JP3537876B2 - Mammography 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 mammography apparatus for photographing a breast of a subject.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, X-ray imaging apparatuses have been widely used in the development of medical diagnostic apparatuses. As one of such X-ray imaging apparatuses, a mammography apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a mammography apparatus) for the purpose of diagnosing breast cancer in a woman.
There is. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an X-ray tube 2 used in such a mammography apparatus, and a target 11 that receives an electron beam emitted from a cathode (not shown) and radiates the X-ray.
And a beryllium window 12, an additional filter 13, a light irradiation field mirror 14, and a collimator case 15 arranged in a passage of the X-rays emitted from the target 11. A collimator 16 for preventing unnecessary portions from being irradiated with X-rays is detachably mounted in the collimator case 15.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the collimator 16 in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the collimator 16 is formed with a semicircular opening 16a, and the other portions are masked. Then, the X-ray imaging is performed by appropriately replacing the collimator 16 according to the direction in which the breast of the subject is imaged.

However, in the conventional mammography apparatus, the collimator 16 must be attached and detached every time the imaging direction is changed. Therefore, X-ray imaging is performed without the collimator being completely loaded due to an operator's attachment / detachment error. Sometimes. Normally, an X-ray image is completed some time after imaging, and it is often not noticed on the spot that the collimator 16 has been loaded incorrectly during imaging. Therefore, when there is a loading error, the X-ray image of the subject must be taken again after the X-ray image is created, which is very troublesome for the subject. Further, as the number of times of X-ray irradiation increases, the exposure dose given to the subject increases accordingly.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional mammography apparatus, loading of the collimator 16 may not be reliable. In this case, X-ray imaging must be performed again. There is a drawback that much trouble is required, and further, the exposure dose increases.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a mammography apparatus capable of securely mounting a collimator.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an X-ray tube, a collimator for limiting an irradiation field of X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube, and an X-ray tube. X of
Breast fixing means for fixing the subject's breast in the line passing path,
An X-ray film for collecting and imaging the X-rays transmitted through the breast, wherein the collimator comprises a collimator case and a collimator body mounted in the collimator case, wherein the collimator case Detecting means for detecting that the collimator main body is securely mounted in the apparatus, and alarm means for outputting an alarm when the detecting means determines that the collimator main body is not securely mounted. Is the feature.

[0008]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, when the collimator main body is not securely loaded in the collimator case, the operator is notified by an alarm signal such as a lamp or a buzzer. Therefore, the operator can recognize this, and the collimator main body can be securely mounted. Therefore, the same subject does not perform X-ray photography many times, and unnecessary exposure can be avoided.

[0009]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a mammography apparatus (mammography apparatus) according to the present invention. As shown, the mammography apparatus includes an X-ray tube 2 and a lower table 8.
The lower table 8 is provided with a cassette 4 on which an X-ray film (not shown) for X-ray photography is loaded. Then, the breast of the subject 1 is fixed to the cassette 4 by the fixing unit 3. Also, X
The wire tube 2 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the column 6 on the rotation shaft 5. A shielding plate 7 is attached to the X-ray exit of the X-ray tube 2 to prevent the X-ray from irradiating the face of the subject.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a detailed configuration of the X-ray tube 2. As shown in FIG. 4 is substantially the same as FIG. 4 described in the conventional example, except that a microswitch 17 as a detecting means is attached to the back of the collimator case 15 as shown in FIG.

The microswitch 17 operates so that the switch is turned on when the collimator 16 is securely loaded in the collimator case 15. Then, this output signal is supplied to an alarm circuit (not shown). 2 and 3 are the same as those in FIGS. 4 and 5, and thus are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
Usually, the breast of a subject is imaged, and when diagnosing breast cancer, the breast is imaged from three directions. For example, the vertical direction (FIG. 1)
), Right and left (X-ray tube is 90
(A direction rotated by degrees) and a direction at 45 degrees (an intermediate direction between the horizontal direction and the vertical direction). Each time, the collimator 16 shown in FIG. 3 is replaced. That is, since the shape of the opening 16a of the collimator 16 differs depending on the photographing direction, the collimator 16 suitable for each photographing direction is mounted each time.

If the loading of the collimator 16 is incomplete, the microswitch 17 will not be turned on, so this signal is supplied to an alarm circuit, which informs the operator by means of a buzzer, a lamp or the like. This allows the operator to set the collimator 16
Is not securely loaded in the collimator case 15, and adjustment is made so that this is ensured. Therefore,
The photographing is not performed while the collimator 16 is not completely loaded, and a photographing error can be avoided.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the loading of the collimator 16 is incomplete, the operator can be notified by an alarm circuit. It does not provide the necessary exposure and eliminates the hassle of repeatedly taking images.

In this embodiment, the operator is notified by the alarm circuit. However, for example, when the collimator loading is incomplete, the irradiation of the X-ray from the X-ray tube 2 is stopped. An interlock circuit may be provided. In this case,
Even when the operator does not notice the alarm, the X-ray irradiation can be reliably stopped.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A detector is provided in the collimator case, and when the collimator main body is not securely mounted, this is detected and an alarm is output, so that the operator can easily recognize this. For this reason, it is possible to reduce shooting errors. The effect is obtained that unnecessary exposure to the subject can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a configuration of a mammography apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an X-ray tube according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a collimator is loaded in a collimator case.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional X-ray tube.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state where a collimator is mounted in a conventional collimator case.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Subject 2 X-ray tube 3 Fixed part 4 Cassette 5 Rotation axis 6 Prop 7 Shield plate 8 Lower table 11 Target 12 Beryllium window 13 Additional filter 14 Light irradiation field mirror 15 Collimator case
16 Collimator 16a Opening 17 Microswitch

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An X-ray tube, a collimator for limiting an irradiation field of X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube, and an X-ray from the X-ray tube
Breast fixing means for fixing the subject's breast in the line passing path,
An X-ray film for collecting and imaging the X-rays transmitted through the breast, wherein the collimator comprises a collimator case and a collimator body mounted in the collimator case; Detecting means for detecting that the collimator main body is securely loaded in the apparatus, and alarm means for outputting an alarm when the detecting means determines that the collimator main body is not securely mounted. A mammography apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The mammography apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an interlock circuit for forcibly stopping X-ray exposure when it is determined that the collimator main body is not securely mounted. A mammographic apparatus.