KR20140061177A - Adaptive sensor unit, x-ray imaging appratus and x-ray imaging method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an adaptive sensor unit, an X-ray imaging device using the same, and a method thereof. The adaptive sensor unit includes: a sensor for detecting a projection image of X-rays; a light radiation unit which radiates light towards a subject; a light detection unit which detects reflection light of the radiated light reflected by the subject; a distance detection unit which detects the distance between the subject and the sensor using the intensity of the detected reflection light; a curvature calculation unit which calculates the curvature of the subject based on the distance value detected by the distance detection unit; and a control unit which changes the shape of the sensor corresponding to the curvature of the subject. Furthermore, the X-ray imaging device including the adaptive sensor unit to acquire an image of the subject is provided. According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire a clear image of a curved surface which is a target for X-ray imaging and accordingly reduce the number of times of re-imaging. As a result, costs can be reduced and the amount of radiation applied to a patient can be minimized.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an adaptive sensor unit, and an X-ray imaging apparatus and method using the same.

The present invention relates to an X-ray photographing apparatus, and more particularly, to a X-ray photographing apparatus capable of clearly acquiring and utilizing subject image information by using a sensor set in a shape having a different distance and angle from each other in correspondence with a curved surface of a human body An adaptive sensor unit, and an X-ray imaging apparatus and method using the same.

X-ray diagnostic equipment is widely known as a device capable of acquiring an image of a lesion by x-raying a specific lesion of a human body, and reading and diagnosing the lesion. Such X-ray diagnostic equipment usually comprises an X-ray source for irradiating the X-ray and a detector equipped with a sensor for detecting the projected image for the X-ray.

The sensor type of the detector is usually linear or broadly plate-shaped. This is called a planar sensor. Therefore, when the image information of a subject is detected using a detector, a phenomenon occurs in which the image is distorted or faint according to a human body part. That is, when a relatively flat area is photographed, the image is clearly displayed. On the other hand, when an image of a bent part of the human body such as a tooth, a breast or a chest is detected, the anatomical body constituting material and the detector Are not all the same distance, a part of the image is not clearly displayed.

An X-ray photographing apparatus using the dental panoramic sensor will be described as an example. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are views showing an example of X-ray imaging of oral cavity using a general flat type sensor.

1 (a), a detector 3 for detecting an image projected from an X-source 1, a subject 2, and a subject 2 is constructed.

The detector 3 is composed of a planar sensor having a plate or linear structure. On the other hand, the oral structure, particularly the tooth arrangement, of the subject 2 is formed in an approximately elliptical shape as shown in the figure. Therefore, the detector 3 is spaced apart from the subject 2 by a predetermined distance regardless of the tooth arrangement.

In this case, the distance between the detector 3 and the teeth can not be avoided. Therefore, when the detector 3 detects the X-ray projected on the subject 2, the image is clearly obtained for some teeth, but the image may appear faintly for other teeth. b.

In this way, the sharpness of some components is reduced according to the distance between the subject 2 and the detector 3, and a faint part of the acquired image is generated.

The sharpness of such image information varies depending on the distance between the subject and the detection period. 2 (a) and 2 (b) show a difference in sharpness according to the distance between the subject and the detector, FIG. 2 (a) (A). In other words, as the distance between the subject and the detector increases, sharpness decreases and more blurred portions of the image occur. On the other hand, as the distance between the subject and the detector becomes closer, the sharpness becomes better and the blurred portion of the image becomes smaller.

As a result, when a conventional detector, that is, a planar sensor of a planar / linear structure detects an X-ray and acquires it as image information, it is difficult to accurately diagnose it due to an undesirable faint part in the acquired image information .

Also, in this case, there arises a problem that the X-ray image should be re-photographed on the area where the sharpness has deteriorated. Repeated shots of X-rays lead to not only cost increases but also other problems that increase the patient's exposure dose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an adaptive sensor unit for detecting a projection image by being positioned in correspondence with a curved structure of a subject when a subject to be photographed is a curve, .

It is another object of the present invention to provide an X-ray diagnostic imaging apparatus and method that can acquire and utilize image information of a curved object clearly.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided an image processing apparatus including a sensor unit for detecting a projected image of an X-ray irradiated to an object by an X-ray source located at one side of the object, At least one individual sensor for detecting a projected image with respect to the X-ray; A light irradiation unit for irradiating light toward the subject; A light sensing unit for sensing reflected light of the illuminated light reflected from the subject; A distance sensing unit for sensing a distance between the subject and the individual sensor using the intensity of the sensed reflected light; A curvature calculation unit for calculating a curvature value of the subject based on the distance value sensed by the distance sensing unit; And a control unit for setting different distances and angles between the subject and the individual sensors in correspondence with the curvature of the subject.

Further, the sensor unit may be configured by combining one or more individual sensors, or may be a single flexible sensor.

In the case where the sensor unit is composed of one or more individual sensors, the light irradiating unit is configured for each of the individual sensors, or if the sensor unit is a flexible sensor, at least one light irradiation unit is provided on one surface of the flexible sensor .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a sensor unit having at least one individual sensor for detecting a projection image of an X-ray emitted toward a subject; A controller for setting distances and angles of the individual sensors with respect to the subject differently according to a curvature of the subject; And a display unit for displaying the projection image detected by the set sensor.

Here, an irradiating unit for irradiating the subject with light is further provided, and the control unit sets the position of the individual sensor by using the intensity of the light reflected from the subject.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of photographing a projection image of a subject using an X-ray photographing apparatus, wherein the X-ray photographing apparatus comprises: at least one light irradiation unit located at one side of the subject, Irradiating light onto a subject; Sensing a distance between the subject and at least one individual sensor for sensing the projection image using the intensity of light reflected from the subject; Calculating a curvature of the subject according to the detection result; Setting the individual sensor to correspond to the calculated curvature; And acquiring a projection image of the subject by irradiating an X-ray to the subject in a state where the individual sensor is set.

And the setting step may set the distance between the subject and the angle of the individual sensor to be different from each other according to the curvature of the subject.

According to the setting of the individual sensors, the sensor unit, which is a combination of the individual sensors, is formed in a shape corresponding to the curvature of the subject.

According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, by setting the position and angle of the sensor in a shape corresponding to the body part having the curved surface of the human body, the image of the curved surface to be X- And an accurate diagnosis can be performed.

In addition, it is possible to acquire clear image information by only one X-ray photographing, thereby minimizing the necessity of re-photographing a faint area and reducing the cost due to re-photographing.

In addition, the amount of exposure to the patient is increased in proportion to the number of times of photographing at the time of X-ray photographing, which can be prevented.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are views showing an example of X-ray imaging of oral cavity using a general sensor device
Fig. 2 is an example showing the difference in sharpness according to the distance between the subject and the detector
Fig. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of an X-ray imaging apparatus including an adaptive sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention
4A and 4B are views illustrating an example in which a sensor is set in correspondence with a curvature of a subject according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flow chart illustrating an X-ray imaging method using an adaptive sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an adaptive sensor unit, an X-ray imaging apparatus and a method using the same according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 shows an entire configuration diagram of an X-ray imaging apparatus including an adaptive sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 3, an X-ray source 1 for irradiating X-rays and a subject 2 for X-ray imaging are provided. The X-ray source 1 and the subject 2 are not included in the configuration of the X-ray imaging apparatus of the present invention.

An X-ray according to the present embodiment for detecting an X-ray irradiated from an X-ray source 1 and projecting a subject 2, collecting a projection image for the X- The photographing apparatus 100 is constructed. The configuration of the X-ray imaging apparatus 100 is as follows.

And a sensor unit 110 for detecting an X-ray projected from the subject 2 is provided. The sensor unit 110 is configured in a shape in which at least one or more individual sensors 110a are combined or in a flexible shape that is easy to bend. The figure shows an example in which the individual sensors 110a are combined. At this time, whether the sensor unit 110 is a combination of the individual sensors 110a or a flexible shape, the sensor unit 110 should have such a size as to capture the whole of the subject 2, which is an object of X-ray imaging. Each of the individual sensors 110a is set to a position corresponding to the curvature of the subject 2 according to the operation of the control unit 160 described later so that the sensor unit 110 has a shape that is bent or warped as a whole .

And a light irradiation unit 120 for irradiating the subject 2 with light. The light irradiation unit 120 is provided corresponding to each of the individual sensors 110a. Preferably, the light irradiating unit 120 is formed on one surface of the individual sensor 110a. This is to minimize errors in the position and angle of the individual sensor 110a set according to the intensity of light. If the sensor 110 has a flexible shape, a plurality of light irradiating units 120 are mounted on one surface of the sensor 110 (i.e., a surface facing the subject).

And a light sensing unit 130 for sensing the reflected light reflected from the subject 2 is provided. The light sensing unit 130 may be disposed adjacent to the light irradiating unit 120. This is for accurately measuring the distance value between the individual sensor 110a and the subject 2. [

Meanwhile, although the light irradiating unit 120 and the light sensing unit 130 are described as separate structures, they may be replaced by a single optical sensor capable of sensing and sensing light. Also, the light irradiating unit 120, the light sensing unit 130, and the optical sensor do not have to be installed adjacent to or in contact with the respective sensors 110a. The distance between the individual sensor 110a and the subject 2 can be accurately measured.

The distance sensing unit 140 senses the distance between the subject 2 and the individual sensor 110a using the intensity of the reflected light sensed by the light sensing unit 130. The distances between the subject 2 and the individual sensors 110a have different values depending on the curved surface of the subject 2. [

A curvature calculator 150 for calculating the curvature of the subject 2 using the distance between the subject 2 and the individual sensor 110a sensed by the distance sensor 140 is provided.

A controller 160 for controlling the overall operation of the X-ray imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is provided. Particularly, the control unit 160 controls the position of the individual sensor 110a, that is, the distance to the subject 2, in correspondence with the curvature of the subject 2 calculated by the curvature calculation unit 150, And controls the angle to be adjusted differently. That is, the controller 160 controls the sensor actuator (not shown) to move each of the sensors 110a close to or away from the subject 2 to substantially set the shape corresponding to the curvature of the subject 2. In some cases, when the angle adjustment is necessary, the angle adjustment operation is also performed. Therefore, as the amount of change of the curvature of the subject 2 is small, the larger the amount of change, the more the entire shape of the sensor 100 will exhibit a more abrupt curve curve.

This will be described with reference to FIG. 4A and 4B illustrate examples in which the sensor is set in correspondence with the curvature of the subject 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Initially, the individual units 110a of the sensor 100 are in a straight line.

In this state, the light irradiation unit 120 irradiates the light (a) to the object 2. At this time, the distances between the light irradiation unit 120 and the subject 2 are different from each other. Therefore, the intensity of the reflected light (b) reflected by the subject 2 will be different.

Using the values calculated by the distance sensing unit 140 and the curvature calculation unit 150, the controller 160 moves the individual sensors 110a in correspondence with the curvatures of the subject 2. That is, the positions of the individual sensors 110a in FIG. 4A are changed from the solid line position to the dotted line position 110a '. The distances between all the individual sensors 110a and the curved surface of the subject 2 are equal to each other due to the change of the positions of the individual sensors 110a. As another example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the individual sensor 110a may be changed into a curved shape in correspondence with the curvature of the subject 2.

 Referring again to FIG. 3, when the sensor 100 set as described above detects a projection image of the X-ray, an image display unit 170 for displaying the image information is configured. The image display unit 170 may include a monitor for outputting various information, an LCD / LED display device, or the like, or may be a medium for outputting in the form of a film, under the control of the controller 160.

Next, a process of acquiring image information by photographing a specific region of a body having a curved surface using the X-ray imaging apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, for the sake of explanation, a part of the body will be described with an example of an oral structure having a tooth.

The X-ray source 1, the subject 2, and the X-ray imaging apparatus 100 are positioned as shown in Fig. 3 (s100). Usually, the X-ray source 1 and the X-ray imaging apparatus 100 are in a predetermined position and the subject 2 is moved and positioned therebetween. The X-ray source 1 and the X-ray imaging apparatus 100 are moved and positioned with respect to the subject 2 when the subject 2 is first positioned. At this time, the sensor 100 of the X-ray imaging apparatus 100 maintains an initial state in which the sensor 100 is linearly positioned while maintaining a certain distance from the subject 2.

In this state, the light irradiation unit 120 configured for each individual sensor 110a irradiates the light toward the subject 2 (s102). Then, the irradiated light is reflected on the surface of the subject 2, and the light sensing unit 130 configured for each sensor 110a senses light reflected from the subject 2 (s104). At this time, since the distances between the individual sensor 110a and the subject 2 are different from each other, the intensity of the reflected light will also be different.

The distance sensing unit 140 senses the distance between the subject 2 and the individual sensor 110a using the intensity of the reflected light sensed by the light sensing unit 130 (s106).

The sensed distance value is calculated by the curvature calculation unit 150 and calculated as the curvature value of the subject 2 (s108). At this time, the curvature value of the subject 2 is calculated in proportion to the distance value.

The curvature value calculated by the curvature calculation unit 150 is transmitted to the control unit 160. The control unit 160 sets each of the individual sensors 110a of the sensor 110 differently based on the curvature value (S110). Specifically, in the initial state, the individual sensor 110a located close to the subject 2 is set to a farther position, and the individual sensor 110a located farther away from the subject 2 is set to a closer position. According to the set result, each of the individual sensors 110a has the same distance value as the object 2. In addition, the angle of each individual sensor 110a toward the subject 2 is also set differently. The overall shape of the individual sensor 110a according to the setting corresponds to the shape of the curved surface of the subject 2 and is formed into a bent shape as shown in Figs. Of course, since the mouth structure in which the teeth are arranged is exemplified, when the other curved surface of the body is photographed, the overall shape of the individual sensor 110a will be different.

When the positions and angles of the respective sensors 110a constituting the sensor 110 are set to correspond to the curved shape of the subject 2 as described above, the X-ray source 1 irradiates X-rays to the subject 2 ) (S112).

The X-ray is transmitted through the subject 2, and the sensor 110 detects the projection image with respect to the X-ray (s114). Then, the detected projection image is displayed on the image display unit 170 or in the form of a film (s116).

Since the distance between the individual sensor 110a and the subject 2 having a curved surface is constant, the image information obtained through this process can obtain clearer image information than the image information detected by the conventional planar sensor.

As described above, according to the present invention, since the sensor for detecting the X-ray is set in the shape corresponding to the position and the angle of the human body based on the curvature of the curved surface of the human body, It is possible to minimize the faint part of the information, thereby improving the quality of the image of the subject.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, It will be apparent that modifications, variations and equivalents of other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

In other words, although the mouth portion in which the teeth are arranged at the bent portion of the human body is described as an example, the present embodiment can be applied to other body portions having a curved surface such as a breast, a breast, Do.

In addition, although the present embodiment separately configures the distance sensing unit and the curvature calculating unit to perform a predetermined function, the above-described control unit may replace these functions. Such a case is also applicable to the present invention.

1: X-ray source 2: Subject
100: X-ray imaging apparatus 110: sensor unit
110a: Individual sensor 120: Light irradiation part
130: light sensing unit 140: distance sensing unit
150: Curvature sensing unit 160: Control unit
170:

Claims (9)

And a sensor unit for detecting a projection image of the X-ray irradiated toward the subject by an X-ray source located on one side of the subject,
The sensor unit includes:
At least one individual sensor for detecting a projection image for the X-ray;
A light irradiation unit for irradiating light toward the subject;
A light sensing unit for sensing reflected light of the illuminated light reflected from the subject;
A distance sensing unit for sensing a distance between the subject and the individual sensor using the intensity of the sensed reflected light;
A curvature calculation unit for calculating a curvature value of the subject based on the distance value sensed by the distance sensing unit; And
And a controller for setting a distance and an angle between the object and the subject different from each other in correspondence with the curvature of the subject. The method according to claim 1,
The sensor unit includes:
One or more individual sensors are combined, or one flexible sensor. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein when the sensor unit is composed of one or more individual sensors, the light irradiating unit is configured for each of the individual sensors. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein when the sensor unit is a flexible sensor, at least one light irradiation unit is formed on one surface of the flexible sensor. A sensor unit having at least one individual sensor for detecting a projected image with respect to an X-ray radiating toward a subject;
A controller for setting distances and angles of the individual sensors with respect to the subject differently according to a curvature of the subject; And
And a display unit for displaying the projection image detected by the set sensor. 6. The method of claim 5,
Further comprising an irradiating unit for irradiating the subject with light,
Wherein the controller sets the position of the individual sensor using intensity of light reflected from the subject. A method of photographing a projection image of a subject using an X-ray imaging apparatus,
The X-ray photographing apparatus comprising: at least one light irradiating unit located at one side of the subject irradiates the subject with light;
Sensing a distance between the subject and at least one individual sensor for sensing the projection image using the intensity of light reflected from the subject;
Calculating a curvature of the subject according to the detection result;
Setting the individual sensor to correspond to the calculated curvature; And
And irradiating X-rays to the subject in a state where the individual sensor is set, thereby obtaining a projection image of the subject. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the setting step sets the distance to the subject and the angle to the subject different for each of the individual sensors according to the curvature of the subject. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the sensor unit, which is a combination of the individual sensors, is formed in a shape corresponding to the curvature of the subject according to the setting of the individual sensor.

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