KR102339858B1 - Standard phantom for a medical image with an internal container and standard materials - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a standard phantom for medical imaging based on a unit block shape. Specifically, it relates to a standard phantom for medical imaging containing a standard material in an inner container. To this end, in the standard phantom 100 for medical imaging, the inner container 200 forming the first space 240; a body block 130 forming a second space 170 partitioned from the first space 240 and accommodating the inner container 200 in the second space 170; and a head block 120 detachable from the body block 130; and a standard phantom for medical imaging containing a standard material in an inner container characterized in that the standard material is contained in the first space 240 is provided .

Description

Standard phantom for a medical image with an internal container and standard materials}

The present invention relates to a standard phantom for medical imaging based on a unit block shape. Specifically, it relates to a standard phantom for medical imaging containing a standard material in an inner container.

MEDICAL PHANTOM is a model that simulates the physical properties of the whole or part of the human body. It is used for various purposes and in various forms and purposes such as performance evaluation of diagnostic and treatment devices, medical image quality evaluation, dosimetry, interventional training and evaluation, etc. do. In particular, since the physical mechanism of image acquisition is different depending on the imaging device and the size and shape of the imaging device are different, phantoms with various shapes and properties currently exist.

In other words, medical phantoms have to be manufactured in various shapes to suit various sizes and shapes of imaging devices, and in the end, the phantoms are inevitably limited by the characteristics of the devices.

Moreover, in order to make a phantom in a shape similar to a human body, it must be made in a size similar to the human body, and because the medium is put in it, it is heavy and there are many difficulties in operation.

After all, by applying the above concept to a medical phantom, a phantom can be configured in units of voxels, and the best implementation of this is a phantom using Lego blocks. In the past, there was a case where a brick, the unit block of Lego, was combined to form a phantom of a certain shape, and then used to evaluate the performance of an imaging device. Moreover, there was a technical requirement that a medium with specific physical properties was needed inside the block even for image evaluation and dosimetry.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional modular standard phantom, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the standard phantom shown in FIG. 1 . 1 and 2, the block-shaped phantom 10 has four protrusions 16 formed on the upper surface 12, and lower protrusions 28 are formed on the lower surface 14 to insert the insert ( 26), the projection 16 of another phantom 10 is inserted and assembled.

In the conventional phantom 10, a cavity 18 is formed and empty, and the solution is injected through the inlet 22 and then sealed. In this way, several phantoms 10 filled with the solution 20 are assembled and photographed in medical imaging equipment (CT, MRI, etc.) and used for calibration.

For example, the inside of each of the plurality of phantoms 10 is filled with water or a solution of a paramagnetic material of a different type or concentration, and then screened in a medical imaging device. Then, different grayscales appear on the captured video image according to the type or concentration of the solution. Through these video images, contrast (gradation or gradation), grayscale, grayscale formation, spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, uniformity, location and accuracy of section selection, geometrical accuracy, etc. are determined. And through this, it is possible to calibrate the image parameters of the corresponding imaging equipment.

On the other hand, the conventional phantom 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 was a method of permanently sealing after injecting the solution 20 through the inlet 22 during the manufacturing process. Therefore, in order to express 10 gray gradations, 10 types of phantoms 10 had to be prepared. However, as the conventional phantom 10 is used, the solution 20 inside is evaporated or leaked finely to the outside, so that air bubbles 24 or bubbles are generated inside. Since these air bubbles 24 are a different medium from the solution 20, the inside of the phantom 10 is not seen uniformly when photographing with medical imaging equipment, and air bubbles 24 appear on the image.

Therefore, the corresponding phantom 10 with air bubbles 24 should have been discarded and newly purchased, and the economic burden was large because it is a bundled set sale (eg, a set of 10) rather than an individual sale.

1. Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-0739187 (Phantom for quality control of medical imaging equipment and device for preparing the phantom for use) 2. Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1856352 (Phantom for medical image length measurement standard based on unit block shape) 3. Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1943247 (Module unit mapping phantom for multi-purpose, multi-fusion image)

Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to configure a separate inner container inside the phantom to easily seal and insert a desired standard material, and for each inner container It is to provide a standard phantom for medical imaging containing standard materials in an inner container that prepares various standard materials and allows for easy exchange.

However, the technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems that are not mentioned are clearly to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs from the description below. can be understood

In order to achieve the above technical problem, in the standard phantom 100 for medical imaging, an inner container 200 forming a first space 240; a body block 130 that forms a second space 170 partitioned from the first space 240 and accommodates the inner container 200 in the second space 170 ; and a head block 120 detachable from the body block 130; and a standard phantom for medical imaging containing a standard material in an inner container characterized in that the standard material is contained in the first space 240 is provided .

In addition, an image distortion reducing material may be accommodated in the second space 170 .

In addition, the image distortion reducing material includes agarose (agar medium), which is a tissue equivalent material.

In addition, the inner container 200 has a cylindrical or hexahedral shape or a spherical shape.

In addition, the inner container 200 may be fixed by being fitted in at least one of the body block 130 and the head block 120 .

In addition, the inner container 200, the inner body 220 forming at least a part of the first space 240; and an inner lid 230 coupled to the inner body 220 .

In addition, the standard material is a standard material that simulates the imaging characteristics of a specific human tissue.

In addition, a plurality of protrusions 115 are further formed on the upper surface 110 of the head block 120 , and a plurality of protrusions 115 are further formed on the lower surface 140 of the body block 130 , the lower surface 140 protruding from the circumference toward the center. of the lower projection 180; and a lower protrusion 150 protruding from the central region of the lower surface 140; further, the protrusion 115 of the other phantom 100 can be coupled thereto.

In addition, the flat cross-sections of the head block 120 and the body block 130 are circular or rectangular.

In addition, a fitting portion 160 is further formed around the body block 130 and around the head block 120 to be sealed by the fitting portion 160 .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a desired standard material can be easily filled by configuring a separate inner container therein, and various standard materials can be prepared for each inner container and easily exchanged. Therefore, even if bubbles or air bubbles are generated in the inner container according to use, the standard material can be easily re-injected to remove the air bubbles and can be used continuously.

As the standard material is placed in a high-stability container, sealed and inserted into the phantom, the stability of the material can be guaranteed for a very long time compared to the conventional method.

In addition, since the shape and size of the inner container can be prepared in various ways, performance evaluation of various diagnostic and treatment devices, medical image quality evaluation, dosimetry, interventional training, evaluation, and correction are performed according to the field situation or medical device model. can do.

As the standard material is placed in a high-stability container, sealed, and inserted into the phantom, the stability of the material can be guaranteed for a much longer time than in the conventional method. Accordingly, the economic burden of purchasing and maintaining the phantom can be greatly reduced.

The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with the detailed description of the present invention to be described later. It should not be construed as being limited only to
1 is a perspective view of a conventional modular standard phantom;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the standard phantom shown in Figure 1;
3 is an exploded perspective view of a standard phantom for medical imaging containing a standard material in an inner container according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a cross-sectional view of the phantom shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the phantom shown in FIG. 3 .

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily carry out the present invention. However, since the description of the present invention is merely an embodiment for structural or functional description, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiment described in the text. That is, since the embodiment may have various changes and may have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea. In addition, since the object or effect presented in the present invention does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of them or only such effects, it should not be understood that the scope of the present invention is limited thereby.

The meaning of the terms described in the present invention should be understood as follows.

Terms such as “first” and “second” are for distinguishing one component from another, and the scope of rights should not be limited by these terms. For example, a first component may be termed a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be termed a first component. When a component is referred to as being “connected to” another component, it may be directly connected to the other component, but it should be understood that other components may exist in between. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a certain element is "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle. Meanwhile, other expressions describing the relationship between elements, that is, "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", etc., should be interpreted similarly.

The singular expression is to be understood to include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, and terms such as "comprises" or "have" refer to the specified feature, number, step, action, component, part or these It is intended to indicate that a combination exists, and it should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the existence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Terms defined in general used in the dictionary should be interpreted as having the same meaning in the context of the related art, and cannot be interpreted as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

embodiment composition

Hereinafter, the configuration of the preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is an exploded perspective view of a standard phantom for medical imaging containing a standard material in an inner container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the phantom shown in FIG. 3 . 3 and 4 , the phantom 100 of the present invention can be largely divided into an inner container 200 , a body block 130 , and a head block 120 .

The inner container 200 includes an inner body 220 and an inner lid 230 . A first space 240 is formed inside the inner container 200 to accommodate a standard material. The inner body 220 and the inner lid 230 are screwed by the screw portion 210, and the inner lid 230 can be opened and a standard material can be easily filled or exchanged. Optionally, the inner container 200 may be manufactured in a form that is permanently sealed while accommodating the standard material. The inner body 220 and the inner lid 230 may be molded by injection of a synthetic resin material such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

The standard material can be a standard material that simulates the imaging properties of specific human tissues (eg, bone, liver, lung, muscle, fat, etc.). Specifically, the standard material may be a solution containing water or a paramagnetic material (eg, iron, nickel, cobalt, manganese, chromium, platinum, aluminum, etc.). _{As other standard materials, CuSO 4 , MnCl 2} , NiCl ₂ , which are signal sources required for magnetic resonance imaging, and Gd-based, iron oxide-based, and gel-type media capable of producing a contrast effect may be added. _{In addition, media such as water, iodine, barium, CaCO 3} , paraffin, and lipid (Adipose) that can be evaluated in X-ray computed tomography may be added to the standard material, and nuclear medicine Positron-emmitting isotopes and gamma-emitting isotopes, which are signal sources for PET and SPECT imaging devices, can also be added.

The body block 130 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and forms a second space 170 therein. A fitting portion 160 is formed on the upper edge of the body block 130 to be fitted with the head block 120 . A lower protrusion 150 is formed on the lower surface 140 of the body block 130 so that another phantom 100 can be assembled continuously or in various shapes (especially, in the form of a Lego block).

The second space 170 is separated from the first space 240 by the inner container 200 and surrounds the first space 240 . The second space 170 may be left empty or filled with agarose (agar medium), which is a tissue equivalent material for image distortion. Agarose is a well-known material that is in the form of a gel and is widely used as a filler, solvent, and buffer. Agar medium (nutrient agar, ordinary agar) is a basal medium (liquid medium) added with 1-1.5% agar and is widely used as a basic medium for bacteria.

Optionally, a concave groove may be formed in the bottom of the second space 170 of the body block 130 so that the inner body 220 is fitted to fix the position.

The head block 120 may be assembled on the lower surface 140 of the other phantom 100 by forming four cylindrical protrusions 115 on the upper surface 110 . A fitting portion 160 may be formed on the lower edge of the head block 120 to be fitted and sealed to the body block 130 .

The head block 120 and the body block 130 can be made of the same material, and are difficult to deform and have high rigidity synthetic resin materials (eg, polycarbonate, ABS resin, PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), acrylic, Polymers such as urethane, PVC, and plastic materials). The head block 120 and the body block 130 may be manufactured using injection molding, cutting, or a 3D printer.

Optionally, by forming a concave central groove 125 in the center of the lower surface of the head block 120, the inner container 200 can be fitted to fix the position.

The head block 120 and the body block 130 maintain a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape when assembled to have a square flat cross-section. If the head block 120 and the body block 130 are manufactured in a cylindrical shape, they have a circular flat cross-section.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the phantom shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 5 , a circular lower protrusion 150 is formed in the center of the lower surface 140 , and eight lower surface protrusions 180 protrude inward, so that the protrusions 115 of other phantoms can be continuously assembled. to do it

The protrusion 115, the lower protrusion 150, and the lower protrusion 180 of the present invention are made to have the same size as a children's block toy (eg, a Lego block) and can be easily assembled or disassembled, and by mixing them to be compatible with them. Various block bodies can be decorated inexpensively.

embodiment movement

Hereinafter, the operation of the preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the inner lid 230 of the inner container 200 is opened, and a standard material is filled in the first space 240 . At this time, it is preferable to buffer so that air bubbles or air are not included.

Then, the inner container 200 is inserted into the central groove 125 of the head block 120 to fix the position.

Then, the second space 170 is filled with an agarose solution. And, when the fitting part 160 of the head block 120 and the body block 130 is assembled together, the inner container 200 naturally sits inside the second space 170 while the agar overflows and can be filled without air bubbles. have.

The phantom 100 thus completed is placed in imaging equipment (CT, MRI, etc.) and then photographed and used for calibration. If necessary, after preparing a plurality of each inner container 200 filled with a standard material of various ratios, it is possible to photograph while replacing only the inner container 200 . In addition, after preparing a plurality of phantoms 100 , an inner container 200 in which different standard materials are injected for each phantom 100 may be assembled to photograph a plurality of phantoms 100 at a time. That is, assembling 5 to 20 phantoms 100 successively and filling standard material solutions of different concentrations or ratios, contrast (gradation or gradation), grayscale, grayscale, space Resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, uniformity, location and accuracy of section selection, geometrical accuracy, etc. can be determined.

The detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed as described above is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and practice the present invention. Although the above has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, those skilled in the art can use each configuration described in the above-described embodiments in a way in combination with each other. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in all respects but as exemplary. The scope of the present invention should be determined by a reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all modifications within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. In addition, claims that are not explicitly cited in the claims may be combined to form an embodiment, or may be included as new claims by amendment after filing.

10: Phantom,
12: upper surface,
14: if,
16: turn,
18: joint;
20: solution;
22: inlet,
24: air bubble,
26: insert,
28: lower protrusion,
100: Phantom,
110: upper surface,
115: turn,
120: head block,
125: central groove,
130: body block,
140: if,
150: lower protrusion,
160: fitting part,
170: second space,
180: lower projection,
200: inner container,
210: thread;
220: inner body,
230: inner lid,
240: first space,
300: first solution;
320: second solution.

Claims (10)

In the standard phantom 100 for medical imaging,
an inner container 200 forming a first space 240;
a body block 130 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape, forming a second space 170 partitioned from the first space 240, accommodating the inner container 200 in the second space 170; and
Consists of; a head block 120 detachable to the body block 130,
In the first space 240, a standard material simulating an image characteristic of one of bone, liver, lung, muscle, and fat is contained,
Agarose, which is an image distortion reducing material, is accommodated in the second space 170 ,
The inner container 200 has a cylindrical or hexahedral shape or a spherical shape,
The inner container 200 is fixed by being fitted in at least one of the body block 130 and the head block 120,
The inner container 200,
an inner body 220 forming at least a part of the first space 240 and formed of polyethylene or polypropylene; and
It is screwed to the inner body 220, and the inner lid 230 molded of polyethylene or polypropylene; Consists of,
A plurality of projections 115 are further formed on the upper surface 110 of the head block 120, and,
On the lower surface 140 of the body block 130,
a plurality of lower surface projections 180 protruding from the circumference of the lower surface 140 toward the center; and
A lower protrusion 150 protruding from the central region of the lower surface 140 is further formed, so that the protrusion 115 of the other phantom 100 can be coupled;
A standard material contained in an inner container, characterized in that a fitting portion 160 is further formed around the body block 130 and around the head block 120 to be sealed by the fitting portion 160 . Standard phantom for medical imaging.
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