WO2012048633A1

WO2012048633A1 - X-ray ct system

Info

Publication number: WO2012048633A1
Application number: PCT/CN2011/080646
Authority: WO
Inventors: 蔡猛; 刘恩海; 孔晓冰
Original assignee: 株式会社东芝; 东芝医疗系统株式会社
Priority date: 2010-10-11
Filing date: 2011-10-11
Publication date: 2012-04-19
Also published as: CN102440792A; CN102440792B; CN103002806B; CN103002806A

Abstract

An X-ray system is used in an X-ray CT device. The X-ray system comprises multiple user interfaces corresponding to different scan phases, and is switched among the multiple user interfaces according to a scan process. Each of the user interfaces has a navigation bar. The navigation bar includes multiple scan phase instruction texts and highlights a scan phase instruction text corresponding to a current scan phase. The X-ray system improves an existing user interface so that a current scan phase of the operation can be clearly known.

Description

X-ray CT system

Technical field

The present invention relates to an X-ray CT (Computerized Tomography) system, and more particularly to an X-ray CT system that improves an existing user interface (UI: User Interface). Background technique

The X-ray CT apparatus is a device that scans a diagnosis site of a patient from a plurality of directions by X-rays, and scans a cross-sectional image of the portion to be diagnosed based on projection data obtained by transmitting X-rays of the diagnosis site. The operator of the X-ray CT apparatus uses the X-ray CT system in the X-ray CT apparatus to control the entire scanning process through an interactive user interface.

In the existing X-ray CT system, the commonly used scanning process is generally integrated on two user interfaces. FIG. 1 shows an operation interface in the existing X-ray CT system, which includes a patient information registration part 1 And a scan plan selection section 2, which shows another operation interface in the existing X-ray CT system, which includes a patient information display section 3, an item display section 4 in the scan, and an image generation section 5.

The patient information registration portion 1 is configured to input patient information such as a patient ID, a name, a gender, and an age into the CT device, and the scan plan selection portion 2 is configured to select a diagnosis site and a scan plan corresponding to the diagnosis site. . In the X-ray CT system, depending on the diagnosis site and the purpose of diagnosis, each scan plan specifies different scan conditions, such as scan type (including spiral scan, slice scan, etc.), scan range, scan direction, scan Tube voltage and tube current.

The scanning process can generally be divided into several stages, such as scanning preparation, scanning confirmation, scanning start, scanning, or scanning end. However, since the conventional scanning process involved in the existing X-ray CT system is mainly on two interfaces (hereinafter, the mode of the existing X-ray CT system is referred to as "Normal Mode"), in the conventional mode. Under the operator, the operator cannot clearly know which scanning phase the current state is in, which may cause inconvenience to the operation of the physician or technician. Summary of the invention

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an X-ray CT system capable of clearly knowing the scanning phase at which the current operation is performed.

The present invention provides an X-ray CT system, which is used in an X-ray CT apparatus, characterized in that the X-ray CT system includes a plurality of user interfaces corresponding to different scanning stages, and is in accordance with the progress of the scanning. The plurality of user interfaces are switched between each of the user interfaces, and each of the user interfaces has a guide bar, wherein the guide bar includes a plurality of scan phase indication characters, and the scan phase indication text corresponding to the current scan phase is highlighted.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, the user interface includes a mode selection interface for selecting a system boot mode including a legacy mode and a simple mode.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, the user interface includes a scan plan selection interface in which a plurality of scan plans designed according to different parts or diseases are shown.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, the user interface includes a scan plan selection interface in which a personal scan plan prepared by a doctor for an individual patient is shown.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, the scanning stage indicating character is highlighted in such a manner that the scanning stage indicating character is brightened.

In addition, in the X-ray CT system described above, when the user interface is switched, the indication text in the guide bar is displayed in an animation manner that gradually fades out, and the indication text in the previous scanning phase is gradually darkened, and the next scanning phase is The indicator text is getting brighter.

Further, in the X-ray CT system described above, when a plurality of steps are included in one scanning phase, it is indicated in the scanning phase by sequentially lighting a plurality of square marks in the vicinity of the indication character located in each scanning phase. One step.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, in the case where the operator is required to operate the input device of the X-ray CT apparatus, the input device is displayed on the corresponding user interface.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, in the case where the operator is required to operate the button on the hardware keyboard of the X-ray CT apparatus, the movement of the keyboard is displayed on the corresponding user interface. Draw and display the button in the above animation as lit.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, the button in the animation is displayed in a lighting state, and the corresponding button on the hardware keyboard is turned on.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, in the interface in progress of scanning, progress bars of different shapes are displayed to represent different scan items.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, in the interface in progress of scanning, the progress bars before, during, and after scanning are distinguished by different colors.

Further, in the above X-ray CT system, when the slice scan is performed, the number of unfinished countdown slices is displayed in a countdown manner in the interface in progress of the scan.

Compared with the conventional X-ray CT system, the simple mode of the X-ray CT system of the present invention removes the complicated functions in the conventional mode, takes only the common scanning related functions, and subdivides and navigates the scanning functions, thereby The operator can clearly know the scanning phase currently in operation, and even an operator with few business experiences can easily use the X-ray CT system, and can accurately grasp the scanned items and progress during the scanning process, thereby greatly Improve the convenience of system operation. DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a view showing an operation interface in a conventional X-ray CT system.

Fig. 2 is a view showing another operation interface in the conventional X-ray CT system.

Fig. 3 is a view showing a patient information registration interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a view showing a scan plan selection interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a view showing a scan preparation interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a view showing a scan waiting interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a view showing an interface in scanning in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a scanning condition confirmation interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention. Fig. 9 is a view showing a scan waiting interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a view showing an interface during scanning in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a view showing a scanning end interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a view showing a mode selection interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a view showing a hardware keyboard of a conventional X-ray CT system console. Fig. 14 is a view showing a state in which a scan button on a hardware keyboard of a conventional X-ray CT system console is turned on.

Fig. 15 is a view showing a state in which the tilt/move button on the hardware keyboard of the conventional X-ray CT system console is lit.

Figure 16 is a flow diagram of prompting an operator to operate a scan button by scanning an animated display in the interface.

Figure 17 is a flow chart that prompts the operator to operate the tilt/move button by scanning the animation display in the waiting interface.

Fig. 18 is a view showing the progress of scanning when a conventional X-ray CT system performs scanning. Fig. 19 is a view showing the progress of scanning when the X-ray CT system of the present invention performs scanning. Description of the reference signs:

1 Patient information registration section

2 Scan plan selection section

3 patient information display section

4 Project display part in the scan

5 image generation section

10 guide bars

11 indicator text

40, 40 ' scan button

50, 50, tilt / move button

60 images produced during scanning

70 scan progress display area

80 strips

90 short strip

100 countdown number of slices

(First embodiment) The different scanning stages are changed, and the scanning stage in which the operator is currently located is indicated by the guide bar 10 in each user interface (hereinafter, the mode of the X-ray CT system of the present invention is referred to as "easy mode").

Specifically, Fig. 3 is a view showing a patient information registration interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention, and an operator can register patient information such as a patient examination number, name, gender, age, and the like using an output device such as a hardware keyboard or a touch panel.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a scan plan selection interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention. The scan plan selection interface shows a plurality of scan plans, which include scan plans that are designed for different locations or diseases, and may include a personal scan plan that the doctor has pre-defined for individual patients.

Figures 5 through 7 show the process of a Scano scan.

Fig. 5 is a view showing a scan preparation interface when the entire scan is performed. Information such as the scanning direction, scanning range, tube voltage, and tube current is shown in the scan preparation interface. In addition, if the operator presses the "detailed scan information" button in the scan preparation interface, the scan position and condition setting interface will pop up, and the operator can set each scan position and condition. For example, the operator can increase the sharpness of the picture by increasing the value of the tube voltage and/or tube current.

Fig. 6 is a view showing a scan waiting interface when performing overall scanning. The scan reference position and the arrow indicating the scanning direction are shown in the scan waiting interface. Also, an animation of the keyboard is displayed on the right side of the scan waiting interface, and the scan button 40' and the tilt/move button 50' in the animation of the keyboard are all lit. The contents and operations of the animation display of the keyboard will be described in detail later.

Fig. 7 is a view showing an interface during scanning when the entire scan is performed. The upper right box of the interface in the scan indicates the image formed by the scan, and below the image is the scan progress display area. The contents of the scan progress display area will be described in detail later.

Figures 8 to 10 show the process of performing a detailed scan after the overall scan.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a scanning condition checking interface when detailed scanning is performed. In the scan condition confirmation interface, the operator performs scan conditions such as scan direction, scan range, tube voltage, CT dose index (CTDI), and dose-intensity product (DLP) of the detailed scan based on the scan result obtained after the overall scan. Set or confirm.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a scan waiting interface when detailed scanning is performed. The scan waiting interface of the detailed scan is substantially the same as the content of the scan waiting interface at the time of the overall scan, and the duplicated is omitted here. Description. Further, when the operator presses the scan button 40, the countdown of the start of X-ray radiation is also displayed in the interface, and the example shown in the figure is that X-ray emission starts after 7 seconds.

Fig. 10 is a view showing an interface during scanning when detailed scanning is performed. Compared with the scanning middle interface at the time of the overall scanning, the display of the real-time cut image is added to the scanning interface in the detailed scanning in Fig. 10.

Fig. 11 is a view showing a scanning end interface in the X-ray CT system of the present invention. At the end of the scan, the operator can choose to add scans, enhanced scans, or other scan schedules as needed. It is also possible to start the examination of the next patient by pressing the next patient button at the lower left to end the examination of the patient.

The operator switches between the respective interfaces by operating the "previous" or "next" buttons in each of the above interfaces, thereby displaying the respective scanning phases.

A guide bar 10 is displayed on the left side of each user interface, and the guide bar 10 includes an instruction text 11 indicating each scanning phase. For example, the guide bar 10 in Fig. 3 shows the instruction text 11 including five scan stages including patient registration, scan plan selection, scan preparation, scanning, film printing/image transmission.

When the interface is switched, the guidance information is displayed in an animation manner indicating that the text 11 fades out faded. The indication text 11 of the previous scanning stage gradually becomes darker, and the indication text 11 of the next scanning stage gradually becomes brighter.

For example, when switching from the patient information registration interface shown in FIG. 3 to the scan plan selection interface shown in FIG. 4, the instruction text "patient registration" corresponding to the patient information registration interface in the guide bar 10 is highlighted from the original. Gradually dark, the indication text "Scan plan selection" of the next scanning stage corresponding to the scan plan selection interface is gradually brightened.

Further, in a case where a plurality of steps are included in a certain scanning phase, which of the plurality of square marks in the vicinity of the character 11 is sequentially illuminated to indicate which step is currently in the scanning phase, for example, in the guide bar of FIG. In 10, only the first square of the three squares under the instruction text "Scan Preparation" is lit, indicating the step of "Please confirm the scan bed position and scan bar" currently in the scan preparation phase; In the tenth item, the first square and the second square of the three squares under the instruction text "Scan Preparation" are lit, indicating that the step of "pressing the start button" is currently in the scanning preparation phase; In the guide bar 10, the indication text "Sweep The three blocks below are all illuminated, indicating the steps to set the scan position and range currently in the scan preparation phase.

Compared with the conventional "traditional mode", the "easy mode" of the present invention enables the operator to clearly know the scanning phase in which the current operation is performed, thereby improving the convenience of the operation.

(Second embodiment)

The X-ray CT system of the present invention can have both "simple mode" and "traditional mode", and can also have only the traditional mode.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a mode selection interface in the case where the system has "easy mode" and "tradition mode", and buttons "Normal Mode" and "Simple Mode" are displayed in the interface. If the operator presses the "traditional mode" button 20, the first interface of the conventional mode shown in Fig. 1 is entered. When the operator presses the "easy mode" button 30, the first interface of the simple mode shown in Fig. 3 is entered.

In the case where the X-ray CT system of the present invention has a mode selection interface, the operator can select the conventional mode or the simple mode based on experience, preference, etc., further improving the convenience of the operation. For example, for an operator who has accumulated a lot of experience with traditional modes, it may be desirable to use the traditional mode. For users who want to be able to clearly and clearly grasp the scanning phase currently in use, they may prefer to use the simple mode. . (Third embodiment)

As shown in Fig. 13, a scan button 40 and a tilt/move button 50 are provided on the hardware keyboard of the existing X-ray CT system console. In the existing X-ray CT system, only the scan button 40 on the hardware keyboard or the tilt/move button 50 is illuminated to prompt the next operation. As shown in Fig. 14, when X-ray irradiation is required, the scan button 40 on the hardware keyboard is automatically turned on, indicating that the X-ray irradiation operation can be performed. As shown in Figure 15, when it is necessary to move the gantry or the bed, the tilt/move button 50 on the hardware keyboard automatically lights up, indicating that the action of moving the gantry or the bed can be implemented.

However, in this case, if the operator keeps staring at the display of the console or the operator's business is not very skilled, it is possible to ignore the lighting prompt on the hardware keyboard, which may affect the inspection efficiency. In view of the above problem, in the X-ray CT system of the present invention, an animation display for prompting an operator to perform a button operation (as shown in FIG. 6) is added to an interface corresponding to the button operation, thereby prompting the operator to promptly Press the button on the actual hardware keyboard.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to Figs. 16 and 17 . That is, the action of the operation prompt is displayed by the animation in the scan waiting interface.

As shown in Fig. 16, after the scanning preparation is completed (S11) before entering the start scanning phase, the scanning waiting interface is displayed on the display (as shown in Fig. 6 or Fig. 9). An animation of the hardware keyboard is displayed on the right side of the scan waiting interface, the scan button 40' in the animation is lit, and the scan button 40 on the hardware keyboard of the X-ray CT system is illuminated while the user interface is The scan button 40 in the animation display above is also lit at the same time (S12). If the operator presses the actual scan button 40 on the hardware keyboard according to the animation prompt on the user interface (S13), the actual scan button 40 on the hardware keyboard will be extinguished, and the animated scan button 40' on the user interface is also simultaneously Off (S14).

As shown in Fig. 17, after the scanning preparation is completed (S21) before entering the start scanning phase, a scan waiting interface (shown in Fig. 6 or Fig. 9) is displayed on the display. An animation of the hardware keyboard is displayed on the right side of the scan waiting interface, and if the tilting/moving button 50' in the animation is required to be tilted or moved in the selected scanning plan, and While the tilt/move button 50 on the hardware keyboard of the X-ray CT system is lit, the tilt/move button 50' in the animation display on the user interface is also illuminated (S22). Next, the operator determines whether it is necessary to tilt the gantry or move the bed according to specific needs (S23). For example, a dialog box asking the operator whether to tilt the gantry or move the bed is displayed in the scan waiting interface (refer to FIG. 6). In the case where it is determined that the tilt of the gantry is required or the bed is moved, the operator presses the actual tilt/move button 50 on the hardware keyboard according to the animation prompt on the user interface (S24), and then on the hardware keyboard The actual tilt/move button 50 will go out, and the panning/moving button 50' of the animation on the user interface will also be extinguished at the same time (S25). On the other hand, in the case where it is determined that the tilting of the gantry and/or the movement of the bed is not required, the tilting and/or moving operation can be abandoned (for example, pressing the "exit" button in the above dialog box in FIG. 6), Then the actual tilt/move button 50 on the hardware keyboard and the pan/tilt button 50 of the animation on the user interface are turned off (S26), the actual scan button 40 on the hardware keyboard and the animated scan button 40' on the user interface Lights up (S27) so the user chooses to scan directly. Fig. 6 or Fig. 9 shows a state in which both the scan button 40' and the tilt/move button 50' are illuminated. Generally, if it is necessary to tilt the gantry and/or move the bed, the operator first performs the operation of Fig. 17 The steps shown are followed by the steps shown in Figure 16; if the operator deems it unnecessary to tilt the gantry and/or move the bed, the steps shown in Figure 16 are performed directly.

The convenience of the operation is further improved by adding an animation display of the prompt button operation on the user interface corresponding to the above button operation.

The above embodiment illustrates an example of an animated display when a button on a keyboard is operated, but the present invention is not limited to the case of operating a button on a keyboard, and may be applied to operate other input devices of an X-ray CT apparatus. In the case of, for example, an animation of a mouse, a touch screen, or the like is displayed.

(Fourth embodiment)

When the existing X-ray CT system scans, as shown in Fig. 18, the selected scan item is grayed out, so that it is possible to know which scan has been performed. However, as shown in Fig. 18, in this normal mode, only the current item being scanned is indicated, and the total number of slices for each item scan and the progress of the scan are not shown in detail.

In the X-ray CT system of the present invention, several scan items of the current scan plan are displayed by progress bars of different shapes, and the progress bars of different shapes respectively represent different scan items. Moreover, the progress bars before, during, and after scanning are displayed in different colors. For example, you can display the progress bar before scanning as blue, the progress bar in the scan as yellow, and the progress bar after scanning as gray. In addition, it is also possible to display the number of unfinished slices in the form of countdown when performing a slice scan.

Next, the display method of the scanning progress of the present invention will be described in detail by taking the user interface shown in Fig. 19 as an example.

As shown in FIG. 19, the left side of the user interface of FIG. 19 is the guide bar 10, and the upper right box indicates the image 60 generated in the scan, and below the image 60 is the scan progress display area 70. The scan progress display area 70 displays four progress bars including one long bar 80 on the left side and three short bars 90 on the right side, and the countdown slice number 100 can also be displayed on the lower right side of the scan progress display area 70. The strip 80 represents an item with a long scan time such as an overall scan or a Helical scan, and the short strip represents other items having a short scan time such as a slice scan. When there are too many scan items, loaded When the animation is over the screen, you can also check all the scan items by setting the left and right drag bars, or make the screen automatically scroll, so that the currently scanned items are always centered, and the scanned items move to the left. When a slice scan is performed, a number can be displayed in the number of countdown slices 100, which represents the number of unfinished slices in a countdown manner. The number of countdown slices is generally displayed as a different value depending on the setting of the scan range parameter.

In addition, the display color of the progress bar changes as the progress of the scan progresses. In the embodiment shown in Figure 19, the bar 80 is shown in yellow, indicating that scanning of the item is in progress. In addition, if the yellow strip rotates while blinking, it indicates that a spiral scan is in progress. The three short bars 90 in Fig. 19 are all displayed in blue, and the blinking display is displayed, indicating that the scanning of the item has not been performed (that is, in the state before scanning). After the end of the spiral scan represented by the strip 80, the display of the strip becomes gray, indicating that the scan of the item has ended, and then proceeds to the next slice scan, and the display of the first strip 90 on the left turns yellow. And the number of countdown slices corresponding to the slice scan is displayed in the countdown slice number 100. By analogy, all scans are done.

Through the above scan progress display, the scan items included in the current scan plan and the scan progress of the currently executed items can be displayed very intuitively, so that the operator can easily grasp the content and progress of the scan, thereby greatly improving the scan progress. Operator's operational efficiency.

Further, the shape and color of the progress bar are merely examples, and of course, the specific display form of the progress bar may be appropriately changed.

Claims

Claim

An X-ray CT system, which is used in an X-ray CT apparatus, characterized in that the X-ray CT system includes a plurality of user interfaces corresponding to different scanning stages, and is in accordance with the progress of the scanning. Switch between the above user interfaces,

Each of the above user interfaces has a guide bar, the guide bar includes a plurality of scan phase indication characters, and the scan phase indication text corresponding to the current scan phase is highlighted.

2. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

The above user interface includes a mode selection interface for selecting a system boot mode including a legacy mode and a simple mode.

3. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

The above user interface includes a scan plan selection interface in which a plurality of scan plans designed according to different parts or diseases are shown.

4. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

The above user interface includes a scan plan selection interface showing a personal scan plan pre-defined by the doctor for individual patients.

5. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

The manner in which the above-mentioned scanning phase indication text is highlighted is to make the scanning phase indication text brighter.

6. The X-ray CT system of claim 5, wherein

When the user interface is switched, the indication text in the above-mentioned guide bar is displayed in an animation manner of gradually fade-out. The indication text of the previous scanning phase is gradually darkened, and the indication text of the next scanning phase is gradually brightened.

7. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein: In the case where a plurality of steps are included in one scanning phase, which of the scanning stages is indicated by sequential lighting of a plurality of square marks located near the indication text at each scanning stage.

8. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

Where an operator is required to operate an input device of an X-ray CT device, the input device is displayed on a corresponding user interface.

9. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

In the case where the operator is required to operate the buttons on the hardware keyboard of the X-ray CT apparatus, the animation of the keyboard is displayed on the corresponding user interface, and the buttons in the above animation are displayed in a lit state.

10. The X-ray CT system of claim 9 wherein:

While the button in the above animation is displayed in the lighting state, the corresponding button on the hardware keyboard is turned on.

11. The X-ray CT system of claim 1 wherein:

In the ongoing scanning interface, different shapes of progress bars are displayed to represent different scanning items.

12. The X-ray CT system of claim 11 wherein:

In the interface in progress of scanning, the progress bars before, during, and after scanning are displayed in different colors.

13. The X-ray CT system of claim 11 wherein:

When a slice scan is performed, the number of unfinished countdown slices is displayed in a countdown manner in the interface in progress.