat. A radiation detector (not shown) that emits radiation that has passed through the imaging surface 20 is disposed inside the imaging table 22.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the front-side pressing portion 26 extends from the front-side contact portion 44 that contacts the breast N and the front-side contact portion 44 to the back side (the side opposite to the subject side). The front side extending part 46 is provided. The imaging table 22 is provided with a support portion 36 (see FIG. 1) between the pair of handles 40 for supporting and moving the rear side end portion of the front side extension portion 46, and the front side extension portion 46. Is driven by a support 36. The back side pressing part 27 also includes a back side contact part 45 that contacts the breast N and a back side extension part 47 that extends from the back side contact part 45 to the back side. The back side extension part 47 is also driven by the support part 36. And the support part 36 is hold | maintaining so that the front side extension part 46 and the back side extension part 47 can be slid separately.

  The front side contact portion 44 has a substantially U shape in plan view, and as shown in FIG. 2, the front portion 48 parallel to the chest wall contact portion 30 and the lower end edge of the front portion 48 from the back side. A front-side compression plate portion 50 that extends inward and compresses the breast N, and side portions 52 and 54 that respectively extend from both side ends of the front portion 48 to the back side. The position of the end edge 50E on the back side of the front side compression plate portion 50 is a preferable position for pressing the root side portion of the breast N. Therefore, the rear side length LB (see FIG. 3) of the front side compression plate portion 50 is shorter than the rear side length LS (see FIG. 3) of the side portions 52 and 54.

  The back side pressing portion 27 has a tray shape as shown in FIG. The back-side contact portion 45 includes a back surface portion 49 fixed to the front-side end portion of the back-side extending portion 47 and a back-side compression plate portion that extends from the lower end edge of the back surface portion 49 to the front side and compresses the breast N. 51 and side portions 53 and 55 extending from both side ends of the back surface portion 49 and extending from both side ends of the back compression plate portion 51 in the imaging table width direction V, respectively. The position of the front edge 51E of the back compression plate 51 is determined in accordance with the position of the back edge 50E of the front compression plate 50, and presses the distal end portion of the breast N. This is the preferred position above.

  Moreover, the back side extension part 46 is extended from the center position of the back side contact part 44 by planar view at the time of CC imaging | photography. The front-side extending portion 46 is composed of two extending portions 46A and 46B so as to be positioned on both sides of the back-side extending portion 47 in a plan view during CC photography. With this configuration, the front-side pressing part 26 and the back-side pressing part with respect to a central plane M (see FIG. 1) that passes through the center of the imaging surface 20 and is orthogonal to the imaging surface 20 and also orthogonal to the imaging table width direction V. 27 is a surface target shape. Accordingly, the front-side extending portion 46 can apply a pressing force to the front-side contact portion 44 evenly to the left and right, and the back-side extending portion 47 can apply a pressing force to the back-side contact portion 45 evenly to the left and right. It has a structure that can.

  The base unit 14 is provided with a control unit 58, which controls the front side so that the breast N is pressed with a set pressing force by the front side pressing unit 26 and the back side pressing unit 27. The force applied to the extension part 46 and the back side extension part 47 is controlled. At the time of imaging, it is necessary to press with a large force on the side of the breast where the wall thickness is thick. On the other hand, even when pressed with a small force on the side of the breast where the wall thickness is thin, high-accuracy imaging can be performed. For this reason, in this embodiment, the set pressing force for pressing the front side pressing portion 26 is large, and the setting pressing force for pressing the back side pressing portion 27 is small.

(Function, effect)
Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described. In addition, for convenience of explanation, explanation will be given with CC photography, but the same operation and effect are obtained with MLO photography.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the subject W brings the breast N into contact with the imaging surface 20 of the X-ray imaging apparatus 10 when undergoing a medical examination by CC imaging. When the X-ray imaging apparatus 10 is set to the imaging mode in this state, the front-side pressing unit 26 and the back-side pressing unit 27 move toward the imaging surface 20.

  When the front side abutting portion 44 abuts against the root side portion of the breast N and further presses, and the force applied to the front side pressing portion 26 by the support portion 36 reaches the set pressing force, the front side pressing is controlled by the control of the control portion 58. The movement of the part 26 stops. And the movement of the back side press part 27 still continues.

  When the back side abutting portion 45 abuts against the distal end portion of the breast N and further presses, and the force applied to the back side pressing portion 27 by the support portion 36 reaches the set pressing force, the back side pressing is controlled by the control of the control portion 58. The movement of the unit 27 stops. X-ray imaging is performed in this state.

  As described above, in the X-ray imaging apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the front-side contact portion 44 and the back-side contact portion 45 that are divided into two are provided as compression plates that press the breast N. . At the time of imaging, a large pressing force F1 (see FIG. 4) is applied to the front side contact portion 44 that presses the thick breast root side, and the back side contact that presses the thin breast tip side. A small pressing force F2 (see FIG. 4) is applied to the portion 45. Therefore, the pain felt by the subject W can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional case where the entire breast is pressed so as to have a uniform thickness.

  Moreover, the control part 58 which controls the pressing force of the front side pressing part 26 and the back side pressing part 27, respectively is provided, and the pressing force applied to the front side pressing part 26 and the back side pressing part 27 is preset. . Thereby, it is ensured that the front-side contact portion 44 and the back-side contact portion 45 are pressed with the set pressing force.

  In addition, although it image | photographs in the state in which the level | step difference produced with the edge 50E of the front side compression board part 50, and the edge 51E of the back side compression board part 51, by performing a simple data correction process, it becomes an image obtained. There is no problem.

  In the present embodiment, the force applied to the front-side pressing unit 26 and the back-side pressing unit 27 has been described as being preset in the control unit 58. However, the distance between the front-side compression plate unit 50 and the imaging surface 20 is described. It is also possible to adopt a form in which the distance D2 between D1 and the back compression plate portion 51 and the imaging surface 20 is set in the control portion 58.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the X-ray imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment has a front-side first pressing portion 62 and a front-side second pressing portion 64 instead of the front-side pressing portion 26 as compared with the first embodiment. It has.

  The front-side first pressing part 62 and the front-side second pressing part 64 correspond to the front-side pressing part 26 divided into two at the position of the central plane M. Accordingly, the front-side first pressing portion 62 includes a front-side first compression plate portion 72 that contacts and presses against the breast, and a front-side first compression portion 72 that extends to the back side continuously from the front-side first compression plate portion 72. 1 extension portion 82. The front-side second pressing portion 64 includes a front-side second compression plate portion 74 that contacts and presses against the breast, and a front-side second compression plate portion 74 that extends to the back side continuously from the front-side second compression plate portion 74. 2 extending portion 84.

  Further, the X-ray imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a back side first pressing part 66 and a back side second pressing part 68 instead of the back side pressing part 27 as compared with the first embodiment.

  The back side first pressing part 66 and the back side second pressing part 68 correspond to the back side pressing part 27 divided into two at the position of the central plane M. Accordingly, the back-side first pressing portion 66 includes a back-side first compression plate portion 76 that presses against the breast, and a back-side first extension that extends from the back-side first compression plate portion 76 to the back side. Part 86. The back side second pressing portion 68 includes a back side second compression plate portion 78 that presses against the breast, and a back side second extension that extends from the back side second compression plate portion 78 to the back side. Part 88.

  In addition, the X-ray imaging apparatus according to this embodiment includes a front-side first extension portion 82, a front-side second extension portion 84, a back-side first extension portion 86, and a back-side second extension portion 88. Are provided in place of the support portion 36. The support portion (not shown) is provided so as to be slidable individually.

  The pressing forces by the front side first extending portion 82, the front side second extending portion 84, the back side first extending portion 86, and the back side second extending portion 88 are the same as in the first embodiment. Are individually controlled by the control unit.

(Function, effect)
Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, CC imaging is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in MLO imaging, the front-side first compression plate 72 is the breast root-side upper part BU, the front-side second compression plate 74 is the breast-base-side lower part BL, and the back-side first compression plate part. 76 presses the breast tip side upper TU, and the back side second compression plate 78 presses the breast tip side lower TL.

  In the present embodiment, the pressing force set in the control unit is the pressing force of the front-side first pressing unit 62 having the front-side first compression plate 72, that is, the front-side first pressing that presses the breast root-side upper BU. The pressing force of the part 62 is the largest. The pressing force of the front side second pressing portion 64 having the front side second pressing plate portion 74 and the pressing force of the back side first pressing portion 66 having the back side first pressing plate portion 76 are medium forces. Thus, the pressing force of the back side second pressing portion 68 having the back side second compression plate portion 78 is the smallest.

  Thereby, the pain of the breast which the subject W feels at the time of MLO imaging | photography can further be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the front-side first compression plate portion 72 and the front-side second compression plate portion 74 that are divided into four as the compression plates that contact the breast N and press the breast N toward the imaging surface 20. In the embodiment, the back side first compression plate portion 76 and the back side second compression plate portion 78 are provided. However, the back side first compression plate portion 78 may be further divided (for example, 16 divisions). As a result, the degree of freedom in setting the pressing force distribution is further increased, and it is possible to further reduce breast pain felt by the subject W.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, these embodiments are merely examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that the scope of rights of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

1 is a perspective view of an X-ray imaging apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is an expansion | deployment perspective view which shows the front side press part and back | inner side press part of the X-ray imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the front side press part and back | inner side press part of the X-ray imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view explaining X-ray imaging with a thin breast in the X-ray imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a side view which shows the front side 1st press part, the front side 2nd press part, the back side 1st press part, and the back side 2nd press part of the X-ray imaging device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 X-ray imaging device 22 Imaging stand 20 Imaging surface 50 Front side compression board part 51 Back side compression board part 72 Front side 1st compression board part 74 Front side 2nd compression board part 76 Back side 1st compression board part 78 Back side Second compression plate N Breast W Subject

Claims (4)

An imaging table in which the subject's breast abuts the imaging surface;
A compression plate that contacts the breast and presses the breast toward the imaging surface;
With
The compression plate is divided into two or more and is composed of a plurality of compression plate portions,
An X-ray imaging apparatus, wherein each force applied to the compression plate is controlled. A device capable of MLO photography,
At the time of MLO imaging, the compression plate is divided into four so as to press the four parts of the breast root side upper part, the breast root side lower part, the breast tip side upper part, and the breast tip side lower part. The X-ray imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plate portion is provided. An X-ray imaging method in which a subject's breast is pressed against an imaging surface of an imaging table and irradiated with X-rays to perform imaging,
An X-ray imaging method, wherein imaging is performed with a breast pressed with a predetermined pressure distribution.   The X-ray imaging method according to claim 3, wherein the base side of the breast is pressed with a large force and the distal end side of the breast is pressed with a small force.

Images