JP7390192B2 - X-ray CT device - Google Patents

Description

The embodiments disclosed in this specification and the drawings relate to an X-ray CT apparatus.

An X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) device is a device that generates a tomographic image of a subject by reconstructing data captured while rotating a pair of an X-ray tube and an X-ray detector around the subject at high speed.

The X-ray tube and the X-ray detector are fixed to a substantially cylindrical rotating frame in which a bore, which is an imaging space for the subject, is formed in the center. The rotating frame is made of metal such as aluminum, for example. In addition to the X-ray tube and X-ray detector, the rotating frame includes a power supply device that supplies high-voltage power to the X-ray tube, an oil cooler that exchanges heat with oil to cool the X-ray tube, and a Various gantry components (hereinafter simply referred to as components), such as a data acquisition system called DAS (Data Acquisition System), which converts a large number of output electrical signals into digital signals and transmits them to the equipment body, are installed and fixed. Ru.

The rotating frame to which these components are attached is housed in a housing called a gantry cover or the like for safety reasons. This housing also has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bore formed in the center. However, the housing itself does not rotate.

Many of the components attached to the rotating frame generate heat when energized. Therefore, in order to operate these components safely and stably, it is essential to efficiently cool these components.

Many X-ray CT apparatuses cool components that generate heat by drawing outside air into a housing and forcing the drawn air into the housing as cooling air.

On the other hand, as described above, the heat generating component of the X-ray CT apparatus is mounted on the rotating frame and rotates at high speed within the housing. Therefore, a phenomenon may occur in which warm air that has cooled the components flows in various directions within the housing and is mixed with cold air that has not yet cooled the components. This results in reduced component cooling efficiency.

Special table 2017-507715 publication

One of the problems to be solved by the embodiments disclosed in this specification and the drawings is to improve the cooling efficiency of each component mounted on the rotating frame of an X-ray CT apparatus.

However, the problems to be solved by the embodiments disclosed in this specification and the drawings are not limited to the above problems. Problems corresponding to the effects of each configuration shown in the embodiments described later can also be positioned as other problems.

The X-ray CT apparatus according to the embodiment is an X-ray CT apparatus that images a subject placed on a bed apparatus, and includes a rotating frame to which a plurality of components are fixed, and a non-rotating frame that houses the rotating frame. a housing, the housing is provided with an intake part that takes in cooling air for cooling the components, and an exhaust part that exhausts the cooling air, and the housing is provided with a side facing the bed device. is the front side of the housing and the opposite side is the rear side, one of the exhaust part and the intake part is located at the front side of the housing and is located at the radial end of the housing. The other end is located at a position on the rear side of the housing with the rotating frame in between, and the second end is located at a position on the substantially opposite side in the radial direction. The cooling air is disposed at an end portion, and the cooling air flows within the component so as to be substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating frame.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an X-ray CT apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement of various components within the gantry device. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cooling air inside the gantry device of the first embodiment using arrows. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the flow of cooling air inside a component according to a modification of the first embodiment. An explanatory diagram of a backflow phenomenon of cooling air in a conventional gantry device. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cooling air inside the gantry according to the second embodiment using arrows.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the X-ray CT apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an X-ray CT apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the X-ray CT apparatus 1 includes a gantry device 10, a bed device 30, and a console device 40. The gantry device 10 includes a rotating frame 13 and components such as an X-ray generating device 20, an X-ray high voltage device 21, an X-ray detecting device 25, etc., which are attached to and fixed to the rotating frame 13. The gantry device 10 may also be called a gantry.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the rotation axis direction of the rotation frame 13 when the rotation frame 13 is not tilted or the longitudinal direction of the top plate 33 of the bed device 30 is the z-axis direction, and the z-axis direction The axial direction that is orthogonal to the floor and is horizontal is defined as the x-axis direction, and the axial direction that is orthogonal to the z-axis and perpendicular to the floor is defined as the y-axis direction.

The X-ray generator 20 includes an X-ray tube 11, a wedge 16, and a collimator 17. The X-ray tube 11 is a vacuum tube that generates X-rays by applying a high voltage from the X-ray high voltage device 21 . The X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube 11 pass through the wedge 16 and the collimator 17, and then through the subject P and reach the X-ray detection device 25.

The wedge 16 is a filter for adjusting the amount of X-rays irradiated from the X-ray tube 11. For example, the wedge 16 is a filter that attenuates the X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube 11 so that the X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube 11 to the subject P have a predetermined distribution. For example, the wedge 16 is formed by processing aluminum.

The collimator 17 is for narrowing down the irradiation range of the X-rays that have passed through the wedge 16, and is sometimes called an X-ray movable diaphragm. The collimator 17 narrows down the irradiation range of X-rays by forming a slit using a combination of a plurality of lead plates, for example.

The X-ray detection device 25 includes an X-ray detector 12 and a DAS (Data Acquisition System) 18. The X-ray detector 12 detects the X-rays that have passed through the subject P and converts them into electrical signals corresponding to the amount of X-rays.

The X-ray detector 12 has an X-ray detecting element array in which a plurality of X-ray detecting elements are arranged in the channel direction along one circular arc centered on the focal point of the X-ray tube 11 . Furthermore, the X-ray detector 12 has a structure in which a plurality of X-ray detection element rows are arranged in a slice direction orthogonal to the channel direction.

The X-ray detector 12 includes, for example, a grid, a scintillator array, and a photosensor array. The grid is disposed on the X-ray incident side of the scintillator array and has an X-ray shielding plate that has a function of absorbing scattered X-rays. The grid is sometimes called a collimator (one-dimensional collimator or two-dimensional collimator). A scintillator array is an array of multiple scintillators. Each scintillator has a scintillator crystal that outputs light with an amount of photons corresponding to the amount of incident X-rays. A photosensor array is an arrangement of multiple photosensors. Each optical sensor converts the light output from the scintillator into an electrical signal according to the amount of light. Instead of the scintillator and optical sensor configuration described above, a configuration including a semiconductor element that directly converts incident X-rays into electrical signals may be used.

The DAS 18 includes an amplifier circuit, an AD conversion circuit, a data transfer circuit, and the like. The electrical signal output from each X-ray detection element of the X-ray detector 12 is amplified by an amplifier circuit, and then converted from an analog signal to a digital signal by an AD conversion circuit to generate detection data.

The detection data generated by the DAS 18 is transmitted, for example, from a transmitter having a light emitting diode (LED) provided on the rotating frame 13 to a non-rotating portion of the gantry device 10 (for example, the fixed frame 14, see FIG. 2, etc.) via optical communication. is transmitted to a receiver having a photodiode and transferred to the console device 40. The fixed frame 14 is a frame that rotatably supports the rotating frame 13. Note that the method of transmitting the detection data from the rotating frame 13 to the non-rotating portion of the gantry device 10 is not limited to optical communication, and any method may be used as long as it is a non-contact type data transmission.

The control device 15 includes, for example, a processor provided on a control board, a memory circuit, and drive mechanisms such as a motor and an actuator. The control device 15 has a function of receiving input signals from the console device 40 or the input interface 43 attached to the gantry device 10 and controlling the gantry device 10 and the bed device 30. For example, the control device 15 receives an input signal and performs control to rotate the rotating frame 13, control to tilt the gantry device 10, and control to operate the bed device 30 and the top plate 33. The control device 15 may be provided in the gantry device 10 as shown in FIG. 1, but may also be provided in the console device 40.
The bed device 30 is a device on which a subject P to be scanned is placed and moved, and includes a base 31, a bed driving device 32, a top plate 33, and a support frame 34.

The base 31 is a casing that supports the support frame 34 movably in the vertical direction (y direction). The bed driving device 32 is a motor or an actuator that moves the top plate 33 on which the subject P is placed in the longitudinal direction (z direction) of the top plate 33. The top plate 33 provided on the upper surface of the support frame 34 is a plate on which the subject P is placed.

In addition to the top plate 33, the bed driving device 32 may move the support frame 34 in the longitudinal direction (z direction) of the top plate 33. Further, the bed driving device 32 may move the base 31 of the bed device 30 together. If the present invention is applicable to standing CT, a method may be adopted in which a patient moving mechanism corresponding to the top plate 33 is moved.

The console device 40 has a memory 41 , a display 42 , an input interface 43 , a network connection circuit 44 , and a processing circuit 45 . In this specification and the drawings, the console device 40 is described as being separate from the gantry device 10, but the gantry device 10 may include some or all of the components of the console device 40. Further, in this specification and the drawings, the console device 40 will be described below assuming that all functions are executed by a single console, but these functions may be executed by a plurality of consoles.

The memory 41 has a configuration including a recording medium readable by a processor, such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a semiconductor memory element such as a flash memory, a hard disk, an optical disk, and the like. Further, the memory 41 stores, for example, projection data, reconstructed image data, volume data of the subject P acquired in advance, and the like.

The display 42 displays various information. For example, the display 42 outputs a medical image (CT image) generated by the processing circuit 45, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for accepting various operations from the user, and the like. For example, the display 42 is a liquid crystal display, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, or the like. Further, the display 42 may be provided on the gantry device 10. Further, the display 42 may be of a desktop type, or may be configured with a tablet terminal or the like that can communicate wirelessly with the main body of the console device 40.

The input interface 43 accepts various input operations from the user, converts the received input operations into electrical signals, and outputs the electrical signals to the processing circuit 45 . For example, the input interface 43 receives from the user information such as acquisition conditions when acquiring projection data, reconstruction conditions when reconstructing a CT image, and image processing conditions when generating a post-processed image from a CT image. For example, the input interface 43 may include a mouse, a keyboard, a trackball, a switch, a button, a joystick, a touchpad that performs input operations by touching the operation surface, a touchscreen that integrates a display screen and a touchpad, and an optical sensor. This is realized by the non-contact input circuit and voice input circuit used. Further, the input interface 43 may be provided in the gantry device 10. Further, the input interface 43 may be configured with a tablet terminal or the like that can communicate wirelessly with the main body of the console device 40.

The network connection circuit 44 implements various information communication protocols depending on the network type. The network connection circuit 44 connects the X-ray CT apparatus 1 and other devices such as an image server according to these various protocols. For this connection, an electrical connection via an electronic network or the like can be applied. Here, electronic networks refer to information and communications networks in general that utilize telecommunications technology, including wireless/wired hospital backbone LANs (Local Area Networks) and Internet networks, as well as telephone communications networks, optical fiber communications networks, and cable networks. Includes communications networks and satellite communications networks.
The processing circuit 45 is a processor that controls the overall operation of the X-ray CT apparatus 1 by reading and executing programs stored in the memory 41.

(component cooling mechanism)
Next, a cooling mechanism for various components in the gantry device 10 of the X-ray CT apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the arrangement of various components within the gantry device 10. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 2(a) is a structural explanatory diagram of the gantry device 10 viewed from the front direction, and FIG. 2(b) is a structural explanatory diagram of the gantry device 10 viewed from the side. The left side of FIG. 2(b) corresponds to the front side, and the right side corresponds to the rear side. Here, the front direction of the gantry device 10 (or the front side of the gantry device 10) refers to the direction in which the bed device 30 is installed with respect to the gantry device 10 (or the side where the bed device 30 is installed). It is. Conversely, the rear direction of the gantry device 10 (or the rear side of the gantry device 10) is the opposite direction (or the opposite side) to the front direction.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), a plurality of components 200 are mounted and fixed on the rotating frame 13. Here, the components 200 include, in addition to the aforementioned X-ray generator 20, X-ray high voltage device 21, and X-ray detector 25, various devices that rotate together with the rotating frame 13, such as an oil cooler and a power supply device. It is a general term for For example, in FIG. 2A, a component 200 that is an X-ray generator 20 is attached to the upper part of the rotating frame 13, and a component 200 that is an X-ray detector 25 is attached to the lower part of the rotating frame 13. It is installed. Hereinafter, each of these devices will be collectively referred to as component 200 unless there is a need to distinguish between types.

The rotating frame 13 is a frame body (frame body) with a hole formed in the center and a substantially cylindrical outer circumference, and is made of metal such as aluminum, for example. A hole in the center of the rotating frame 13 is called a bore 400, and is a space in which a subject is transported during imaging. The bore 400 penetrates the gantry device 10 from the front side to the rear side.

Holes and recesses for mounting each component 200 are formed in the rotating frame 13. Each component 200 mounted on the rotating frame 13 is fixed to the rotating frame 13 by appropriate fixing means so that it can sufficiently withstand high-speed rotation.

The rotating frame 13 to which each component 200 is attached and fixed is housed in a housing 300 from the viewpoint of safety and the like. This housing 300 also has a substantially cylindrical shape with a bore 400 formed in the center.

The housing 300 itself does not rotate, but the rotating frame 13 housed in the housing 300 rotates together with each component 200. The rotating frame 13 and each component 200 are surrounded by the housing 300, so that they are not actually visible from the outside. In FIG. 2A, the front side portion of the housing 300 is removed to show the internal structure of the housing 300.

FIG. 2(b) is a structural explanatory diagram of the Y'-Y" cross section of FIG. 2(a) seen from the side. As mentioned above, the left side of FIG. 2(b) is the front side, and the right side is the front side. is the rear side.As shown in Fig. 2(b), a fixed frame 14 is provided on the rear side of the rotating frame 13.The fixed frame 14 is also a cylindrical frame with a bore 400 formed in the center. The fixed frame 14 is tiltably supported at both ends on the back side and the front side of the page in FIG. 2(b) by two upright frames (not shown) extending from the floor. .

A direct drive motor including, for example, an annular rotor and a stator is provided between the fixed frame 14 and the rotating frame 13. In addition, between the fixed frame 14 and the rotating frame 13, there is an annular slip ring that supplies power from the fixed frame 14 side to the rotating frame 13 side, and between the fixed frame 14 side and the rotating frame 13 side. A communication device is provided for performing contactless data communication such as optical communication.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), each component 200 is arranged within an annular space of the rotating frame 13. As shown in FIGS. Further, as shown in FIG. 2(b), each component 200 is arranged between a first surface 410 and a second surface 420 that are orthogonal to the rotation axis 430 of the rotation frame 13 and parallel to each other. There is. The first surface 410 is, for example, an annular virtual plane in contact with the front end of the rotating frame 13 on the front side, and the second surface 420 is, for example, an annular virtual plane in contact with the rear end of the rotating frame 13 on the rear side. It is a virtual plane.

Most of each component 200 generates heat when energized. Therefore, in order to operate these components 200 safely and stably, it is essential to efficiently cool these components 200.

In the X-ray CT apparatus 1 of this embodiment, external air is taken into the housing 300 and the taken air is forced to flow inside the housing 300 as cooling air, thereby cooling components that generate heat.

For this purpose, the housing 300 is provided with an intake section 310 that takes in cooling air and an exhaust section 320 that exhausts the cooling air. The intake part 310 is configured, for example, as an intake port for sucking external air into the housing 300. Further, the exhaust section 320 includes a fan (ie, an exhaust fan) for forcibly exhausting cooling air warmed by the heat of each component 200 to the outside of the housing 300.

The intake section 310 is disposed on the outer circumference of the housing 300 and is provided at a first end, which is one end of the rotating frame 13 in the radial direction, at a position on the first surface 410 side of the housing 300 . For example, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the intake section 310 is located between the front side of the housing 300 and the front side of the rotating frame 13 (for example, the first surface 410). The housing 300 is disposed at the lower end of the housing 300.

On the other hand, the exhaust part 320 is also arranged at the outer peripheral part of the housing 300. However, the exhaust part 320 is provided at a second end that is located on the second surface 420 side of the housing 300 and is an end that is substantially opposite to the first end in the radial direction. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the exhaust part 320 is located between the rear side rear surface of the housing 300 and the rear side rear surface (for example, the second surface 420) of the rotating frame 13. The housing 300 is disposed at the upper end of the housing 300.
In this way, when the rotating frame 13 is viewed from the side, the intake section 310 and the exhaust section 320 are arranged diagonally apart from each other with the rotating frame 13 in between.

Although FIG. 2 shows an example in which the number of intake parts 310 and the number of exhaust parts 320 are three each, the numbers of intake parts 310 and exhaust parts 320 are not limited to this. There may be one intake section 310 and one exhaust section 320, or four or more each. Furthermore, the number of intake sections 310 and the number of exhaust sections 320 do not need to be the same.

Apart from the intake section 310 and exhaust section 320 provided in the housing 300, the housing of each component 200 that requires cooling also includes an intake section (hereinafter referred to as component intake section 210) and an exhaust section (hereinafter referred to as component intake section 210). An exhaust section 220) is provided.

The component intake section 210 and the component exhaust section 220 may be provided one each for the component 200, or two or more of each may be provided, and the number may be determined according to the amount of heat generated by each component 200. .

The component intake section 210 is configured, for example, as an intake port for sucking the cooling air flowing inside the housing 300 into the inside of each component 200. Further, the component exhaust section 220 is configured to include a fan (that is, an exhaust fan) for forcibly exhausting the cooling air warmed inside the component 200 to the outside of the component 200.

The component intake section 210 is provided on the first surface 410 side of the housing of each component 200, that is, on the side of the housing 300 on which the intake section 310 is disposed. On the other hand, the component exhaust section 220 is provided on the second surface 420 side of the housing of each component 200, that is, on the side of the housing 300 where the exhaust section 320 is disposed.
For example, the component intake section 210 is provided on the front side of the housing of each component 200, and the component exhaust section 220 is provided on the rear side.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of cooling air inside the gantry device 10 configured as described above using thick black arrows. FIG. 3(a) is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2(a), and is a diagram of the flow of cooling air inside the gantry device 10 as viewed from the front direction. Further, FIG. 3(b) is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2(b), in which the flow of cooling air inside the gantry device 10 is viewed from the side in the Y'-Y'' cross section of FIG. 2(a). This is a diagram.

As described above, the intake section 310 of the housing 300 is disposed, for example, at the lower end of the housing 300, between the front surface of the housing 300 and the front surface of the rotating frame 13. Therefore, the "fresh cooling air" sucked in from the intake section 310 flows upward through the annular space between the front side of the housing 300 and the front side of the rotating frame 13 from below the housing 300. It will split into two parts and ascend in the circular direction. Here, "fresh cooling air" refers to the flow of air outside the housing 300 before absorbing the heat of each component 200.

The fresh cooling air sucked in from the air intake section 310 ascends through the annular space on the front side of the housing 300, and is sequentially drawn into each component 200 from the component air intake section 210 on its path. .

The cooling air taken in from the component intake section 210 moves inside each component 200 from the first surface 410 (for example, the front side surface) to the second surface 420 in parallel to the rotation axis 430 (see FIG. 2). (e.g., toward the rear side surface) and is exhausted from the component exhaust section 220.

The cooling air exhausted from each component exhaust section 220 is "warm cooling air" that has absorbed the heat inside the component 200. The "warm cooling air" exhausted from the component exhaust section 220 at the bottom of the housing 300 rises from the bottom to the top in the annular space on the rear side of the housing 300, and hits each of the components along its path. The "warm cooling air" exhausted from the component exhaust section 220 is sequentially collected and directed toward the exhaust section 320 provided at the upper end of the rear side of the housing 300. The collected warm air is then exhausted to the outside of the housing 300 from the exhaust section 320.

According to the cooling mechanism of the X-ray CT apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment described above, the flow direction of the cooling air is unified and consistency is ensured inside the housing 300 and inside each component 200. ing.

Specifically, first of all, the positional relationship between the position of the component intake section 210 and the position of the component exhaust section 220 is made common among all the components 200 that require cooling. As a result, the direction of flow of cooling air inside all components 200 that require cooling is unified. For example, by arranging the component intake section 210 on the front side and the component exhaust section 220 on the rear side of all the components 200 that require cooling, the interior of all the components 200 that require cooling can be The direction of flow is unified so that the cooling air flows from the front to the rear.

Second, by making the direction of the flow of cooling air inside each component 200 parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating frame 13, even when the rotating frame 13 is rotating, air is not drawn into each component 200. , it becomes possible to unify the flow direction of the exhausted cooling air. For example, in all the components 200 that require cooling, even if the rotating frame 13 is rotating, cooling air is always taken in from the front direction of the component 200 and exhausted from the rear direction. Can be done.

Third, consistency between the direction of the cooling air flowing inside the housing 300 and the direction of the cooling air flowing inside each component 200 is ensured, and as a result, the flow of the cooling air throughout the gantry device 10 is is becoming smoother. For example, the cooling air that has flowed in from the lower part of the front side of the housing 300 flows upward through the space on the front side of the housing 300 and flows into the interior of each component 200 from the front side of each component 200 . After that, the cooling air (warmed cooling air) discharged from the rear side of each component 200 is concentrated while rising through the space on the rear side of the housing 300, and finally flows from the upper part of the rear side of the housing 300. The air is exhausted to the outside of the gantry device 10.

In contrast, with conventional mounting systems, the cooling performance is optimized and designed for each component, depending on the individuality of each component, such as the internal structure and heat distribution of each component. I was often beaten. Therefore, the position of the intake part and the position of the exhaust part differ for each component, and the direction of the intake cooling air and the direction of the exhaust cooling air differ for each component. As a result, a phenomenon has occurred in which warm cooling air exhausted from the exhaust section of a certain component is drawn in from the intake section of another component.

In other words, the warm cooling air that should normally be discharged to the outside of the mount device flows back to the intake side of the component, and as a result, the cold cooling air taken in from the outside of the mount device mixes with the warm cooling air that flows backwards. A phenomenon occurred in which the components were cooled by the cooling air that was generated. As a result, the cooling efficiency of the entire gantry device was reduced.

On the other hand, in the X-ray CT apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above, the direction of the cooling air flow among the components 200 is unified, and the cooling air flow direction is unified inside the housing 300 and inside each component 200. consistency is ensured. Therefore, the backflow phenomenon of cooling air that occurs in conventional gantry devices is suppressed, and the overall cooling efficiency of the gantry device 10 can be improved.

(Modified example of the first embodiment)
Several modifications are possible to the X-ray CT apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a component 200 according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 4(a) shows the component 200 of the first embodiment described so far. In the component 200 of the first embodiment, an intake port 210 as an intake section 210 is provided on the front side of the component 200, and an exhaust fan 220 as an exhaust section 220 is provided on the rear side.

On the other hand, in a first modification of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4(b), an intake fan 230 is provided as an intake part 210 on the front side of the component 200, and an exhaust fan 230 as an exhaust part 220 is provided on the rear side. A port 240 is provided.

In the second modification example of the first embodiment shown in FIG. A louver 250 is provided instead. Each blade of the louver 250 is tilted toward the rear, and as a result, the cooling air pushed out by the wind pressure of the intake fan 230 is directed toward the rear, as shown by the arrow at the top of FIG. 4(c). Become.

In both the first modified example and the second modified example, cooling air flows into each component 200 from the front side and is discharged from the rear side, similarly to the first embodiment.

In the explanation so far, the direction of the macroscopic flow of cooling air inside the gantry 10 is from the lower front side of the housing 300 to the upper rear side of the housing 300 with the rotating frame 13 in between. 300 intake sections 310 and exhaust sections 320 are arranged.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the direction of the macroscopic flow of the cooling air inside the frame device 10 may be from the upper front side of the housing 300 to the lower rear side of the housing 300 with the rotating frame 13 in between. , the intake section 310 and the exhaust section 320 of the housing 300 may be arranged. In this case as well, by setting the direction of the flow of cooling air within the component 200 from the front side to the rear side, consistency of the flow of cooling air throughout the gantry device 10 is ensured.

On the other hand, contrary to the above, the direction of the macroscopic flow of cooling air within the gantry device 10 may be from the rear side to the front side. That is, the direction of the macroscopic flow of cooling air inside the gantry device 10 is such that the direction of the macroscopic flow of the cooling air in the intake section 310 and the exhaust section is from the rear lower part of the housing 300 to the front upper part of the housing 300 with the rotating frame 13 in between. 320 may be arranged, or the intake section 310 and the exhaust section 320 may be arranged from the upper rear side of the housing 300 toward the lower front side of the housing 300. In this case, by setting the direction of the flow of cooling air within the component 200 from the rear side to the front side, consistency of the flow of cooling air throughout the gantry device 10 is ensured.

(Second embodiment)
The X-ray CT apparatus 1 of the second embodiment further reduces the backflow phenomenon of cooling air than the first embodiment. As described above, in the X-ray CT apparatus 1 of the first embodiment, the direction of the cooling air flow between the components 200 is unified, and the cooling air flow is uniform inside the housing 300 and inside each component 200. Since flow consistency is ensured, the phenomenon of backflow of cooling air is suppressed compared to conventional gantry apparatuses, and the overall cooling efficiency of the gantry apparatus 10 can be improved.

However, gaps exist in areas other than each component 200 of the rotating frame 13 even when each component 200 is attached. This is because the rotating frame 13 is required not only to securely fix each component 200 but also to be lightweight.

Therefore, the phenomenon in which a portion of the cooling air exhausted from the rear side exhaust section 220 of each component 200 flows around to the front side through the gap in the rotating frame 13 (that is, the cooling air backflow phenomenon) can be completely prevented. Cannot be excluded.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of this backflow phenomenon. 5(a) is a diagram showing the flow of cooling air when the gantry device 10 is viewed from the rear direction, contrary to FIG. 3(a), and FIG. Similarly, it is a diagram showing the flow of cooling air when the gantry device 10 is viewed from the side.

In FIG. 5A, arrows surrounded by broken ellipses schematically show cooling air flowing back from the rear side to the front side through the gap in the rotating frame 13. Similarly, in FIG. 5(b), cooling air flowing back from the rear side to the front side is schematically shown by thin arrows.
The presence of such backflow causes warmed cooling air to flow back into component 200, reducing cooling efficiency.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the X-ray CT apparatus 1 of the second embodiment is provided with a backflow prevention plate 500 for preventing backflow of cooling air. Similar to FIG. 5(a), FIG. 6(a) is a diagram of the gantry device 10 viewed from the rear direction, and is a diagram showing the backflow prevention plate 500 and the flow of cooling air regulated by the backflow prevention plate 500. It is. FIG. 6(b) is a side view of the gantry device 10, and similarly to FIG. 6(a), it shows the backflow prevention plate 500 and the flow of cooling air regulated by the backflow prevention plate 500. It is a diagram.

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, the backflow prevention plate 500 is a plate fixed so as to cover almost the entire surface of the rotating frame 13 on the exhaust side, that is, the second surface 420 side. In the embodiment in which the cooling air flows from the front side to the rear side of the component 200 as described in the first embodiment, the backflow prevention plate 500 is provided on the rear side of the rotating frame 13. Conversely, in an embodiment in which the cooling air flows from the rear side to the front side of the component 200, the backflow prevention plate 500 may be provided on the front side of the rotating frame 13.

An opening approximately the same size as the exhaust fan 220 or exhaust port 240 is formed in the backflow prevention plate 500 at a position facing each of the exhaust portions 220 (exhaust fan 220 or exhaust port 240) of each component 200. The area other than the opening of the backflow prevention plate 500 is closed.

Such a backflow prevention plate 500 prevents the cooling air exhausted from the exhaust section 220 of each component 200 from flowing back to the intake side of the component 200 through the gap in the rotating frame 13. As a result, it becomes possible to further improve the cooling efficiency of the X-ray CT apparatus 1 of the first embodiment.
According to the X-ray CT apparatus of at least one embodiment described above, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of each component mounted on the rotating frame.

Although several embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, changes, and combinations of embodiments can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and gist of the invention as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

1 X-ray CT device 10 Frame device 11 X-ray tube 12 X-ray detector 13 Rotating frame 14 Fixed frame 18 DAS
20 X-ray generator 200 Component 210 Component intake section 220 Component exhaust section 300 Housing 310 Intake section 320 Exhaust section 410 First surface 420 Second surface 430 Rotating shaft 500 Backflow prevention plate

Claims (7)

An X-ray CT device that photographs a subject placed on a bed device,
a rotating frame to which multiple components are fixed;
a non-rotating housing that houses the rotating frame;
Equipped with
The housing is provided with an intake part that takes in cooling air for cooling the component, and an exhaust part that exhausts the cooling air,
When the side of the housing facing the bed device is the front side of the housing, and the opposite side is the rear side,
The intake part is disposed at a lower end of the housing between the front side of the housing and the front side of the rotating frame,
The exhaust part is disposed at an upper end of the housing between the rear side rear surface of the housing and the rear side rear surface of the rotating frame,
The component intake section provided in the component is provided on the front side of the casing of each component, the component exhaust section provided on the component is provided on the rear side of the casing of each component,
The cooling air flows within the component so as to be substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating frame.
X-ray CT device. The intake section includes an intake port that takes in the cooling air into the housing, and the exhaust section includes a fan that discharges the cooling air from the housing.
The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1 . The intake section is configured to include a plurality of the intake ports, and the exhaust section is configured to include a plurality of the fans.
The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 . The component intake section includes a component intake port or a component intake fan that intakes the cooling air.
The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1. The component exhaust section is configured to include a component exhaust port or a component exhaust fan that exhausts the cooling air.
The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1 or 4 . An X-ray CT device that photographs a subject placed on a bed device,
a rotating frame to which multiple components are fixed;
a non-rotating housing that houses the rotating frame;
Equipped with
The housing is provided with an intake part that takes in cooling air for cooling the component, and an exhaust part that exhausts the cooling air,
When the side of the housing facing the bed device is the front side of the housing, and the opposite side is the rear side,
One of the exhaust section and the intake section is disposed at a position on the front side of the housing and at a first end that is a radial end of the housing, and the other is disposed at a first end that is a radial end of the housing. disposed at a position on the rear side of the housing with the rotating frame in between, and at a second end that is an end on the substantially opposite side in the radial direction;
The cooling air flows within the component substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating frame,
The plurality of components are arranged between a first surface and a second surface that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotation frame,
The intake part is located on the first surface side and is disposed at the first end, and the exhaust part is located on the second surface side and is disposed at the second end. located at the position of
The rotating frame includes a backflow prevention plate that covers the second surface side of the rotating frame,
The backflow prevention plate prevents cooling air discharged from all or part of the plurality of components from returning from the second surface side to the first surface side,
The housings of all or part of the plurality of components are configured to include a component exhaust port or a component exhaust fan that exhausts the cooling air,
The backflow prevention plate has an opening for ventilation formed at a position facing the component exhaust port or the component exhaust fan, and an area of the backflow prevention plate other than the opening is closed.
X-ray CT device. A louver for discharging the cooling air is provided in the housing of some of the plurality of components.
The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1 .