KR101451023B1 - Vibrator for magnetic resonance elastography - Google Patents

Abstract

In an embodiment of the present invention, a vibrator for an elastic magnetic resonance image technique diagnoses the state of an object under test by providing fine vibrations to the object under test which is arranged on a gantry of magnetic resonance (MR) room through the elastic magnetic resonance image technique. The vibrator for the elastic magnetic resonance image technique comprises: a pneumatic producing unit which is installed outside the MR room and produces air pressure; a pneumatic transmission hose in which one end is located inside the MR room and the other end is connected to the pneumatic producing unit; a vibration body which is formed into a cylindrical shape having an opened one side and is connected to one side of the pneumatic transmission hose; a O-ring groove unit which is formed on the one edge of the vibration body along a circumferential direction of the vibration body; a vibration membrane which is installed on one side of the vibration body to form a hollow space in a space with the vibration body and forms the pneumatic provided to the hollow space through the pneumatic transmission hose as fine vibrations; an O-ring member which is fitted into the O-ring groove unit so that the edge of the vibration membrane is inserted into the O-ring groove unit; a sealing cover which is fitted into one side of the vibration body to cover the edge of the vibration membrane at the top of the O-ring member; and a vibration generating unit which generates fine vibrations by the pneumatic received from the pneumatic transmission hose when the pneumatic producing unit is operated.

Description

[0001] VIBRATOR FOR MAGNETIC RESONANCE ELASTOGRAPHY [0002]

The present invention relates to a vibrator for an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique, and more particularly, to a vibration analyzer using an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique to diagnose the degree of pain of a subject by analyzing the wavelength of a microvibration provided as a subject during MR image acquisition from an MRI apparatus And more particularly, to a vibrator for an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique capable of constantly transmitting a fine vibration to various diagnostic parts of a subject.

As society has become modernized, the development of mobile devices such as computers or smart devices has made it difficult for people to work paperwork or play games on a computer for a long time, or to use smart devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, Muscle pain patients are increasing.

Such chronic myalgia is caused by continuous muscle stress due to poor posture or repeated working, and muscle fibers are damaged, and metabolites accumulate inside the muscle fibers to form a taut band.

When the taut band progresses continuously, pain and tenderness are generated in the taut band of the muscle, and the muscle is secondarily exposed. At this time, the taut band is referred to as an active trigger point.

In addition, if some of the symptom criteria are satisfied, myofascial pain syndrome will be diagnosed. Currently, there is no clear mechanism for the mechanism by which the muscle taut bands turn into activation triggers and the myofascial pain syndrome develops. One reason for this is that there is no clear radiologic test for this.

Conventionally, as a method for diagnosing myofascial pain syndrome, a pain mapping technique using infrared thermography and pressure statistics has been used.

Infrared thermography is no longer used because it has been found that the skin temperature difference is not related to the location of the taut bands and activation points in the muscles.

The pain mapping technique using pressure statistics is a method of finding the approximate pain area by comparing the painful area with the painful area by using the pressure statistic. However, the correlation with the diagnosis has been confirmed to some extent, The position of the lesion can not be accurately grasped and the threshold value of the tenderness is so large that there is a problem in accuracy due to the variation among individuals and the severity of the disease can not be evaluated and the pain is only evaluated without providing direct information on the muscle There was a fundamental limitation in applying to actual practice. Korean Patent No. 10-0431375 discloses a technique for a portable digital pressure vessel.

The present invention can transmit fine vibration to various diagnostic regions of a subject to be used for diagnosis of myofascial pain syndromes by analyzing the wavelength of microvibration provided to the subject during MR image acquisition from an MRI apparatus using an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique And an object of the present invention is to provide a vibrator for an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vibrator for an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique capable of varying a head according to a pain part of a patient to be examined and providing fine vibration to a pain part of the body through a multi-head structure.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a resonator for an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique for diagnosing the state of a subject by providing microvibration to a subject placed in a gantry of an MR room (Magnetic Resonance room) A pneumatic pressure generating unit provided outside the MR chamber and generating air pressure when power is applied; A pneumatic delivery hose, one end of which is located inside the MR chamber and the other end is connected to the pneumatic pressure generating portion; An oscillating body connected to one end of the pneumatic delivery hose and having a cylindrical structure with one side open, an O-ring groove portion provided at one side edge of the oscillating body along the circumferential direction of the oscillating body, and a vibrating body An O-ring member which is installed at one side of the body and implements pneumatic pressure provided to the hollow space through a pneumatic delivery hose by fine vibration, an O-ring member which is fitted in the O-ring groove portion so that the edge portion of the vibration membrane is inserted into the O- And a vibration generating part including a sealing cover fitted to one side of the vibration body so as to cover an edge of the vibration membrane at an upper part thereof and generating a fine vibration by a pneumatic pressure transmitted from the pneumatic pressure transmission hose during operation of the pneumatic pressure generating part .

In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the vibration generating portion further includes a washer member which is provided in the O-ring groove portion between the O-ring member and the seal cover and which prevents the O-ring member from being separated from the O- .

In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to further include a head unit installed on one surface of the vibration membrane and transmitting the vibration generated in the vibration generating unit locally to the subject.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the head portion includes a head detachment member having one end detachably coupled to one surface of the vibration membrane; And a head vibration transmitting member coupled to the other end of the head detachable member and having a shape capable of contacting the muscles of the body of the subject so as to transmit the fine vibration of the vibration membrane during operation of the air pressure generating unit to the subject.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the head vibration transmission member includes: a first head vibration transmission member having a narrow and long rectangular cross section; A second head vibration transmission member having a wide width and a long rectangular cross section; A third head vibration transmission member having a narrow width and a short rectangular cross section; A fourth head vibration transmission member having a circular cross section; Or a fifth head vibration transmission member having a square cross section and at least one of the first to fifth head vibration transmission members is selected according to the contact area with the inspected object, It is preferable to vary the range of the fine vibration provided to the subject.

The vibrator for an MRI imaging technique according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a pneumatic conveyance hose and is operated to change the degree of freedom of the vibration generating unit so that the vibration membrane can be brought into contact with the subject at a diagnostic position of the subject , And a position control section for fixing the installation position of the vibration generating section when the subject of the head contacts the diagnosis section of the subject.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the position control section includes: a support member having one side mounted on the gantry; And at least one position manipulation member connected between the support member and the pneumatic delivery hose in a rotationally and linearly movable structure, the oscillation membrane being operable to contact the subject.

In one embodiment of the present invention, at least one position manipulation member is inserted into a first mounting groove provided at the other side of the supporting member, and is rotatable in the first rotating direction, and is adjustable in height in the first direction, A first position-operating member provided in the first housing; And one side is rotatable in a second rotation direction to a second installation hole provided at the other end of the first position control member and is arranged to be able to adjust the interval while linearly moving in the second direction with respect to the first position control member, And a second position-operating member provided with a third mounting hole through which the hose passes, wherein the pneumatic delivery hose is moved in the third direction in the third mounting hole so as to adjust the distance between the vibration generating portion and the second position- It is preferable that the vibrating membrane connected to one end of the pneumatic delivery hose is brought into contact with the subject.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the position control portion is provided in the first through hole provided on the other side of the support member communicating with the first installation groove, so that the first position manipulation member inserted into the first installation groove is inserted into the first installation groove A first position fixing member for fixing the first position manipulation member so as not to be detached; And the second position manipulation member provided in the second through hole provided in the first position manipulation member at a position spaced apart from the second installation hole so that the second position manipulation member inserted into the second installation hole is not separated from the second installation hole, A second position fixing member for fixing the second positioning member; And a third position adjusting member provided in the third position adjusting member so as to be able to communicate with the third position adjusting hole so as to adjust the distance between the vibration generating portion and the second position operating member, And a third position fixing member for fixing the pneumatic delivery hose to be fixed to the operating member.

In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the pneumatic delivery hose, the vibration generating portion, the head portion, and the position controlling portion are made of a magnetic resonance compatible material that is not affected by a magnetic field.

The present invention provides microvibration to the muscles of the subject at the diagnosis site of the subject by the elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique and allows the MRI device to acquire the MR image when the microvibration is provided at the diagnosis site of the subject, The degree of stiffness of the muscle of the subject can be detected numerically, and the state of the specimen can be diagnosed by the standardized and objective numerical value instead of the subjective examination by the physician's promotion.

Further, the present invention can provide fine vibration to the diagnostic region of the subject at various points while changing the shape of the head contact member according to the diagnosis region of the patient to be inspected through the multi-head structure, It is possible to diagnose the degree of pain.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a state in which a vibrator for an MRI technique according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on a subject.
2 is a perspective view of a vibrator for an MRI technique according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 schematically shows a perspective view of a vibration generating portion in which the head portion of the present invention is not provided,
4 schematically shows an internal cross-sectional view of a vibration generating portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 illustrates a state in which a head unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed in a vibration generating unit.
6 exemplifies various shapes of the head vibration transmission member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a vibrator for an MRI technique according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, in describing the embodiments according to the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same constituent elements, and the description thereof may be omitted if necessary.

The vibrator 100 for an MRI imaging technique according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 analyzes the wavelength of a microvibration provided to a subject 10 when an MR image is acquired from an MRI apparatus using an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique Is a device for constantly delivering microvibration to various diagnostic parts of the subject 10 for use in diagnosing disease states or pain levels of the subject, such as myofascial pain syndromes, liver cirrhosis or liver cancer.

The vibrator 100 for an MRI technique according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a pneumatic pressure generating unit 110, a pneumatic delivery hose 120, a vibration generating unit 130, a head unit 140, ).

As shown in FIG. 1, the pneumatic pressure generating unit 110 is installed outside the MR chamber (Magnetic Resonance room), and generates a pneumatic pressure when power is applied. The air pressure generating unit 110 may be an acoustical speaker that generates air vibration while operating at a frequency of several tens Hz to several hundreds Hz. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a pneumatic pressure can be smoothly provided If it is a device, it can be variously varied.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the pneumatic pressure generating unit 110 is connected to the vibration generating unit 130 installed in the MR room provided with the MRI apparatus by the pneumatic delivery hose 120. Here, the pneumatic delivery hose 120 is preferably made of a plastic material such as a magnetic resonance compatible material, such as polyurethane or polycarbonate, which is not affected by the magnetic field so as not to affect the operation of the MRI apparatus .

As shown in FIG. 1, the vibration generating unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed inside an MR room. The vibration generating unit 130 may include a vibration generating unit 130 and a subject 10 to be inspected by a position control unit 150 provided on the side of the patient 10 in the MRI gantry of the MR room, ) Is fixed to transmit the stimulation by the fine vibration to the tissue of the subject 10, for example, the muscle.

The vibration generating unit 130 has a shape having a hollow space 134 therein and is connected to one end of the pneumatic delivery hose 120 so that the pneumatic delivery hose 120 120 to generate microvibration.

The vibration generating unit 130 may be configured such that the MRI apparatus provides the fine vibration to the diagnostic region of the subject 10 during the process of the MR imaging apparatus 130 photographing the diagnostic region of the subject 10 and acquiring the MR image So that the MRI apparatus can acquire the MR image by the wavelength of the fine vibration passing through the muscle of the subject 10 at the diagnosis site of the subject 10, It is possible to recognize whether a taut band is formed at the diagnostic site of the subject 10 or the degree of stiffness of the taut band.

That is, if the doctor, who is a diagnostician, does not measure the taut bands at the diagnostic region of the subject 10 by acceleration, but the intervals of the minute vibrations transmitted to the diagnostic region of the subject 10 disclosed in the MR image are dense The muscles of the diagnostic region of the subject 10 are steady state muscles and the rigidity of the muscles of the diagnostic region of the subject 10 is increased as the spacing of the minute vibrations transmitted to the diagnostic region of the subject 10 is widened The myofascial pain syndrome can be diagnosed.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the vibration generator 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

The vibration generating portion 130 includes the oscillating body 131, the O-ring groove portion 132, the vibration membrane 133, the O-ring member 135, the washer member 136, and the seal cover 137. In this embodiment, .

As shown in Fig. 4, the vibrating body 131 has a cylindrical structure with one side opened. The vibrating body 131 is provided with a pneumatic inlet 131a through which the pneumatic delivery hose 120 is connected.

At this time, it is preferable that the air inlet 131a is provided in the vibrating body 131 so as to communicate with the hollow space 134. Here, the vibration body 131 is preferably made of an MR suitable material, for example, a plastic material so as not to be influenced by the magnetic field during operation of the MRI apparatus.

Meanwhile, in one embodiment of the present invention, an O-ring groove portion 132 is provided along one circumferential direction of the oscillating body 131 at one side edge of the oscillating body 131. The O-ring groove portion 132 is provided with an edge portion of the vibration membrane 133 and an O-ring member 135.

The vibrating membrane 133 is installed on one side of the vibrating body 131 so as to form a hollow space 134 between the vibrating body 131 and the vibrating body 131. In this embodiment, At this time, it is preferable that the vibration membrane 133 is installed so as to cover one open side of the vibration body 131.

The vibrating membrane 133 is a member that implements the pneumatic pressure provided to the hollow space 134 through the pneumatic delivery hose 120 by mechanical microvibration. In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferred that the vibrating membrane 133 is made of an MR-compliant material so that it is not affected by the magnetic field during operation of the MRI apparatus, wherein the vibrating membrane 133 is provided in the hollow space 134 It is preferable that it is made of a polymer sheet material capable of easily expressing vibration due to pneumatic pressure without absorbing pneumatic pressure.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the vibrating membrane 133 is primarily coupled to the vibrating body 131 by the O-ring member 135 at the edge portion of the vibrating membrane 133 inserted into the O- Here, the o-ring member 135 is preferably made of a rubber material.

In this embodiment, the vibration membrane 133 is fixed to the O-ring groove portion 132 by the washer member 136 and is fixed to the vibration body 131 by the seal cover 137. The washer member 136 is provided in the O-ring groove portion 132 between the O-ring member 135 and the seal cover 137 so that the O-ring member 135 presses the O- As shown in Fig.

 In this embodiment, it is preferable that the washer member 136 has a shape and structure that can be inserted into the O-ring groove portion 132, and that the size and shape of the washer member 136 are variable within a range that is obvious to a person skilled in the art.

The sealing cover 137 is fitted on one side of the vibration body 131 so as to cover the edge of the vibration membrane 133 at the upper portion of the washer member 136, ) To the vibrating body (131). In this embodiment, the sealing cover 137 has a shape with a center opening formed therein, as shown in Fig. 4, so as not to affect the vibration applied to the vibration membrane 133 when the pneumatic pressure generating portion 110 is operated , And the upper space of the O-ring groove portion 132 is covered.

The vibration generating part 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the O-ring groove part 132 in the vibration body 131 and the O-ring member 135, the washer member 136, Vibration by the pneumatic pressure provided to the hollow space 134 by improving the airtightness between the vibration body 131 and the vibration membrane 133 by coupling the vibration membrane 133 to the vibration body 131 in a triple manner The vibration performance of the membrane 133 can be further improved.

The vibration generating unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be constructed in such a manner that the vibrating body 131 and the vibrating body 131 are coupled with each other in a triple manner by attaching the vibrating membrane 133 to the vibrating body 131, It is possible to prevent breakage and improve durability.

In the vibrator 100 for an MRI technique according to an embodiment of the present invention, the head 140 is installed on the vibration membrane 133, and the vibration generator 130 Can be locally transmitted to the subject 10.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the head portion 140 is installed in the vibration membrane 133 in a multi-head structure by a head vibration transmission member 142 having various shapes. The doctor who is the diagnoser adjusts the installation position of the head part 140 with respect to the vibration membrane 133 so that the micro vibration provided by the vibration membrane 133 is locally concentrated on the part where the taut band is supposed to be formed by the acceleration, The portion 140 can be brought into contact with the subject 10.

At this time, the micro vibrations are locally provided to the diagnostic region of the subject 10 by the vibration generating unit 130 via the head unit 140, and the micro-vibrations of the MRI apparatus, MR image information can be obtained.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the head portion 140 is composed of the head detachable member 141 and the head vibration transmitting member 142. The head portion 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be installed in the vibration membrane 133 with a multiple head structure by varying the shape of the head vibration transmitting member 142 as shown in Fig. .

The head detachable member 141 is a member whose one end is detachably coupled to one surface of the vibration membrane 133. At this time, the head vibration transmitting member 142 is fixed to the other end of the head detachable member 141. At this time, the head detachable member 141 and the head vibration transmitting member 142 may be integrally formed.

The head vibration transmitting member 142 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a structure capable of contacting the muscles of the subject 10 and receives the micro vibration of the vibration membrane 133 when the pneumatic pressure generating unit 110 is operated To the subject (10).

At this time, the head vibration transmitting member 142 is made of a material that can be easily exposed to the test object 10 without absorbing the vibration transmitted through the vibration membrane 133, It is preferable that it is made of an MR-compatible material so as not to receive the magnetic field.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the head vibration transmitting member 142 is divided into first to fifth head vibration transmitting members 142a, 142b, 142c, 142d, 142e according to its shape However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto, and any structure that can be varied within a range that is obvious to a person skilled in the art can be applied.

Here, the first head vibration transmitting member 142a may have a rectangular shape with a narrow width and a long length as shown in Fig. 6 (a). The second head vibration transmitting member 142b may have a rectangular shape with a large width and a long length as shown in FIG. 6 (b).

The third head vibration transmitting member 142c may have a rectangular shape with a narrow width and a short length as shown in Fig. 6 (c). The fourth head vibration transmitting member 142d may have a disk-like shape as shown in Fig. 6 (d). The fifth head vibration transmitting member 142e may have a square shape as shown in Fig. 6 (e).

In this embodiment, at least one of the first to fifth head vibration transmission members 142a, 142b, 142c, 142d, and 142e is selected according to the contact area with the inspected body 10, 133 so that the range of the fine vibration provided to the subject 10 according to the diagnosis position of the subject 10 can be varied to a range desired by the diagnosis person.

Hereinafter, a position control unit 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The position control unit 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to the pneumatic delivery hose 120 so that the head unit 140 is oscillated so that the head unit 140 can be brought into contact with the subject 10 at the diagnostic position of the subject 10. [ The head portion 140 is actuated to vary the degree of freedom of the generating portion 130 so that vibration is generated so that the head portion 140 is not released from contact with the inspected body 10 when the head portion 140 is in contact with the diagnostic portion of the inspected body 10 (130).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the position control section 150 includes a support member 160, a first position control member 170, a first position control member 163, a second position control member 180, A position fixing member 173 and a third position fixing member 184. In an embodiment of the present invention, the position control unit 150 is preferably made of a magnetic resonance compatible material that is not affected by a magnetic field.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the support member 160 is installed on the side of the patient 10, which is the subject 10, in the MRI gantry of the MR room, one side of which is shown in Fig. 1, On the other side of the support member 160, a first installation groove 161 is provided. The support member 160 is provided with a first through hole 162 provided on the other side of the support member 160 so as to communicate with the first installation groove 161.

Meanwhile, in an embodiment of the present invention, the first position-operating member 170 is inserted into the first mounting groove 161 which is engaged with the supporting member 160. [ At this time, the first position control member 170 is rotatable in the first rotation direction Rl in the first installation groove 161, and is supported on the support member 160 so as to be vertically adjusted along the first direction F1 It is preferable that it is installed. In this embodiment, the first position-operating member 170 is fixed to the supporting member 160 by the first position fixing member 163.

The first position fixing member 163 is provided in the first through hole 162 of the support member 160 and is inserted into the first position fixing groove 161 The first position-operating member 170 is fixed at a predetermined position.

The second position fixing member 163 is provided with the second mounting hole 171 at the other end and the second through hole 172 is provided at the position adjacent to the second mounting hole 171 do. The second position operating member 180 is provided in the second mounting hole 171 and the second position operating member 180 is fixed to the first position operating member 170 in the second through hole 172 A second position fixing member 173 is provided.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the second position control member 180 is rotatable in the second rotation direction R2 on one side of the second installation hole 171 provided on the other end of the first position control member 170 And is spaced from the first position-operating member 170 while being linearly moved in the second direction F2. A third installation hole 181 through which the pneumatic delivery hose 120 passes is provided on the other side of the second position manipulation member 180.

The second position fixing member 173 is installed in the second through hole 172 provided in the first position manipulation member 170 at a position apart from the second mounting hole 171, The second position operating member 180 is inserted into the second mounting hole 171 so that the second position operating member 180 is not separated from the second mounting hole 171, (180).

The third position fixing member 184 is provided in the third through hole 182 provided in the second position manipulation member 180 so as to be able to communicate with the third mounting hole 181, The distance between the position operating members 180 is adjusted to fix the pneumatic delivery hose 120 to the second position operating member 180 at a predetermined position.

That is, the pneumatic delivery hose 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention is moved forward and backward in the third direction F3 in the third installation hole 181, and the vibration generating unit 130 and the second position- And the installation angle of the vibration generating portion 130 can be adjusted by the rotation of the second position control member 180 in the second rotation direction R2.

In this embodiment, when the contact position of the vibration generating portion 130 with the inspected object 10 is determined by the above-described method, the pneumatic conveying hose 120 is rotated by the tightening operation of the third position fixing member 184 And is fixed to the second position-operating member 180.

Accordingly, the position control unit 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention can control the height of the first position manipulation member 170, the rotation manipulation of the second position manipulation member 180, and the manipulation of the length of the pneumatic delivery hose 120 The head portion 140 can be brought into contact with the subject 10 at various positions.

The vibrator 100 for an MRI technique according to an embodiment of the present invention may be applied to various types of vibrations such as a neck and a shoulder portion in which chronic muscular pain is mainly generated through various shape changes of the head vibration transmitting member 141 of the head portion 140 It is possible to continuously provide fine vibration to the diagnostic region of the subject 10 through the manipulation of the position of the position manipulation unit 150 and the fixing of the position of the head unit 140 . Therefore, the diagnostic person can easily judge the rigidity of the liver when the MRI apparatus is installed in the liver site from the image information of the microvibration provided according to the diagnostic position of the subject, and the rigidity and the degree of pain of the muscle when it is installed in the muscle can do.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope of the appended claims, The genius will be so self-evident. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100: Vibrator for elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique 110:
120: Pneumatic delivery hose 130: Vibration generator
131: oscillating body 132: O-ring groove
133: vibration membrane 134: hollow space
135: O-ring member 136:
137: sealing cover 140: head portion
150: position control unit 160: support member
161: first installation groove 162: first through hole
163: first position fixing member 170: first position control member
171: second mounting hole 172: second through hole
173: second position fixing member 180: second position operating member
181: third mounting hole 183: third position fixing member

Claims (10)

An oscillator for an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique for diagnosing a condition of a subject by providing a microvibration with a subject placed in a gantry of an MR room (Magnetic Resonance room) through an elastic MRI technique,
A pneumatic pressure generator installed outside the MR chamber and generating an air pressure when power is applied;
A pneumatic delivery hose having one end positioned within the MR chamber and the other end connected to the pneumatic generating portion; And
An oscillating body connected to one end of the pneumatic conveying hose and having a cylindrical structure with one side opened, an O-ring groove portion provided at one side edge of the oscillating body along the circumferential direction of the oscillating body, and a hollow space A vibrating membrane provided on one side of the vibrating body for realizing a pneumatic pressure provided to the hollow space through the pneumatic delivery hose so as to form a vibrating membrane, and an edge portion of the vibrating membrane is inserted into the o- And a sealing cover fitted to one side of the vibrating body so as to cover an edge of the vibrating membrane at an upper portion of the O-ring member, wherein the pneumatic pressure transmitted from the pneumatic delivery hose during operation of the pneumatic pressure generating unit And a vibration generating part for generating a fine vibration by the vibration generating part Vibrators for imaging.
The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vibration generator
Further comprising a washer member provided at the O-ring groove portion between the O-ring member and the seal cover and for preventing the O-ring member from being detached from the O-ring groove portion by pressing the O-ring member. Vibrator for technique.
The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a head unit installed on one surface of the vibrating membrane and transmitting a vibration generated in the vibration generating unit to the subject in a localized manner.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the head
A head detachment member having one end detachably coupled to one surface of the vibration membrane; And
And a head vibration transmitting member having a shape coupled to the other end of the head detachable member and capable of contacting muscles of the body to be inspected and receiving the fine vibration of the vibration membrane during operation of the air pressure generating unit, Vibrator for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technique.
The head vibration transmitting member according to claim 4,
A first head vibration transmission member having a narrow width and a long rectangular cross section;
A second head vibration transmission member having a wide width and a long rectangular cross section;
A third head vibration transmission member having a narrow width and a short rectangular cross section;
A fourth head vibration transmission member having a circular cross section; or
And a fifth head vibration transmission member having a square cross section,
At least one of the first to fifth head vibration transmission members is selected according to an area of contact with the inspected object so that the range of the fine vibration provided to the inspected object is varied according to the diagnostic position of the inspected object Wherein the vibrator is an elastic magnetic resonance imaging technique.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the vibrating membrane is operated to vary the degree of freedom of the vibration generating unit so that the vibrating membrane is brought into contact with the inspected object at the diagnostic position of the inspected object, Further comprising: a position control unit for fixing an installation position of the vibration generating unit when the vibration generating unit is mounted on the vibrator.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6,
A support member having one side mounted on the gantry; And
And at least one position-operating member connected between the support member and the pneumatic delivery hose, the position-manipulating member being operable to allow the vibration membrane to contact the body, Vibrator for magnetic resonance imaging technique.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the at least one position-
A first position manipulation member inserted into a first mounting groove provided at the other side of the support member, the first position manipulation member being rotatable in a first rotation direction and being adjustable in height in a first direction; And
The first position-operating member being rotatable in a second rotation direction in a second mounting hole provided at the other end of the first position-operating member and being provided so as to be adjustable in space while linearly moving in the second direction with respect to the first position- And a second position-operating member provided with a third installation hole through which the pneumatic delivery hose passes,
Wherein the pneumatic conveyance hose is moved in a third direction in the third installation hole so as to adjust an interval between the vibration generating portion and the second position manipulation member so that the vibration membrane connected to one end of the pneumatic conveyance hose is moved in the first direction, Wherein the first and second electrodes are in contact with each other.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8,
And the first position adjusting member is provided in the first through hole provided on the other side of the support member and communicated with the first mounting groove so that the first position operating member inserted into the first mounting groove does not come off from the first mounting groove, A first position fixing member for fixing the position manipulation member;
And the second position adjusting member is provided in a second through hole provided in the first position manipulating member at a position spaced apart from the second mounting hole so that the second position manipulating member inserted into the second mounting hole is not separated from the second mounting hole A second position fixing member for fixing the second position manipulation member; And
And a second positioning member provided at a third through hole provided in the second position manipulation member so as to be able to communicate with the third mounting hole to adjust a distance between the vibration generating portion and the second position manipulating member, A third position fixing member for fixing the pneumatic delivery hose so as to be fixed to the second position manipulation member;
Further comprising: an oscillator for oscillating the oscillator.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the pneumatic delivery hose, the vibration generating unit, the head unit, and the position control unit are made of an MR-compatible material that is not affected by a magnetic field.

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