CN111341479A - An imaging device and its collimator - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a collimator, which comprises at least two combined units arranged up and down, wherein each combined unit comprises a plurality of sheet structures arranged side by side and a fixing device for fixing the sheet structures; gaps are arranged between adjacent sheet structures, the gaps in the same combined unit are parallel and uniformly arranged, and the gaps in the adjacent combined units are arranged in a non-parallel mode, so that a plurality of parallel holes are formed in the overlapped parts of all the gaps in the vertical direction. Compared with the prior art, the collimator provided by the invention is convenient to process and assemble, the processing cost is reduced, the processing precision is high, the low-cost and high-precision batch production can be realized, and the application range of the collimator is favorably expanded. The invention also discloses an imaging device comprising the collimator.

Description

An imaging device and its collimator

technical field

The present invention relates to the technical field of nuclear medicine, and more particularly, to a collimator. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to an imaging apparatus comprising the above-mentioned collimator.

Background technique

With the continuous advancement of science and technology, the field of nuclear medicine is also developing rapidly. Nuclear medicine imaging is the introduction of radionuclides or their labeled compounds into the body, and the use of nuclear medicine imaging instruments to detect and image the distribution of radiopharmaceuticals in the body in vitro, also known as Functional imaging or metabolic imaging, which is difficult to achieve with other medical imaging techniques such as X-ray and CT. Gamma camera is the earliest and most basic nuclear medicine imaging equipment. SPECT is the most widely used nuclear medicine imaging equipment developed on this basis that can perform three-dimensional imaging.

The collimator is a key component of gamma camera or SPECT imaging. It is installed at the front of the detector. There are several collimation holes on it. Only the rays flying along the collimation holes are allowed to pass through, so that the non-specified range and non-specified The gamma rays in the direction shall not be incident on the detector, which plays the role of positioning and collecting information. Collimators are divided into pinhole type, parallel hole type, convergent type and divergent type according to their geometric shapes. Among them, the parallel hole type collimator has many applications because of its superior comprehensive performance. hole array.

As shown in Figure 1, a typical scintillation crystal-based gamma camera, radionuclide 02 or its labeled compound drug emits gamma rays, which are filtered by a parallel-hole collimator composed of several collimating holes 01 effect, selectively hit the scintillation crystal 03. After passing through the scintillation crystal 03, the gamma photons are converted into visible light signals. The visible light signal is then converted into an electrical signal that can be recognized by the computer through the photomultiplier tube array 04 . After processing by the computer processing unit 05, the desired image is finally formed.

Collimators are usually made of high atomic number metal materials with radiation blocking properties, such as lead, tungsten, etc. Among them, lead is the most economical choice. In the past, lead was the preferred material for nuclear medicine gamma camera collimators. Tungsten The density is about 1.7 times that of lead, which has better radiation absorption properties, and is more effective in screening unwanted gamma beams. It is the preferred material for high imaging quality, but its difficult processing and high cost limit Its application in the field of nuclear medicine imaging.

The processing method of conventional tungsten collimators in the prior art, as shown in Figure 2, the size of these collimation holes 01 is very small, and the depth of the collimation holes 01 is deep, facing so many and tiny Diameter, traditional machining methods are difficult to achieve high precision and high efficiency production. Parallel hole collimators have a large number of collimation holes, ranging from tens to thousands. In view of the characteristics of tungsten or tungsten alloy material, it is difficult to process several alignment holes 01. The cost and time of processing will be relatively high, which is not conducive to industrialization.

To sum up, how to provide a collimator that is easy to process is an urgent problem to be solved by those skilled in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a collimator, which can simplify the processing process of the collimator and improve the processing efficiency of the collimator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus including the above-mentioned collimator.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

A collimator, comprising at least two combination units arranged up and down, the combination unit comprising a plurality of sheet-like structures arranged side by side and a fixing device for fixing the sheet-like structures;

There are gaps between the adjacent sheet-like structures, the gaps in the same combination unit are parallel and uniform, and the gaps in the adjacent combination units are non-parallel, so that all the gaps are within The overlapping parts in the vertical direction form several parallel holes.

Preferably, the parallel holes are square holes, or diamond-shaped holes, or polygonal holes, or circular holes.

Preferably, the sheet-like structure comprises end metal sheets located at the ends in the arrangement direction thereof and intermediate metal sheets located between the end metal sheets;

The end metal sheet is a tungsten sheet, or a gold sheet, or a platinum sheet, or a tungsten alloy sheet, or a gold alloy sheet, or a platinum alloy sheet; the middle metal sheet is a tungsten sheet, or a gold sheet, or a platinum sheet, Or tungsten alloy sheet, or gold alloy sheet, or platinum alloy sheet.

Preferably, both ends of the end metal sheet in the longitudinal direction and both ends of the intermediate metal sheet in the longitudinal direction are provided with first positioning holes for connecting with the fixing device, and the end metal sheet is provided with a first positioning hole for connecting with the fixing device. The second positioning hole connected with the adjacent combination unit.

Preferably, the fixing device includes a first locating pin used for cooperating with the first locating hole and arranged through the first locating hole, and used for connecting the adjacent combination unit and the second locating pin. A second positioning pin matched with the hole and a locking device used to fasten the sheet-like structure.

Preferably, both ends of the first positioning pin are provided with external threads, and the locking device is a first locking nut matched with the external threads.

Preferably, both ends of the intermediate metal sheet in the length direction are provided with a first side boss facing one side in the thickness direction and a second side boss facing the other side in the thickness direction. Both ends of the direction are provided with a third side boss facing the same side in the thickness direction, and the first side boss, the second side boss and the third side boss in the same combination unit The heights are the same, so that a uniform gap is formed in the same combination unit.

Preferably, it also includes spacer members disposed between adjacent sheet-like structures, the spacer members are disposed at both ends of the sheet-like structures in the length direction, and the length of the spacer members is smaller than that of the sheet-like structures half of the length, so that the gap between the adjacent sheet-like structures is set.

Preferably, the fixing device includes a fixing frame for fixing the sheet-like structure and a positioning connector for connecting the adjacent fixing frames;

The fixing frame is provided with a plurality of positioning grooves which are fitted with the sheet-like structure.

An imaging device comprising the collimator of any one of the above.

The collimator provided by the present invention includes at least two combination units arranged up and down, and the combination unit includes a plurality of sheet-like structures arranged side by side and a fixing device for fixing the sheet-like structures; The gaps in the same combination unit are arranged in parallel and uniformly, and the gaps in the adjacent combination units are arranged non-parallel, so that the overlapping parts of all the gaps in the vertical direction form several parallel holes.

Using the collimator provided by the present invention, in the process of processing and manufacturing, the sheet-like structure can be processed first. Since the sheet-like structure will not have holes with small size and large depth during processing, therefore, The processing process of the sheet-like structure is relatively simple, and the processing efficiency is high; after the processing is completed, the sheet-like structure is assembled to form a combined unit, and the number of combined units is selected according to the needs, and finally the combined unit is fixed so that all combined units are The overlapping parts of the gaps form parallel holes, which can be used to screen γ-rays in different directions during actual use.

Compared with the prior art, the collimator provided by the present invention is convenient to process and assemble, reduces the processing cost, and has high processing precision, can realize mass production with low cost and high precision, and is beneficial to expanding the application of the collimator. scope.

In addition, the present invention also provides an imaging device including the above-mentioned collimator, and the imaging device can be any imaging device suitable for a collimator, such as a gamma camera, SPECT, and the like.

Description of drawings

In order to explain the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only It is an embodiment of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained according to the provided drawings without creative work.

1 is a schematic diagram of the imaging principle of a gamma camera in the prior art;

Fig. 2 is the structural schematic diagram of the collimation hole in the existing parallel hole type collimator;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment 1 of the intermediate metal sheet provided by the present invention;

Fig. 4 is the front view of the middle metal sheet in Fig. 3;

5 is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment 1 of the end metal sheet provided by the present invention;

6 is a schematic structural diagram of a specific embodiment of the first pin shaft provided by the present invention;

Fig. 7 is the axonometric view of the first pin in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is the exploded schematic diagram of the specific embodiment 1 of the combination unit provided by the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the partial structure of the combined unit in FIG. 8;

Fig. 10 is the axonometric view of the partial structure of the combination unit in Fig. 8;

11 is a schematic structural diagram of the specific implementation 1 of the partial structure of the collimator provided by the present invention;

Figure 12 is a top view of the structure shown in Figure 11;

Fig. 13 is the exploded schematic diagram of the specific embodiment 2 of the collimator provided by the present invention;

Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of two groups of combining units in the collimator provided in Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a top view of two groups of combined units in Figure 14;

Figure 16 is an axonometric view of a group of combined units of the collimator in Figure 13;

Figure 17 is an axonometric view of the sheet structure in Figure 13;

Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the sheet-like structures in Figure 16;

Fig. 19 is the structural representation of the fixed frame in Fig. 16;

FIG. 20 is a top view of the combined unit of FIG. 16 .

In Figure 1-20:

01 is the collimation hole, 02 is the radionuclide, 03 is the scintillation crystal, 04 is the photomultiplier tube array, 05 is the computer processing unit, 1 is the end metal piece, 11 is the third side boss, 2 is the middle metal piece , 21 is the first side boss, 22 is the second side boss, 3 is the first positioning hole, 4 is the second positioning hole, 5 is the first positioning pin, 6 is the external thread, 7 is the first locking nut , 8 is a parallel hole, 9 is a fixing frame, 91 is a third positioning hole, 92 is a positioning groove, 10 is a third positioning pin, and 101 is a second locking nut.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The core of the present invention is to provide a collimator, which can reduce the processing difficulty, reduce the processing cost, and facilitate the realization of high-precision and low-cost mass production. Another core of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus including the above-mentioned collimator.

Please refer to Figure 1-20.

The collimator provided by this specific embodiment includes at least two combination units arranged up and down, and the combination unit includes a plurality of sheet-like structures arranged side by side and a fixing device for fixing the sheet-like structures; between adjacent sheet-like structures There are gaps, and the gaps in the same combination unit are parallel and uniform, and the gaps in the adjacent combination units are non-parallel, so that the overlapping parts of all the gaps in the vertical direction form several parallel holes 8 .

It should be noted that the shape of the gap between adjacent sheet-like structures can be a rectangular hole, an arc-shaped hole, or a zigzag-shaped hole, and of course other shapes that meet the requirements, which are determined according to the actual situation. I won't go into details here.

A gap is set between the adjacent sheet-like structures, which can be that the adjacent sheet-like structures are not in contact at all, the gap is set, or the adjacent sheet-like structures are partially contacted and some gaps are set, which is determined according to the actual situation. I won't go into details here.

Using the collimator provided by the present invention, in the process of processing and manufacturing, the sheet-like structure can be processed first. Since the sheet-like structure will not have holes with small size and large depth during processing, therefore, The processing process of the sheet-like structure is relatively simple, and the processing efficiency is high, and it can ensure the processing accuracy and reduce the probability of scrapping raw materials; after the processing is completed, the sheet-like structure is assembled to form a combined unit, and the number of combined units is selected according to the needs. Finally, the combined unit is fixed, so that the overlapping parts of the gaps in all the combined units form parallel holes 8, which can be used to screen gamma rays in different directions during actual use.

Compared with the prior art, the collimator provided by the present invention is convenient to process and assemble, reduces the processing cost, and has high processing precision, can realize mass production with low cost and high precision, and is beneficial to expanding the application of the collimator. scope.

In addition, the parallel holes 8 are composed of the overlapping parts of the gaps of at least two layers of combined units. Due to the difference in the shape of the gap and the placement direction of the gap between adjacent combined units, or the change of the number of combined units, the parallel holes 8 may be affected. Therefore, the shape of the parallel hole 8 can be a square hole, or a diamond hole, or a polygonal hole, or a circular hole; of course, it can also be other composite requirements, which is determined according to the actual situation.

On the basis of the above embodiment, considering that tungsten has excellent radiation absorption properties, it is more effective in screening unwanted gamma beams, so the sheet-like structure can be made to include end metal sheets 1 at the ends of its arrangement direction. And the middle metal sheet 2 located between the end metal sheets 1; the end metal sheet 1 is a tungsten sheet, or a gold sheet, or a platinum sheet, or a tungsten alloy sheet, or a gold alloy sheet, or a platinum alloy sheet; the middle metal sheet 2 is tungsten sheet, or gold sheet, or platinum sheet, or tungsten alloy sheet, or gold alloy sheet, or platinum alloy sheet.

Preferably, the material of the end metal sheet 1 and the intermediate metal sheet 2 is the same.

Preferably, in order to facilitate processing, the shape and size of the intermediate metal sheet 2 in the same combined unit are the same.

In order to facilitate the fixing of the sheet-like structure, first positioning holes 3 for connecting with the fixing device can be provided at both ends of the end metal sheet 1 in the length direction and both ends of the middle metal sheet 2 in the length direction. 1 is provided with a second positioning hole 4 for connecting with adjacent combination units.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 , the central axis direction of the first positioning hole 3 is arranged along the thickness direction of the sheet structure, and the central axis direction of the second positioning hole 4 is arranged along the height direction of the sheet structure.

Preferably, the first positioning holes 3 are symmetrically arranged in the middle metal sheet 2 with respect to the middle section in the length direction, the first positioning holes 3 are symmetrically arranged in the end metal sheet 1 with respect to the middle section in the length direction, and the second positioning holes 4 are arranged symmetrically in the end metal sheet 1 with respect to the middle section in the length direction thereof.

On the basis of the above-mentioned embodiment, the fixing device can include a first positioning pin 5 for cooperating with the first positioning hole 3 and arranged through the first positioning hole 3, for connecting adjacent combination units and for connecting with the second positioning pin 5 The second positioning pin matched with the hole 4 and the locking device used to fasten the sheet-like structure.

As shown in Figure 8-12, in the actual assembly process, the first pin can be passed through the first positioning hole 3 in the end metal sheet 1, the middle metal sheet 2, and the end metal sheet 1 in sequence, and Two first pin shafts are used to fix the two first positioning holes 3 at both ends of the sheet-like structure respectively, and then the sheet-like structures are compressed by the locking device to compress the adjacent sheet-like structures.

Preferably, external threads 6 can be provided at both ends of the first positioning pin 5 in the length direction, and the locking device can be set as a first locking nut 7 that cooperates with the external thread 6; the first locking nut 7 can be conveniently provided Anti-slip screw part for screwing.

On the basis of the above-mentioned embodiment, in order to allow a gap that meets the requirements between adjacent sheet-like structures, first side bosses 21 facing one side in the thickness direction of the intermediate metal sheet 2 may be provided at both ends in the length direction of the intermediate metal sheet 2 . and the second side bosses 22 facing the other side in the thickness direction, the third side bosses 11 facing the same side in the thickness direction are provided at both ends of the end metal sheet 1 in the length direction, and the first side bosses 11 in the same combination unit are The heights of the side bosses 21 , the second side bosses 22 and the third side bosses 11 are the same, so that a uniform gap is formed in the same combined unit.

As shown in FIG. 4 , both ends of the middle metal sheet 2 in the thickness direction are provided with protrusions. When the adjacent middle metal sheets 2 are in contact, after the first side boss 21 and the second side boss 22 are in contact, the adjacent The middle metal sheet 2 is pressed to the nearest, and the middle part forms a gap; the side of the end metal sheet 1 provided with the third side boss 11 faces the middle metal sheet 2, so that the gap is evenly arranged; as shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. As shown in Figure 10, after the assembly is completed, a number of rectangular gaps will be formed in a combined unit; as shown in Figures 11 and 12, a layer of combined units is added, and the gap in the upper combined unit is perpendicular to the gap in the lower combined unit If arranged, a rectangular parallel hole 8 as shown in FIG. 12 can be formed.

In another specific embodiment, both ends of the middle metal sheet 2 in the length direction can be provided with first bosses facing the same side in the thickness direction and the same height, one of the two end metal sheets 1 in the same combination unit Both ends in the length direction are provided with second bosses facing the same side in the thickness direction, and the heights of the first boss and the second boss in the same combination unit are the same, so that a uniform gap is formed in the same combination unit.

In the above specific embodiment, in the process of processing the intermediate metal sheet 2, only one side of the boss needs to be processed, which further simplifies the processing process and reduces the processing difficulty.

In another specific embodiment, a spacer member disposed between adjacent sheet-like structures may also be included, the spacer members are disposed at both ends of the sheet-like structure in the length direction, and the length of the spacer member is less than half of the length of the sheet-like structure, In this case, the thickness of the spacer member is the thickness of the gap.

On the basis of the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 13-20 , the fixing device can include a fixing frame 9 for fixing the sheet-like structure and a positioning connector for connecting the adjacent fixing frames 9; the fixing frame 9 is provided with A number of positioning grooves 92 are installed in cooperation with the sheet-like structure.

As shown in Figures 17 and 18, the sheet-like structure is a strip-like structure with regular bending, and in the same combined unit, the length of the sheet-like structure is different, the length of the end metal sheet 1 is the shortest, and the end metal sheet 1 has the shortest length. The length of the sheet 1 to the middle metal sheet 2 gradually becomes longer. In order to enable each sheet-like structure to be properly positioned and arranged at intervals, a number of fixing grooves 92 can be set in the fixing frame 9 to fix the sheet-like structure; as shown in Figures 19 and 20 As shown, the sheet-like structure is arranged along the diagonal direction of the fixing frame 9 , and both ends of the sheet-like structure are installed in the corresponding positioning grooves 92 in the fixing frame 9 .

As shown in FIG. 13 , in order to fixedly connect the adjacent combined units, a third positioning hole 91 can be provided in the fixing frame 9 , and the upper and lower adjacent fixing frames 9 are connected by a third positioning pin 10 , and the third positioning pin 10 is in the longitudinal direction. Both ends are provided with external threads, and the second locking nut 101 is matched with the external thread on the third positioning pin 10 , so that the combined unit is fixed by the second locking nut 101 .

Preferably, the fixing frame 9 is a rectangular frame, and the number of the third positioning holes 91 is four, which are respectively arranged at four corners of the fixing frame 9 .

As shown in Figure 13-20, the arrangement direction of the sheet-like structures in the adjacent combined units is different. As shown in Figure 13, the lower unit is arranged along a diagonal direction of the fixed frame 9, and the upper combined unit is arranged along the direction of the fixed frame 9. Another diagonal direction setting.

In addition to the above-mentioned collimator, the present invention also provides an imaging device including the collimator disclosed in the above embodiments, the imaging device includes any of the above-mentioned collimators, and the imaging device can be any suitable collimator For example, a gamma camera, SPECT, etc.; for the structure of other parts of the imaging device, please refer to the prior art, which will not be repeated here.

It should be noted that the first positioning hole 3, the second positioning hole 4 and the third positioning hole 91 mentioned in this application document, the first positioning pin 5, the second positioning pin and the third positioning pin, the first side The bosses 21 , the second side bosses 22 and the third side bosses 11 , the first bosses and the second bosses, the first, second and second locking nuts 7 and 101 Three is only to limit the difference in position, and there is no order of precedence.

The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. Any combination of all the embodiments provided by the present invention falls within the protection scope of the present invention, and is not repeated here.

The imaging device and its collimator provided by the present invention have been described in detail above. The principles and implementations of the present invention are described herein by using specific examples, and the descriptions of the above embodiments are only used to help understand the method and the core idea of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for those skilled in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and modifications can also be made to the present invention, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A collimator is characterized by comprising at least two combined units which are arranged up and down, wherein each combined unit comprises a plurality of sheet structures which are arranged side by side and a fixing device for fixing the sheet structures;

gaps are arranged between every two adjacent sheet-shaped structures, the gaps in the same combined unit are parallel and uniformly arranged, and the gaps in the adjacent combined units are arranged in a non-parallel mode, so that a plurality of parallel holes (8) are formed in the overlapped parts of all the gaps in the vertical direction.

2. Collimator according to claim 1, characterized in that said parallel holes (8) are square holes, or rhombic holes, or polygonal holes, or circular holes.

3. A collimator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said sheet structure comprises end metal sheets (1) at the ends of its alignment direction and intermediate metal sheets (2) between said end metal sheets (1);

the end metal sheet (1) is a tungsten sheet, a gold sheet, a platinum sheet, a tungsten alloy sheet, a gold alloy sheet or a platinum alloy sheet; the intermediate metal sheet (2) is a tungsten sheet, a gold sheet, a platinum sheet, a tungsten alloy sheet, a gold alloy sheet or a platinum alloy sheet.

4. A collimator according to claim 3, wherein both ends of the end metal sheet (1) in the length direction and both ends of the middle metal sheet (2) in the length direction are provided with first positioning holes (3) for connecting with the fixing means, and the end metal sheet (1) is provided with second positioning holes (4) for connecting with an adjacent combination unit.

5. Collimator according to claim 4, characterized in that said fixing means comprise a first positioning pin (5) for cooperating with said first positioning hole (3) and arranged through said first positioning hole (3), a second positioning pin for connecting adjacent said combined units and cooperating with said second positioning hole (4), and locking means for fastening said sheet structure.

6. The collimator according to claim 5, characterized in that both ends of the first positioning pin (5) are provided with an external thread (6), and the locking means is a first locking nut (7) cooperating with the external thread (6).

7. A collimator according to claim 3, characterized in that both ends of the middle metal sheet (2) in the length direction are provided with a first side boss (21) facing one side of the thickness direction and a second side boss (22) facing the other side of the thickness direction, both ends of the end metal sheet (1) in the length direction are provided with a third side boss (11) facing the same side of the thickness direction, and the first side boss (21), the second side boss (22) and the third side boss (11) in the same combination unit have the same height, so that a uniform gap is formed in the same combination unit.

8. The collimator of claim 3, further comprising a spacer member disposed between the adjacent sheet-like structures, wherein the spacer member is disposed at both ends of the sheet-like structures in a length direction, and the length of the spacer member is less than half of the length of the sheet-like structures, so that a gap is disposed between the adjacent sheet-like structures.

9. A collimator according to claim 1 or 2, in which the fixing means comprises a fixing frame for fixing the sheet-like structure and a locating connection for connecting adjacent fixing frames;

the fixing frame is provided with a plurality of positioning grooves matched with the sheet structures for installation.

10. An imaging device, characterized in that it comprises a collimator according to any one of the preceding claims 1-9.

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