JPH1066683A - Body probe for mri and mri device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easily handleable body probe for MRI easily mountable to a testee without inviting the degradation of images and an MRI device using the probe. SOLUTION: This probe for the MRI is constituted of an upper side coil 2 and a lower side coil 3 and is used by fixing the lower side coil 3 to the back surface side of the testee lying on a bed 6 and fixing the upper side coil 2 to the abdominal part and chest part of the testee by a belt 11. A cord 9 extended from the upper and lower coils 2 and 3 is withdrawable from either left or right side of the respective coils 2 and 3 as described later and is passed through either left or right end part of the bed 6 and connected through a connector 7 to the connector mounting part 8 of a connector box 10 installed inside the bore 1 of the MRI device. Thus, the cord 9 is passed on the side not to be the obstruction of the caring of the testee and the work of an inspection engineer. Also, at the time of photographing by the MRI device, the testee is pulled inside the bore 1 to a prescribed position along with a top plate on the bed 6 and the connector box 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an MRI body probe and an MRI apparatus using the same.
The present invention relates to an MRI body probe which is easy to use and does not cause image deterioration, and an MRI apparatus using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an MRI body probe is
It consists of two receiving coils positioned above and below the body of the subject. The body probe for MRI according to the prior art is configured so that the upper and lower coils are integrally formed and have a tubular shape, a tubular shape that can be partially opened and closed right and left, or a strip shape. It is generally done.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The prior art M
In the case of a cylindrical body probe for RI, the distance between the subject and the coil in the probe is not constant due to the difference in the body shape of the subject. Accordingly, there is a problem that deterioration of an image is caused, and mounting on a subject is not easy. Also,
A band-shaped object cannot suppress the body movement of the subject,
Since the body probe moves with the body movement of the subject, there is still a problem that the image is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to provide an easy-to-use MRI body probe which can be easily attached to a subject and does not cause image deterioration, and to use this probe. An MRI apparatus is provided.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a body probe having a receiving coil for imaging used in an MRI apparatus, wherein the receiving coil is separated into an upper coil and a lower coil. By making each coil independent, and by configuring the lower coil by a main body portion and a coil portion provided therein, by allowing the coil portion to move in the front-rear direction in the main body portion,
Still further, the lower coil is moved by a moving knob provided outside the main body, and the edge of the main body provided with the moving knob is cut obliquely at an angle of 45 degrees.

The object is to use the upper coil fixed with a subject by a belt mounted on a bed, and to make the inner surface of the upper coil a diameter slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the cross section of the human body. This is achieved by providing a cover made of a soft material on the inner surface thereof.

The object of the present invention is to form the upper coil by providing a cutout hole in a portion where a coil portion having a substantially figure-eight shape does not exist, and to provide a mat between the body and the subject as a spacer. This is achieved by using the mat as a central part of the mat separately from the peripheral part.

An object of the present invention is to provide an MRI apparatus using a body probe having a receiving coil for capturing an image, wherein the lower coil is installed on a bed on which a subject lies.
By using the upper coil mounted on the upper side of the subject, and when the coil portion of the lower coil is movable in the front-rear direction in the main body, the portion where the lower coil is placed on the bed On a bed other than the above, by laying a split mat having the same width as the moving width of the coil portion, furthermore, the bed and the connector box of the MRI apparatus are connected, and the connector box This is achieved by connecting the cords from the upper coil and the lower coil to the connector mounting portion provided.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an MRI body probe and an MRI apparatus using the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a use state of an MRI body probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the MRI body probe according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Perspective view showing the structure of the side coil,
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the drawing of the cord from the lower coil, FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the setting of the lower coil on the bed, FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the setting of the position of the lower coil on the bed, FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating attachment of the mat for the upper coil to the upper coil, and FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating connection between the bed and the connector box. 1 to 8,
1 is a bore, 2 is an upper coil, 3 is a lower coil, 4 is an upper coil mat, 5 is a bed mat, 6 is a bed, 7
Is a connector, 8 is a connector mounting section, 9 is a cord, 10 is a connector box, 11 is a belt, 21 is a knob for moving the coil section, 22 is a scale for setting the coil position, 25 is a main body section,
1 is a coil portion, 32 is a rail, 41 is a cord outlet, 51 and 73 are Velcro, 52 is a groove, 53 is a lower coil mat, 54 is a cutout portion, 55 is a projection, 56
Is a frame, 57 is a groove for a belt, 61 is a split mat, 71, 7
2 is a mat, 81 is a hook, 82 is a hole, and 83 is a cable bear.

In the MRI probe according to one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a receiving coil includes an upper coil 2 and a lower coil 3, and the lower coil 3 is placed on a bed 6. On the back side of the lying subject, the upper coil 2
Is used at a position such as the abdomen or chest of the subject with a belt 11. The belt 11 is attached to a belt groove 57 provided in the frame 56 so as to be movable forward and backward of the bed 6 and fixed, and can be moved in accordance with the mounting position of the upper coil 2, thereby ensuring reliable operation. Then, the upper coil 2 and the subject can be fixed.

A cord 9 extending from upper and lower coils
Can be pulled out from either the left or right side of each coil as described later, and the connector mounting of the connector box 10 installed in the bore 1 of the MRI apparatus through the left or right end of the bed 6 It is connected to the unit 8 via the connector 7. Thereby, the code 9 is used for the care of the subject,
It can be passed to the side that does not interfere with the work of the laboratory technician. At the time of imaging with the MRI apparatus, the subject is drawn into the bore 1 to a predetermined position together with the top plate and the connector box on the bed 6.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the upper coil 2 has a main body 23 having a curved surface which is entirely bent along the body shape of the subject, and an approximately 8 The main body 23 is provided with a cutout hole 24 at a portion where the coil does not exist. With such a configuration, the upper coil 2 has good adhesion to the body of the subject and also gives pain to the subject due to a synergistic effect with a mat sandwiched between the subject and the subject described below. It can be installed without any.

The curved surface of the upper coil 2 has a curved surface slightly gentler than the curved surface of the cross section of the human body, for example, a curved surface having a radius of curvature of about 450 mm. this is,
If the above-mentioned curved surface of the upper coil 2 is smaller than the radius of curvature of the human body, when the upper coil is placed on the abdomen of the human body, a gap is created between the upper coil 2 and the human body at the center thereof, and the movement of the abdomen due to breathing is sufficiently suppressed. To prevent you from becoming unable to
This is to prevent the end portion from being pressed against the body of the subject when the upper coil is tightened by the belt, thereby preventing the subject from being distressed. That is, by increasing the radius of curvature of the curved surface, it is possible to eliminate the above-described gap at the central portion, and when tightening with a belt, the body of the subject is pressed by the wide surface on the back side of the coil. Therefore, the pain of the subject can be reduced. Further, the subject can be securely fixed by the belt, and the image quality can be improved.

The radius of the upper curved surface of 450 mm according to an embodiment of the present invention is slightly larger than that of the largest person because of the above-mentioned reason and because there are individual differences in the curved shape of the cross section of the human body. Is selected.

The upper coil 2 has two notches 24 in the main body 23. By providing the notches 24, the weight of the entire upper coil 2 can be reduced. In addition, since the center portion can be grasped, the upper coil 2 can be easily attached to the subject and handled when positioning. Further, since the vicinity of the photographing center can be visually observed from the notch 24, the positioning can be performed accurately and quickly.

As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the lower coil 3 is provided with a rectangular main body 25 and a movably disposed inside thereof, and has the same shape as the coil of the upper coil 2, which will be described later. And a unit 31. Internal coil part 3
Numeral 1 is movable within a predetermined range in the height direction of the subject by a coil moving knob 21, and the knob 21 is connected to the coil unit such that the center thereof is the center of the coil unit. The edge of the main body 25 where the coil moving knob 21 is provided is cut obliquely at an angle of 45 degrees, so that the knob 21 can be arranged without causing the knob 21 to project.

The main body 25 is used for setting the position of the coil.
The scale 22 is marked on the upper surface of. As shown in FIG. 3A, the coil 31 provided in the main body 25 is guided by a rail 32 provided in the main body 25, and as shown in FIG. Movably in the main body 25. This movement amount is set to, for example, 160 mm as described later.

The cords 9 extending from the coil portion 31 of the lower coil 3 are provided at two corners of the main body 25 of the lower coil 3 on the MRI apparatus side, as shown in FIGS. Withdrawn from one of the code outlets 41,
As described above, it is connected to the connector mounting portion of the connector box 10 of the MRI apparatus. Outlet 41
Is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the main body 25 by a triangular-shaped device having a lock mechanism. By attaching the device to either the right corner or the left corner of the main body, the cord 9 is It can be withdrawn from any side.

In the above description, the method of extracting the cord 9 extending from the coil portion 31 of the lower coil 3 has been described.
A mechanism similar to that described above is provided, so that the cord 9 extending from the coil portion of the upper coil 2 can be pulled out from any side.

Next, a method of installing the lower coil 3 configured as described above on the bed 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 5, a groove 52 is provided in the center of the upper surface of the bed 6 in the longitudinal direction, and the lower coil 3 is
The projection 55 provided on the lower side of the main body 25 is engaged with the groove 52 on the bed 6 and installed. A lower coil mat 5 having a cutout 54 is provided on the lower coil 3.
3 is placed. The lower coil 3 on the upper surface of the bed 6
As shown in FIG. 6, a relatively narrow dividing mat 61 is spread over the portion other than the portion where is installed, so that the entire upper surface of the bed 6 is flat.

The width of the dividing mat 61 in the longitudinal direction of the bed is set to, for example, 160 mm. Then, as shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the divided mat 6
By changing the arrangement of 1 and the lower coil 3, the position of the lower coil 3 can be positioned in the longitudinal direction of the bed 6 in units of 160 mm. As described above, assuming that the amount of movement of the coil portion 31 inside the lower coil 3 in the main body 25 is 160 mm, the coil portion 31
The bed 6 can be positioned at any position in the longitudinal direction. The width of the split mat 61 is 160 mm
In other words, it is important that the effective sensitivity area of the lower coil 3 can be set at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction of the bed 6 by a combination of the moving amount of the coil unit 31 and the division mat. I just need.

A frame 56 is provided on the side of the bed 6 in the longitudinal direction so that the divided mat 61 does not shift, and the lower coil mat 5 placed on the lower coil 3 is provided.
3 is fixed to the main body 25 of the lower coil 3 by a magic tape 51 or the like. Then, the cord 9 extending from the coil unit 31 may be arranged below the division mat 61 toward the direction of the MRI apparatus.

When the upper coil 2 is mounted on a subject,
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper coil mat 4 as a spacer is used between the upper coil 2 and the subject. This upper coil mat 4 is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a ring-shaped mat 71 and a center mat 72 along the outer shape of the lower surface of the upper coil 2, and these are attached to the lower surface of the upper coil 3 by a magic tape 73 or the like, and these mats 71, 72 Used to adhere to the body. For this reason, the ring-shaped mat 7
1 and the center mat 72 having various thicknesses are prepared so as to be adaptable to the body shape and the imaging region of the subject. In particular, by forming the ring-shaped mat 71 and the center mat 72 separately, the center mat 7
By changing the thickness of only 2, when the upper coil 2 is attached to the position of the breast of a woman or the like, the gap generated between the breasts can be reduced, and the body movement can be suppressed.

The mat used together with the above-mentioned upper coil 2 and lower coil 3 is made of a material that does not cause deterioration of the image taken by the MRI apparatus. In addition, a soft material such as urethane foam can be used for the cover on the lower surface of the upper coil 2, whereby the upper coil 2 can be mounted on the subject without using the mats 71 and 72. Becomes

An MRI according to an embodiment of the present invention described above.
Body probe is separated into upper coil 2 and lower coil 3 so that each coil can have independent receiving function and each coil can be used independently become. In the MRI body probe according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the upper coil 2 can be moved back and forth and left and right so that it can be arranged at the closest part of the imaging region, or the upper and lower coils can be freely positioned. Can be used in combination, so that not only the center of the subject's body but also the peripheral organs can be easily photographed.
Image accuracy can be improved, and the range of use can be expanded.

In the MRI body probe according to one embodiment of the present invention, since the coil portion 31 in the lower coil 3 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction, the subject can be examined while the subject is on the bed. Coil part 3 without moving the person
1 can be moved, thereby making it possible to perform fine adjustment of the imaging position or change the combination position with the upper coil 2 to perform imaging, thereby improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing diagnostic time. And can be achieved.

Further, since the width of the divided mat 61 is made into a block with the same width as the moving width of the coil portion 31 provided inside the lower coil 3, the whole mat is set when the photographing position is set and moved. It is possible to set and move the mounting position of the lower coil only by moving the divided mat 61 without moving the work, so that the labor of an operator such as an inspection technician can be reduced.

Next, the operation and mechanism for connecting the bed on which the subject is placed and the connector box as shown in FIG. 1 to draw the subject into the bore 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the example controlled by FIG. 1, the connector box 10
Although the two connector mounting portions are controlled to be arranged side by side on the left and right, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the two connector mounting portions are arranged vertically. In this case, the connector 7 from the upper coil 2 is connected to the connector mounting portion 8 disposed on the upper side, and the connector 7 from the lower coil 3 is connected to the connector mounting portion 8 disposed on the lower side. Preparation work can be performed simply and quickly.

The bed on which the bed 6 is placed is not shown, but can move the bed 6 up and down and back and forth in the direction of the bore 1. The caregiver who puts the subject on the bed and wears the body probe,
With the bed 6 placed in a position where it is easy to work, the lower coil 3 is set on the bed 6 in accordance with the imaging position of the subject as described above, and the subject lies on the bed 6. Then, the upper coil 2 is mounted at a predetermined position from above the subject, and the subject is fixed on the bed 6 together with the upper coil 2 by the belt 11 attached to the bed 6 as described with reference to FIG. .

Thereafter, the operator transports the bed 6 on which the subject is placed to a predetermined position at the entrance of the bore 1. In this state, the position of the upper surface of the bed 6 is below the connector box 10 as shown in FIG. Bed 6
When the bed 6 is raised by the table on which
As shown in (b), the hook 81 provided on the bed 6 is engaged with the hole 82 provided on the connector box 10, and the bed 6 is connected to the connector box 10. Here, the worker connects the connector 7 provided at the tip of the cord 9 from the upper and lower coils to each of the two connector mounting portions 8.

The connector box 10 has a lower overall height and a lower side on the bed side, and the connector mounting portion 8 is disposed obliquely upward. As a result, the head direction of the subject is opened, the feeling of pressure on the subject can be reduced, and the connector 7 can be easily mounted on the connector mounting portion 8 from the front. be able to. The connectors provided on the cords 9 from the upper coil 2 and the lower coil 3 are connected to the two connector mounting portions. If the connectors are erroneously connected upside down, an error message is displayed on the console, and I try not to get an image. Further, the shape of the connector may be slightly changed between the left and right coils to prevent incorrect connection.

At the time of photographing, the subject is pulled into a predetermined position inside the bore 1 together with the bed 6 while the bed 6 is connected to the connector box 10. At this time, the cable carrier 83 moves together.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, an easy-to-use MRI body probe which can be easily attached to a subject and does not cause image deterioration, and an MRI apparatus using this probe are provided. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a use state of an MRI body probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an MRI body probe according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a lower coil.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining extraction of a cord from a lower coil.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating setting of a lower coil to a bed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating setting of a position of a lower coil on a bed.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining attachment of the upper coil mat to the upper coil.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating connection between a bed and a connector box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Bore 2 Upper coil 3 Lower coil 4 Upper coil mat 5 Bed mat 6 Bed 7 Connector 8 Connector mounting part 9 Cord 10 Connector box 11 Belt 21 Coil part moving knob 22 Coil position setting scale 31 Coil part 32 Rail 41 Code Drawer port 51, 73 Magic tape 52 Groove 53 Lower coil mat 54 Notch 55 Projection 56 Frame 61 Divided mat 71, 72 Mat 81 Hook 82 Hole 83 Cable carrier

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Takeuchi 1-1-1 Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Hitachi Medical Corporation

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A body probe having a receiving coil for imaging used in an MRI apparatus, wherein the receiving coil is separated into an upper coil and a lower coil, and each coil is made independent. For body probe. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower coil includes a main body and a coil provided inside the main body, and the coil is movable in the front-rear direction within the main body. Body probe for MRI. 3. The coil portion of the lower coil is moved by a moving knob provided outside the main body, and an edge of the main body provided with the moving knob is cut obliquely at 45 degrees. The body probe for MRI according to claim 2, wherein 4. The MRI body probe according to claim 1, wherein the upper coil is fixed together with a subject by a belt mounted on a bed. 5. The upper coil has an inner surface formed to have a radius of curvature slightly larger than a radius of curvature of a human body in cross section, and does not unnecessarily deform when fixed with a belt. The body probe for MRI according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: 6. The MRI body probe according to claim 1, wherein a cover made of a soft material is provided on an inner surface of the upper coil. 7. The upper coil according to claim 1, wherein a cutout hole is provided in a portion where there is no coil portion having a substantially figure eight shape. MRI body probe. 8. The upper coil is used by sandwiching a mat serving as a spacer between the upper coil and a body of a subject, and a central portion of the mat is formed separately from a mat at a peripheral portion. The body probe for MRI according to claim 7, wherein 9. The MRI according to claim 7, wherein the lower coil and the upper coil have a cord connected to the coil,
The MRI body probe according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the MRI body probe is configured to be able to be pulled out from either the left or right side of the apparatus. 10. An MRI apparatus using a body probe having a receiving coil for image capturing, wherein the lower coil of the body probe according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is placed on a bed on which a subject lies. An MRI apparatus which is installed and used by mounting an upper coil on an upper side of a subject. 11. When the coil portion of the lower coil is movable in the front-rear direction within the main body portion, the lower coil has the same width as the moving width of the coil portion on a bed other than the portion where the lower coil is installed on the bed. The MRI apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a division mat having a width in the front-rear direction is laid. 12. The bed is connected to a connector box of an MRI apparatus, and a cord from the upper coil and the lower coil is connected to a connector mounting portion provided in the connector box. Claim 1
12. The MRI apparatus according to 0 or 11. 13. The connector box according to claim 10, wherein the entire height of the connector box is lower, the bed side is lower than the back side, and the connector mounting portion is disposed obliquely upward. Or the MRI apparatus according to 12.