JP3313755B2 - Tomography equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tomographic apparatus for irradiating an object to be inspected with radiation and detecting radiation transmitted through the object to obtain a tomographic image of the object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a tomography apparatus, in particular, a traverse / rotation type tomography apparatus (CT), an object to be inspected is mounted on a rotary table, and the rotary table is mounted on a traverse traveling gantry as a linear transfer means. The X-ray source irradiates the inspection object with radiation while rotating and linearly moving the inspection object. The detector detects the radiation transmitted through the inspection object and collects the detection data. Then, a tomographic image of the inspection object is reconstructed and displayed on a display or the like.

[0003] Further, such a tomography apparatus is designed to prevent radiation from an X-ray source from leaking outside.
Although the whole is surrounded by the radiation shielding room, the moving end of the traverse traveling gantry for moving the inspection object extends to near the outer wall of the radiation shielding room to move the inspection object into and out of this radiation shielding room. A sample door is provided on the outer wall. When the specimen is to be taken in and out, the traverse traveling platform is moved to the moving end near the sample door, the sample door is opened, and a hand or a part of the body is put into the radiation shielding room from this door, and Inspectors are taking in and out.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional tomography apparatus, a sample door formed in a part of the radiation shielding chamber is opened, and a hand or a part of a body is put through the door to cover the specimen. Since the inspection object is taken in and out, there is a problem that workability is poor. In particular, there is a problem that it is difficult to take in and out a heavy object.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tomography apparatus capable of taking an object out of a radiation shielding room so that the object can be easily taken in and out of a radiation shielding room. .

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a tomographic apparatus according to the present invention is rotated with respect to an object to be inspected.
The traverse along the plane of rotation
Traverse / rotation system that irradiates radiation while detecting radiation transmitted through the object and obtains a tomographic image of the object.
A tomography apparatus of an application type , wherein the linear movement is formed in a part of radiation shielding means for shielding the whole including the inspection object so as to prevent the radiation irradiating the inspection object from leaking out. An opening provided on an extension of
A gist comprising control means for controlling the moving means so that an object to be inspected placed on the moving means for performing the linear movement is moved in and out of the radiation shielding means through the opening. I do.

[0007]

In the tomography apparatus according to the present invention, an opening is formed in a part of the radiation shielding means, and the inspection object is controlled so as to be moved into and out of the radiation shielding means through the opening. .

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a tomography apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. The tomographic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 shows a traverse / rotation type tomographic apparatus (CT), in which an object to be inspected (not shown) is placed on a rotary table 1 shown at a substantially center in a circle. The turntable 1 is provided on a traverse traveling base 7 that travels on the rail 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow 5.

An X-ray tube 9 and an X-ray detector 11 are provided on both sides of the rotary table 1 so as to sandwich an object (not shown) to be inspected. The transmitted radiation passes through the inspection object, and the transmitted radiation is detected by the detector 11. The detection signal from the detector 11 is collected by the data collection unit 13 (DAS), and a tomographic image of the inspection object is reconstructed by the CPU 15 and displayed on the display 19. Note that a console 17 is connected between the CPU 15 and the display 19.

A mechanism control unit 23 is connected to the CPU 15, and controls the traveling operation of the traverse traveling gantry 7 and the rotation operation of the turntable 1 by the mechanism control unit 23. Further, an X-ray control unit 21 is connected to the CPU 15 via the mechanism control unit 23,
The X-ray tube 9 is controlled by the line control unit 21.

Further, in FIG. 1, an X-ray tube 9, a detector 1
1. The portion including the rotary table 1, the traverse traveling gantry 7, and the data collection unit 13 is surrounded and shielded by an X-ray shielding room 25 indicated by a solid line, thereby preventing radiation from leaking from the portion to the outside. It should be noted that in FIG.
Although the mechanism control unit 23, the CPU 15, and the like are shown as being outside the X-ray shield room 25, they may be provided inside the X-ray shield room 25.

Still referring to FIG.
And the traverse traveling platform 7 traveling on the rail 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow 5 has one end of the rail 3 extended to near the sample door 27 formed in a part of the X-ray shielding chamber 25. However, when the sample door 27 is opened, the traverse traveling platform 7 traveling on the rail 3 passes through the sample door 27 as shown by a dotted line in FIG.
The turntable 1 on the traverse traveling gantry 7 can also go out of the X-ray shield room 25 and can be placed on the turntable 1 outside this. The inspection object can be easily replaced.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a side view, respectively, mainly showing the mechanical structure of the tomography apparatus shown in FIG. In the plan view shown in FIG. 1A, the X-ray tube 9 is placed with a rotary table 1 on which an object to be inspected is placed vertically.
And the detector 11 are shown facing each other, these X-ray tubes 9
And the detector 11 is connected to an elevation control unit 33 via the arm 31.
It is connected to. 2A is surrounded by an X-ray shielding chamber 25 and shielded from the outside, but a sample door 27 is formed on the right side wall portion, and the rotary table 1 passes through the sample door 27. Can go outside.

As shown in detail in FIG. 1B, the elevation control unit 33 has an elevation encoder 35 mounted on the upper side.
On its lower side, an elevating rail 37 to which the arm 31 is slidably connected is provided, whereby the arm 31 can move up and down in the direction shown by the arrow 51,
As the arm 31 moves up and down, the X-ray tube 9 and the detector 11 connected to the arm 31 also move up and down as shown by an arrow 51, and when they move downward, the X-ray tube 9 and the detector The inspection object not to be inspected is the X-ray tube 9 and the detector 11
It can be set between.

An elevating drive unit 41 is provided immediately below the elevating control unit 33, and an elevating drive shaft 39 is provided in parallel with the elevating rail 37. The elevating drive unit 41 and the elevating drive shaft 39 move up and down. The arm 31 moves up and down on the rail 37 for use.

The traverse traveling stand 7, the rail 3 and the traverse drive shaft 43 are provided at the lowermost side of the lifting rail 37, and a traverse drive section 44 is provided near these sides. By the control, the traverse traveling stand 7 can move on the rail 3 in the lateral direction indicated by the arrow 53.

More specifically, the traverse traveling stand 7 is
It is attached so as to overhang the rail 3. Specifically, the traverse traveling gantry 7 is connected to the rail 3 at the leftward portion in FIG. 2B, which is not below the portion where the rotary table 1 is mounted, and the lower side of the rightward portion of the traverse traveling pedestal 7 is a rail. Floating from three.

As a result, in FIG.
When the sample door 27 formed on the outer wall of the X-ray shielding chamber 25 adjacent to the right end of the traverse traveling rack 7 is opened and the traverse traveling platform 7 moves the rail 3 rightward, the traverse traveling platform 7 is overhanged. The rotary table 1 riding on the portion can exit the X-ray shield chamber 25 through the sample door 27 as shown by a dotted line.
The connecting part of the traverse traveling gantry 7 connected to the X-ray shielding room 25 remains in the X-ray shield room 25 and supports the rotary table 1.

As described above, by configuring the rotary table 1 so as to be able to go outside through the sample door 27 formed in the X-ray shielding chamber 25, the inspection object is placed on the rotary table 1. It is possible to extremely easily and safely carry out, take out, replace, and replace the inspection object placed on the rotary table 1.

FIG. 3A is a side view of a main part of a tomography apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure,
Only the turntable 1 is shown in the X-ray shield room 25, and other components are omitted. And in the figure,
An L-shaped sample door 61 is slidably attached to the upper right corner of the X-ray shield chamber 25 by the upper rail 63 and the lower rail 64, and the sample door 61 is slid and opened.
When the rotary table 1 is moved to the side of the door 61, the inspection object (not shown) on the rotary table 1 can be easily replaced from the opened door 61. FIG.
FIG. 3B is a view of the tomographic apparatus shown in FIG. 3A as viewed from the right side, and it can be seen that the sample door 61 can be opened by sliding to the left.

FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are diagrams showing the configuration of the main part of still another embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIG.
FIG. 4A shows a 3rd-generation tomography apparatus of the X-ray tube 9 and the detector 11 as viewed from the right side of FIG. Inspection object 7
It is configured to be able to rotate about 1.

As can be clearly understood from FIG. 4B, the inspection object 71 is placed near the right end of the table 73, and the X-ray tube 9 and the inspection object 71 are vertically opposed to each other. A detector 11 is provided. A table driving device 75 is provided below the table 73 so that the table 73 can be moved in the horizontal and vertical directions as indicated by arrows 77 and 79.

A sample door 27 is formed on the outer wall on the right side of the X-ray shielding chamber 25 that surrounds and shields the entirety. The sample door 27 is opened, and the table 73 is opened by the table driving device. When moved to the right, the table 73 and the inspection object 71 placed thereon can go out of the X-ray shielding room 25, thereby easily replacing the inspection object on the table. be able to.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An opening is formed in a part of the radiation shielding means, and the inspection object is controlled so as to be moved in and out of the radiation shielding means through this opening. It can be done easily and safely. Further, since the inspection object can be taken out, a jig for replacing the inspection object and a robot can be provided outside the X-ray shielding room.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a tomography apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a side view mainly showing a mechanical configuration of the tomography apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 Rotary table 3 Rail 7 Traverse traveling gantry 9 X-ray tube 11 Detector 25 X-ray shielding room 27 Sample door 44 Traverse drive unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-93351 (JP, A) JP-A-60-64235 (JP, A) JP-A-63-67552 (JP, A) 137464 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 23/00-23/227 A61B 6/00-6/14

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rotation plane and a rotation plane with respect to an object to be inspected.
A traverse / rotation type tomography apparatus that irradiates radiation while performing a linear movement (traverse) along the axis , detects radiation transmitted through the object, and obtains a tomographic image of the object. Te, formed on a part of the radiation shielding means for shielding the entire including inspection object so as to prevent the radiation irradiating the object to be inspected to leak to the outside, the straight line
An opening portion provided on an extended line of the movement, the linear movement
A tomographic apparatus having a control means for controlling the moving means so that an object to be inspected placed on the moving means to be moved in and out of the radiation shielding means through the opening is inserted into and out of the radiation shielding means. . 2. Radiation arranged opposite to each other across an object to be inspected.
Rotating the source and radiation detector set against the inspection object
Irradiates radiation and detects radiation that has passed through the inspection object
Rotate / rotate to obtain tomographic image of inspected object
A tomographic apparatus, wherein an object to be inspected is rotated by an axis of rotation.
Moving means for linearly moving in the direction and irradiating the inspection object
Inspect the object to prevent radiation from leaking out
Formed on a part of the radiation shielding means that shields the whole including
An opening provided on an extension of the linear movement;
The inspection object placed on the moving means is moved through the opening.
Between the inside and outside of the radiation shielding means
Having control means for controlling the moving means.
Tomography equipment.