KR101570140B1 - Automatic Repositioning System of Medical Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic repositioning system of a medical device. The automatic repositioning system includes: a first medical device; a second medical device having a first position relation with the first medical device; a position sensing device sensing the first position relation between the first medical device and the second medical device; and a repositioning device moving the second medical device in a position relation except for the first position relation to the first position relation. The position sensing device touches the first medical device and the second medical device to sense a position.

Description

[0001] Automatic Repositioning System of Medical Equipment [0002]

Disclosure is intended to place a medical device at the correct location, and in particular to a system for sensing and repositioning a relative location between two medical devices.

Here, background art relating to the present disclosure is provided, and they are not necessarily meant to be known arts.

1 illustrates a method of aligning a surgical table 110 and a scanning system 120 according to Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2001-0023551. When a portion of the radiopaque table extension 111 is moved into the opening 121 of the scanning system 120 for scanning, its range of movement is controlled by the scanner 120 to the extent that the patient's head and upper body are scanned . The initial alignment of the table extension 111 can be determined by visual inspection. Optionally, the scanner 120 may also be equipped with an LED light source or other light source for alignment with the table extension 111. The table 110 may then have an alignment tab 112 that is moved into the alignment slot 122 on the scanner 120. When the tab 112 is positioned in the slot 122, the table 110 is aligned with the scanner 120.

The tab 112 is fixed to the table 110 and the slot 122 is fixed to a certain portion of the scanner 120. Therefore, the table 110 and the scanner 120 can not have only one positional relationship. In addition, the alignment accuracy between the two devices using the tabs 112 and the slots 122 is inevitably lowered by abrasion as the number of uses increases.

Fig. 2 illustrates a patient delivery system according to Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2014-0133484. The patient transfer system includes a patient transfer device 213 having a plurality of wheels 212 for docking onto the medical device 260, a registration device 231 for registering movement information, A control unit 211 is formed to change the position of at least one wheel 212 of the plurality of wheels 212 according to the registered information. The control unit 211 assists the operation staff of the transporter when the patient transporter 213 is approaching the medical device 260. [ The patient transfer device 213 may determine the distance to the object using the ultrasonic sensors 221 and 240 or may detect the floor marking 250 by being coupled to the lower front side using the optical sensor 221. [ Such information may be interlocked with the external evaluation device 234 to allow the device to send out the control information 233.

In the case of using an ultrasonic sensor, the positional coordinates of the patient feeding device 213 can not be known only by the output value of the sensor, and it is difficult to move to the correct position without the help of the external equipment 231. In the case of using the optical sensor, the floor marking 250 must be displayed in advance on the movement route, and it is very troublesome to change the movement route and change the target point.

An operator operating a medical device or two or more equipment in another industry may be required to change the position of some equipment and return to the original position depending on the situation when handling a plurality of movable equipment . In the present disclosure, a system capable of resolving the foregoing problems and capable of returning to a position with high precision while being usable repeatedly will be described.

This will be described later in the Specification for Enforcement of the Invention.

Here, a general summary of the present disclosure is provided, which should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a medical device including a first medical device, a second medical device having a first positional relationship with the first medical device, a position sensing device sensing a first positional relationship between the first medical device and the second medical device, And a position return device for moving the second medical device in a positional relationship other than the first positional relationship to a first positional relationship, wherein the position sensitive device is in contact with the first medical device and the second medical device The present invention relates to an automatic position return system for a medical device that senses a position of a patient.

This will be described later in the Specification for Enforcement of the Invention.

1 is a view showing an example of a medical equipment positioning system shown in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2001-0023551.
2 is a view showing an example of a patient transfer system according to Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0133484.
3 shows an example of an automatic position return system of a medical device according to the present disclosure;
4 is a view showing an example of a positioning method according to the position sensing equipment 30 according to the present disclosure;
5 shows an example of a running part of a medical device according to the present disclosure;
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of setting a travel route of a medical device according to the present disclosure;
7 illustrates an example of a method for reducing travel path errors of a medical device according to the present disclosure;
8 is a diagram showing an experimental trajectory according to the configuration of the automatic position return system according to the present disclosure;
9 is a diagram illustrating the use of an automatic position return system of a medical device according to the present disclosure;
10 shows another embodiment of a position sensing instrument according to the present disclosure;
11 illustrates yet another embodiment of a position sensing instrument in accordance with the present disclosure;

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are views showing an example of a medical equipment automatic return system according to the present disclosure.

3 (a), there is shown a two-link type position sensing device 30 for sensing the relative position between two medical devices. The position detecting device 30 is composed of two links 301 and 302, three angle detecting sensors 311, 312 and 313 and a connector 322 for transmitting a signal of the sensor. The two links 301 and 302 are rotatably coupled. At both ends of the combined link are further rotatably coupled two end links (303, 304), each of which can be coupled to a pre-specified portion of the medical device. The angle sensors 311, 312 and 313 are attached to the joints of the links 301, 302, 303 and 304 so as to measure the rotation angle between the two links. The electric signals of the sensors 311, 312 and 313 Is sent to a device for processing position information through a connector 322 attached to the position sensing device 30. [ The angle detection sensors 311, 312, and 313 are constituted by absolute value encoders that can always maintain absolute position irrespective of the power state, incremental encoders that output relative values, magnetic absolute encoders (IC type non-contact hall sensor encoders) It can be a magnetic incremental (hall sensor encoder) or potentiometer. In this embodiment, the link and the angle detection sensor are two and three, respectively, but this can be added or reduced as needed.

End links 303 and 304 are each attached to different medical devices. The first end link 303 is attached to the medical device in which the removable position sensing device attachment portion 330 is formed and the second end link 304 is fixed to the medical device through a screw or rivet fastening method. The position detecting device attaching portion 330 is composed of a rail 331 and a terminal link fastening portion 333 which is seated on the rail 331 and moves. When the user desires to change the fixed position arbitrarily, the end link fixing portion 333 moves on the rail 331 in consideration of a situation where there is an obstacle between the two medical equipments and the fixed position is desired to be changed, So that it can be changed at will. When the end link fixture 332 is slidably mounted on the end link fixture 333 so that the end link 303 is inserted and positioned in the end link fixture 333, The device 332 is moved so that it can be fully engaged.

The coupling portions of the links 301, 302, 303, and 304 may be capable of upward and downward movement of the respective links in the direction of the rotation axis. When the height of the equipment to be moved differs from the height of the fixed equipment or when the equipment moves, the floor surface may be uneven and the moving surface may not be maintained during the movement. In consideration of this, adding the fluidity to the link in the direction of the rotation axis of the link makes it possible to cope with the situation described above.

4 shows how the positional relationship between the two medical devices 50 and 60 is obtained by the position sensing device 30 after each of the end links 303 and 304 has been attached to the two medical devices 50 and 60 . According to Fig. 4, the length of each link 301,302 may be defined as l . This may be modified differently depending on the design as defined by l equals the length of the two links 301 and 302, optionally in the present embodiment. An angle formed by the first end link 303 or the first medical device 50 and the first link is θ ₁ , an angle between the first link and the second link is θ ₂ , an angle formed between the second link and the second link The angle formed by the first medical device 304 or the second medical device 60 may be represented by? ₃ . It is possible to convert the x and y values of the xy Cartesian coordinate system into the x and y values using the angular values as variables by Equations (1) to (3). These three encoder output values can be used to determine the relative coordinate positions of the two medical devices.

FIG. 3 (b) shows the driving unit 40 of the medical equipment and the position sensing equipment 30 combined. The position sensing device 30 is attached to one side of the medical device. The driving unit 40 is located below the medical equipment and includes at least two casters 420 and a traveling control unit 410. The travel control unit 410 may further have a location storage unit for storing the location of the current medical equipment, and a travel route setting unit for setting the location of the stored medical equipment and the travel route according to the current location. The electric signals relating to the position of the position sensing device 30 are all sent to the travel control unit 410. [ This signal may be stored in the storage unit as a digital signal, or may be used by the movement path setting unit for calculation according to the movement path setting. This electrical signal is transmitted through the connector of the control unit and the connector 322 of the position sensing equipment.

According to Fig. 5 (a), the caster 420 is positioned at the bottom of the medical device to drive the medical device. The direction of the caster may be turned in a desired direction by rotating the steering lever 43 by hand, but when the vehicle is moved in the automatic mode, the caster 42 is fixed in a predetermined direction, and steering is performed by the difference in rotational speeds of the two wheels. It is also possible to provide a separate actuator for steering the direction of the caster so as to not only control the rotational speed of the caster wheel but also move the medical equipment while controlling the direction.

5 (b), the caster 420 has a structure in which the caster wheel 421 is driven by an actuator 422. The actuator 422 is decelerated by a timing belt 426 and transmits the power to an input pulley 427 formed in an electromagnetic clutch 423. [ The electromagnetic clutch 423 is decelerated again by a timing belt 426 connected to an output pulley 428 formed on the opposite side of the input pulley 427 and is returned to the caster wheel 421 Transmits power (2-stage deceleration). The electromagnetic clutch 423 serves to transmit or break the power between the actuator 422 and the caster wheel 421. The user can manually move the position of the medical device by cutting off the power transmitted to the caster wheel 421. However, in a situation in which the automatic position return of the medical equipment is required, the electromagnetic clutch 423 is set by the movement route setting unit An electromagnetic clutch 423 couples power to the caster wheel 421 so that the medical device can move in a path.

 The process of going to the target position by controlling the medical equipment using two parallel wheels can be considered in two steps. The first is to create a movement path between the starting point and the target point, and the second is to control the movable medical equipment along the generated path so as to run.

6 (a) and 6 (b), a description will be given of a method in which the movement path setting unit creates a movement path using an arc and a straight line. 6 (a) shows a case where the initial moving direction 601 of the medical equipment 60 and the target entry direction 602 intersect. If the final straight line travel distance d is equal to or greater than the set value d _threshold , which is set to stably enter the target point, a movement path composed of two straight lines and one arc is generated. Here, one circular arc has a sufficient curvature R so that the final linear movement distance d is equal to or greater than the d _threshold value and is in contact with the two straight lines 601 and 602.

In Fig. 6 (b), it is also considered that the initial traveling direction 601 of the medical equipment 60 does not intersect with the approach direction 602 of the target point. In which case the straight line of the initial direction 601 of the medical equipment does not intersect with the straight line of the target entry direction 602. In this case the medical equipment is moved in the initial traveling direction 601 as the medical equipment 60 shown in FIG. Is rotated at a predetermined angle so as to cross the target entry direction 602, and then the movement path is set by the path creation method shown in Fig. 6 (a).

According to Fig. 7, an error may occur when the medical device 60 moves along a set travel path, and a method of removing the error is described. While the medical device 60 moves along the generated path, the error appears as an error. The travel control part of the medical device performs control in the direction of eliminating this error and can allow the medical device to follow the path. Controlling the rotation of two drive wheels to follow the desired path is a nonholonomic system, and various control methods related to this are known.

In FIG. 8, the medical device automatic return system shown in this disclosure is constituted by an absolute value encoder having three 15 bit resolutions, a step motor, an MCU performing a control of the entire system with a cycle of 1 kHz, The accuracy of this experiment is shown.

Experiments were performed to set the initial position at an arbitrary position and move the medical device to another arbitrary position so that the first position could be found. Fig. 8 shows the trajectory generated by the experimental result, and shows the trajectory and the actual movement path generated from the two positions. As a result of 10 experiments, it was found that the initial position was found well at any position, and the average position error was less than 1 mm as shown in Table 1. The position error and the angular error can be reduced by increasing the resolution of the absolute encoder as necessary and performing feedback control using the servo motor on the drive wheels.

Starting State Avg. abs. error [mm] Deviation [mm] 8 (a) x position 0.57 0.014 y position 0.32 0.11 Angle 0.70 0.023 8 (b) x position 0.45 0.019 y position 0.76 0.45 Angle 0.53 0.033

FIG. 9 illustrates a process in which the mobile medical imaging device 60 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure is released from its original position and then returned to the correct position.

The C-arm, which is a mobile radiography system, consists of a radiation part emitting radiation, a radiation detection part facing it, and a device converting the detected radiation into an image. The mobile C-arm can enter a treatment space where large imaging equipment can not enter. In addition, the practitioner can adjust the angle and position of the supporting frame on which the radiating part is mounted, so that the patient located in the couch can be photographed only at necessary portions from various angles.

In the minimally invasive procedure performed in the field of neurosurgery and biopsy, during the procedure, in order to check whether the operator inserts the needle, the depth, and whether the tissue invades the dangerous tissue, The -arm is inserted so that the exact position of the needle can be grasped through the image. In this process, the C-arm repeats the process of placing it beside the couch where the patient is located. In order for a practitioner to grasp the exact position of the needle, the degree of insertion, and the depth of invasion, the image must be seen at a fixed fixed position. In addition, when using an imaging device without an accurate guide, the operator or the operator can move the device while being exposed to direct radiation in order to accurately position the device. As the number of attempts increases, Can be increased. According to the automatic position return system described in the present disclosure, the amount of exposure can be reduced.

The C-arm 60 is equipped with a position sensing device 30 for sensing the position of the C-arm 60. 9 (a), the position sensing device 30 is fixedly or removably attached to one side of the C-arm 60 and is extended when it is necessary to check the position of the C-arm 60 . Here, the position sensing device 30 allows the patient to measure the relative position with respect to the lying couch 50. The position sensing device 30 is extended to allow one end to be mounted on the couch 50.

The position sensing device 30 needs to be fixed at the correct position of the C-arm 60 or the couch 50. [ Thus, the C-arm 60 is screwed and coupled to the position sensing device attachment portion 330 so that the position sensing device 30 can be fixed to the couch 50 at an accurate position. The position sensing device attachment portion 330 may be mounted on both sides of the C-arm 60 and the cowl 50, as needed. A portion of the position sensing device 30 can be slidably or insertably fixed thereto. In addition, if necessary, it can be mounted on the C-arm 60 side and fixed to the cowl 50, and can be freely contacted to the cowl 50 so that only the position can be confirmed on the cowl 50 side. The opposite is also possible. According to Figure 9 (b), the position sensing device 30 is in contact with both the C-arm 60 and the couch 50 to sense the relative position of the C-arm 60 relative to the couch 50. [ . At this time, the position sensing device 30 generates an electric signal related to the position and stores the position of the C-arm 60 in the position sensing device 30 itself or in the external device at the first position.

According to Fig. 9 (c), the C-arm 60 is moved to the waiting place so that the practitioner can continue the procedure after completing the necessary imaging work. The C-arm 60 is displaced from the first position where the position sensing device 30 is stored, and the position sensing device 30 is separated from the couch 50.

9 (d) and 9 (e), the operator moves the C-arm 60 accurately to the first position to confirm the progress of the procedure. To do this, first place the C-arm 60 at any location near the couch 50 and connect the position sensing device 30 to both sides of the C-arm 60 and the couch 50. The position sensing device 30 continuously transmits an electric signal to the travel control unit so that the position of the C-arm 60 can be relatively determined with respect to the cowl 50. [ According to the transmitted signal, the travel path setting unit of the travel control unit compares the stored first position with the current position to set the travel path. The C-arm 60 moves along the movement path, and if necessary, the movement path setting unit may perform feedback control. 9 (b), which is the desired position as shown in Fig. 9 (f). This completes the process of the automatic position return system.

10 shows another embodiment of the position sensing equipment 30. In FIG. One body link 1001 is configured to be capable of length conversion. The link 1001 has a length conversion rod 1002 and can change the length. Angle measuring sensors 1005 and 1006 and end links 1003 and 1004 are included at the distal end of the link, respectively. The body link 1001 is provided with a length sensor (not shown) capable of measuring the length of a straight line, so that length conversion can be measured. Thus, the relative positions of the two medical devices can be determined using two angular values from one of the two angular measurement sensors 1005, 1006 and one of the length sensor values.

11 shows another embodiment of the position sensing device 30. [ The body part of the position sensing device 30 is composed of three body parts 1101, 1102 and 1103 and the first body part 1101 and the third body part 1103 are connected to the second body part 1102 ). ≪ / RTI > A timing belt 1115 is coupled to the idler wheel 1111 and the timing pulley 1112 located in the second body portion. The first body part 1101 has a first timing belt fixing part 1113 and moves in the same manner as the timing belt 1116. The third body part 1103 has a second timing belt fixing part 1114, And the timing belt 1115 move together.

When the first body part and the third body part move along the guide rails 1115 of the second body part on the second body part, the timing belt 1116 is fixed to the first timing belt fixing part 1113 and the second timing belt fixing part 1114 Is fixed, the timing belt 1116 is rotated. This motion causes the idler wheel 1111 and the timing pulley 1112 to rotate, and this rotational motion is transmitted to the angle sensor 1117, so that it is possible to know how much the entire body length change has occurred. Using two end links and two angular sensor structures, including the instrument structure to measure this length, the relative position between the two instruments can be measured, such as the position sensing instrument 30 previously described.

Combinations of mixing length translation links and rotating links would also be possible, and any combination would be possible if such combinations enabled length conversion between the distal ends of the position sensing device 30. [

Another embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. A driving device may be mounted on the position sensing device 30 in place of the driving force of the driving part in the medical device so that the medical device can be moved only by the force of the position sensing device 30 itself or return to the original position. Servo motors 1211, 1212, and 1213 including encoders are attached to the position sensing device 30 of Fig. 3 (a) instead of the angle sensor 311. Fig. Servo motors 1211, 1212, and 1213 provide a driving force for rotating the link, and encoders mounted on servomotors 1211, 1212, and 1213 measure the rotation value to calculate an angle. If necessary, the encoder and motor may be separated and mounted on the position sensing device. If it is determined that additional driving force is needed, a torque-increasing gearbox can be installed to increase the torque of the reduction gearbox or motor. In addition, the position sensing apparatus 30 may include a posture control unit 1220 in order to control the servo motors 1211, 1212, and 1213. The posture control unit 1220 may have a position storage unit and a movement path setting unit as well as the travel control unit 410 and plays the same role. The attitude measuring unit 1220 can be connected to each servo motor 1211, 1212, and 1213 through cables 1221 and 1222, or can perform wireless communication.

Straight-length conversion links shown in other embodiments are also applicable. If a combination of a servo motor, a servo motor and a gear box or a hydraulic pump is used for providing a driving force for changing the length, sufficient driving force can be provided to the position sensing device 30. [ Accordingly, it is possible to implement an automatic position return system having various combinations of self-motive force using them.

Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to medical devices, the application of the position auto-return system according to the present disclosure is not limited to medical devices. It can be applied to other industrial fields where two objects need to be placed repeatedly in the correct position.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

(1) a first medical device, a second medical device having a first positional relationship with the first medical device, a position sensing device sensing a first positional relationship between the first medical device and the second medical device, And a position return device for moving the second medical device in a positional relationship other than the positional relationship to a first positional relationship, wherein the positional sensing device comprises a first medical device and a second medical device, Automatic position return system.

(2) The automatic position return system of medical device, wherein the position sensing device comprises at least one link and at least one sensor.

(3) An automatic position return system for medical devices, wherein the link is two and the sensor is three angular measurement sensors.

(4) An automatic position return system for medical devices in which the angle measurement sensor is an absolute value encoder or potentiometer.

(5) The automatic position return system for medical devices in which the position sensing device is fluid in a direction perpendicular to the coordinate plane defined by the position sensing device.

(6) The automatic position return system of medical device, wherein at least a portion of the position sensing device is detachable or removable from the first medical device or the second medical device.

(7) the position return device is included in the second medical device, the position return device comprising: a position storing part for storing the first position; A route setting unit for setting a travel route to the first location; And a travel control unit for moving the second medical equipment to the first position.

(8) Position sensing device is a system for automatic position return of a medical device capable of changing the length between ends.

(9) The position return device is included in the position detecting device, and includes a position storing portion for storing the first position; And a drive for moving the second medical device to the first position.

(10) The automatic medical device return system according to (2), wherein the second medical device has a video device having a radiation emitting part for emitting radiation in a predetermined direction and a sensing part for sensing radiation.

30 Position sensing device 330 Position sensing device attachment section 301 ~ 303 Link 304 ~ 305 End link 311 ~ 313 Angle detection sensor 322 connector
40 running part 410 running control part 420 castor 421 caster wheel 422 actuator 423 electromagnetic clutch 426 timing belt 430 steering lever
50 couch
60 C-arm

Claims (10)

Medical equipment;
Medical imaging equipment having a first positional relationship with the medical device and being away from the medical device;
A position sensing device for sensing a first positional relationship between the medical device and the medical imaging device; And,
And a position returning device for moving all of the medical imaging devices in a positional relationship other than the first positional relationship to a first positional relationship,
Position sensing equipment is an automatic position return system for medical devices that detects position in contact with both medical and medical imaging equipment.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the position sensing device comprises at least one link and at least one sensor.
3. The method of claim 2,
There are two links, and the sensor is three angular measurement sensors.
The method of claim 3,
The angular position sensor is an absolute encoder or potentiometer.
The method according to claim 1,
The position sensing device is a fluid dynamic in a direction perpendicular to the coordinate plane defined by the position sensing device.
The method according to claim 1,
The position sensing device may be at least partially detachable or removable from medical or medical imaging equipment.
The method according to claim 1,
Position return devices are included in medical imaging equipment,
A position storage unit for storing a first position;
A route setting unit for setting a travel route to the first location; And,
And a travel controller for moving the medical imaging device to the first position.
The method according to claim 1,
A position sensing device is a system for automatic position return of a medical device capable of changing the length between its ends.
The method of claim 1, wherein
The position return device is included in the position sensing device,
A position storage unit for storing a first position;
And a driver for moving the medical imaging device to the first position.
The method according to claim 1,
A medical imaging system includes a video device having a radiation emitting part for emitting radiation in a predetermined direction and a sensing part for sensing radiation.

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