JPH02142537A - Magnetic resonance imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a magnetic resonance imaging device having a holding equipment capable of disposing a receiving coil rapidly in a desired position by providing a constitution comprising a fitting part mounted to a head part supporting base, a holding part to which a receiving coil is mounted, a flexible pipe and a coating material having flexibility. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of non-magnetic plastic members are connected to each other to form a flexible pipe 7, which pipe 7 is inserted into a hose 8, and the end part of the hose 8 is fixed to an end part member 10a by a thermally shrinkable tube 9. One end of a pipe 2 or a plurality of pipes 2 is mounted to a fixing part 3 and the other end to a holding part 1, whereby a holding equipment 20 for a receiving coil 4 is formed. The holding equipment 20 having the receiving coil 4 mounted thereto can be fixed by a fixing screw 3a in a determined position by incorporating and sliding the fixed part 3 in a rail 6 on the upper surface of a bed top plate 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, and more particularly to a mechanism for holding a receiving coil.

(Prior art) Conventionally, a subject is placed in a static magnetic field, and a gradient magnetic field and a high-frequency pulse are applied to the subject in a superimposed manner to selectively excite a desired slice plane, and the electromagnetic wave signal (hereinafter referred to as echo) generated therefrom is selectively excited. Magnetic resonance imaging equipment (hereinafter referred to as M
It is called an HI device. ) are used for biological diagnosis. This MR1 device is designed to accurately capture echo signals from the subject when photographing very small areas such as the head or thyroid, or when echo signals cannot be collected with the receiving coil installed in the MHI device body. A diagnostic method is used in which a dedicated receiving coil is held in close contact with or in a fixed state close to the surface of the imaging site. As a means of holding it,
There are methods such as attaching it to the imaging site using adhesive tape, firmly holding it with a string, and using a special holder, but recently, attempts have been made to develop flexible holders.

For example, there is one described in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-9611, which is currently pending.

This holder will be explained below using the drawings. Figure 7 shows
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a holder to which a receiving coil 31 is attached is placed on a bed top plate 32 on which a subject is placed. This holder consists of a flexible pipe 35 and a receiving coil 31. The pipe 35 is made of a plurality of non-magnetic members 40 made of plastic or the like connected together as shown in FIG. 8(a) (see FIG. 8(b)).

This flexible pipe 35 is made up of a plurality of pieces in order to increase the holding strength to hold the receiving coil in a desired position, and is configured with an appropriate angle θ to avoid a cantilevered indication state ( (See Figure 7(b)). Furthermore, a head support stand 34 (hereinafter simply referred to as a headrest) on which the patient's head is placed is arranged on the top plate 32 by a similar flexible pipe 36, and when the patient's head is placed on it, The headrest 34 is supported by the support stand 37 (see FIG. 7(C)). In the holder having such a structure, the receiving coil 31 can be placed at a desired location by freely bending the flexible pipe 35.

In some cases, by placing the receiving coil 31 at the bottom of the headrest 34, echo signals can be collected at the bottom of the head.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In the prior art as described above, the demand for medical diagnosis,
Due to the development of receiving coils, heavier receiving coils have also appeared, so such receiving coils may no longer be able to support the coils and may not have sufficient holding force. In addition, the holding power of a flexible pipe as a holder depends on the frictional force of the joints between plastic members, so when bending and stretching the flexible pipes, there is a lot of frictional noise, and the patient's hair may be attached to the joints of the plastic members. It has a number of drawbacks, such as it can pinch the skin. Furthermore, if the flexible pipe is bent too much, the plastic members may become uncoupled. In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus equipped with a holder that allows a receiving coil to be easily and quickly placed at a desired site.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention enables local imaging by arranging a receiving coil near the surface of a subject placed on a bed top. In a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, the holder that holds the receiving coil at a desired position includes a fixing part that is attached to the bed top or a head support on the bed top, a holder that attaches the receiving coil, and a holding part that is attached to the bed top or a head support on the bed top. at least one flexible pipe having one end connected to the part and the other end connected to the fixed part and holding the holding part at a desired position; and covering the flexible pipe and providing flexibility. The pipe is characterized in that a rod-shaped member having elasticity and flexibility is inserted inside the flexible pipe.

(Function) The receiving coil holder with the receiving coil attached to the holding part is attached to the top plate or head support by the fixing part, and the receiving coil can be quickly placed at the desired location without reducing the holding force by the covering material. can do. Also,
By providing a rod-shaped member inside the flexible pipe, it is possible to prevent the members constituting the flexible pipe from detaching without reducing the flexibility, and the holding force can also be increased.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the first invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. The members constituting the flexible pipe 7 are the plastic member 40 shown in FIG. 8 in the conventional example.
Although it is also possible to use the member shown in FIG. 3, the explanation will be given here using the member shown in FIG. The non-magnetic plastic member is shown in Figure 4.
A plurality of flexible pipes 7 are connected together to form a flexible pipe 7, which is inserted into a hose 8 such as a washing machine drain hose, and further connected to an end member by a heat shrink tube 9. The end of the hose 8 is fixed to 10a (see FIG. 2). One or more (here, two) pipes 2 configured in this way are attached at one end to the fixing part 3 and at the other end to the holding part 1, as shown in FIG.
A holder 20 for the receiving coil 4 is formed. here,
The flexible pipe 7 and the fixed part 3 are connected to each other by screwing the end member 10a into the screw hole 3b of the fixed part 3, as shown in FIG. The same applies to the holding part 1. Holder 20 with receiving coil 4 attached
In this case, the fixing part 3 can be inserted into the rail 6 on the upper surface of the bed top plate 5, slid, and fixed at a desired position with the fixing screw 3a.

In the holder 20 configured as described above, since the covering material covers the flexible pipe 7, it is protected from external obstacles such as the grip of the operator's hand, and the plastic member 1
The degree of freedom of the connecting portion of the pipe 2 is increased, the pipe 2 can be freely bent and stretched, and the receiving coil 4 can be placed at a desired position.

Here, since the restoring force of the hose 8 is also added, the holding force is increased to some extent. Further, the coating material also prevents friction noise at the connecting portion of the plastic member 10 to some extent. It is effective to use a material with high soundproofing effect as the covering material. Furthermore, the covering material consisting of the hose 8 and the heat-shrinkable tube 9 protects the patient's hair from becoming entangled, and the heat-shrinkable tube 9 also prevents the hose 8 from shifting laterally.

A more effective method is to add, for example, grease to the joints of the plastic members. In this case, there is no fear of abrasion of the connecting portion of the plastic member 10,
The bowing noise caused by friction is also completely eliminated. Here, as in the case described above, by attaching the hose 8, a decrease in the holding force of the holder 20 is avoided. Furthermore, the coating material protects the viscosity of the grease.

The hose 8 may also be made of vinyl tube, silicone tube, rubber tube, cloth, etc. depending on the weight of the receiving coil used. This provides an extremely good appearance and does not cause anxiety to the patient.

In the second invention, as shown in FIG. 6, inside the flexible pipe 7 is a rod-shaped material 12 having flexibility and elasticity, for example, a rod-shaped material 12 such as a soft plastic that does not bend beyond a certain curvature. Insert the retainer 20 shown in FIG.
It consists of At this time, the rod-shaped material 12 is the flexible pipe 7
, it is not fixed to either the fixing part or the holding part, and is inserted so that it can bend freely inside the flexible pipe 7, but in this case, the restoring force of the rod-shaped member 12 is also added, so the flexibility is improved. The holding force of the holder 20 is enhanced without damage. Furthermore, since the flexible pipe 7 does not bend beyond a certain curvature, the plastic members 10 connected to each other will not become disconnected from each other due to excessive bending of the flexible pipe 7. At this time, if grease is added to the connecting portion of the plastic member 10, it will be more effective as in the case described above. Furthermore, when this rod-shaped material 12 is used, it has sufficient holding power, so
Covering materials include vinyl tubes, silicone tubes,
It doesn't matter if you choose rubber tube, cloth, etc.

The fixing part for fixing the health holder 20 on the top plate 5 may be one with Velcro fasteners attached to the bottom of the fixing part and the top of the top plate 5. When the holder 20 is attached to a headrest, a rail is attached to the headrest surface. There are various methods, such as attaching a Velcro fastener.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the first invention, it is possible to realize a receiving coil holder that allows the receiving coil to be quickly placed at a desired location without reducing the holding force.

Further, in the second invention, in addition to the effects of the first invention, it is possible to realize a receiving coil holder that further increases the holding force and does not cause damage due to excessive bending and stretching.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the first invention, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one embodiment of the second invention, and FIGS. 7 to 8 are diagrams showing the prior art. FIG. 1... Holding part, 2... Pipe 3... Fixing part, 4.31... Receiving coil 5.32.
...Top plate, 6...Rail 7.35.36...Flexible pipe 8...Hose, 9...Heat shrink tube 10.40.
...Plastic member 12...Bar-shaped material, 20...Holding device Representative Patent attorney Noriyuki Ken Yudo Kondo Takemitsu 7 Figure BWA

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus capable of local imaging by placing a receiving coil near the surface of a subject placed on a bed top, the holder for holding the receiving coil at a desired position is A fixing part attached to a head support on a top plate or a bed top plate, a holding part attaching the receiving coil, one end connected to this holding part, the other end connected to the fixing part, and the holding part is set as desired. A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising: at least one flexible pipe held in position; and a flexible covering material covering the flexible pipe. (2) In a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus that is capable of local imaging by placing a receiving coil near the surface of a subject placed on a bed top, the holder for holding the receiving coil at a desired position is attached to the bed. A fixing part attached to a head support on a top plate or a bed top plate, a holding part attaching the receiving coil, one end connected to this holding part, the other end connected to the fixing part, and the holding part is set as desired. at least one flexible pipe to be held in position; a rod-shaped member having elasticity and flexibility inserted into the flexible pipe; and covering the flexible pipe and having flexibility. 1. A magnetic resonance imaging device comprising: a coating material comprising: