JPH087842Y2 - X-ray CT system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an X-ray CT apparatus, and more particularly to an X-ray CT apparatus having an improved gantry mounting mechanism.

(Prior Art) An X-ray CT apparatus irradiates a subject with X-rays, receives the X-rays that have passed through the subject with an X-ray detector, converts them into electrical signals, and performs this over 360 °. An apparatus for obtaining a tomographic image from the obtained projection data by using an image reconstruction algorithm as a two-dimensional distribution image of the X-ray absorption of the subject.

FIG. 4 shows an overall configuration diagram of an apparatus currently used in this X-ray CT apparatus. In the figure, 1 is a table on which a subject 2 is placed, and the table 1 is a subject insertion port 4 provided in a scanner body (hereinafter referred to as a gantry) 3.
It is a mechanism that is inserted by a sliding mechanism. In the case of tomography, a rotating mechanism (not shown) provided inside the gantry 3 rotates the X-ray source and the detector to irradiate the inspected part of the subject 2 with X-rays from all directions, and the result is obtained. The transmitted X-ray is detected, the image is reconstructed, and the image is displayed.

(Problems to be conceived or solved) By the way, the X-ray CT apparatus as described above has been widely used, and has been delivered not only to general hospitals but also to clinic-level facilities. Therefore, there is a demand for a space-saving X-ray CT apparatus that can be installed in a narrow space. However, there is a limit to space saving in the conventional configuration. That is, in the apparatus of FIG. 4, the subject 2 is laid on the table 1 and the table 1
Is slid and inserted into the subject insertion port 4 of the gantry 3, and the desired imaging portion of the subject 2 is aligned with the scan surface of the gantry 3, so that the longitudinal direction of the table 1, that is, the subject 2 In the body axis direction, a space having a length equal to the total length of the table 1 plus the maximum distance of its sliding movement is required. Since the maximum distance of sliding movement of the table 1 is almost equal to the total length of the table 1, an installation floor area having a length approximately twice the total length of the table 1 is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to realize a space-saving X-ray CT apparatus having a small installation floor area.

(Means for Solving the Problems) Means for solving the above-mentioned problems include a subject holding means for holding the subject in an upright state with respect to the floor surface, and a subject insertion port into which the subject is inserted. And a gantry having an X-ray source and an X-ray detector that face each other across the subject insertion port,
An X-ray CT comprising: a gantry moving unit that moves the gantry in a direction perpendicular to a floor surface in a state where the subject holding unit penetrates the subject insertion opening.
It is a device.

(Operation) In the means for solving the above problems, the gantry that moves in the direction perpendicular to the floor surface scans the subject held in a state of standing on the floor surface.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a tilt mechanism section attached to both ends on the diameter of the gantry 3, and the tilt mechanism section 5 is rotated to tilt the gantry 3. 6 are on both sides of the gantry 3, and the U-shaped grooves 7 are opposed to each other,
It is a frame in which the tilt mechanism portion 5 is housed in the groove 7 and the gantry 3 is supported by a vertical movement mechanism portion which will be described later and is attached to the groove 7. The tilt mechanism portion 5, the frame 6 having the groove 7 and the vertical movement mechanism portion described later are examples of the gantry moving means in the present invention. The frame 6 is hung on the ceiling 8 or fixed to the floor 9. Reference numeral 10 is an auxiliary plate for leaning the subject 2 on. The auxiliary plate 10 is an example of the subject holding means in the present invention. A cable 11 used for supplying power from the gantry 3 to the X-ray tube and transmitting a signal from the X-ray detector is connected to an external device. Second
The figure is an enlarged view of the tilt mechanism section 5 of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 12 is a main body of the tilt mechanism portion 5, and a mandrel 13 is provided at the center. Reference numeral 14 denotes a tilt scale that indicates the tilt angle, and displays the angle when the mandrel 13 is tilted by rotating the mandrel 13. Reference numeral 15 is a lock lever that is loosened when the gantry 3 is rotated and is fixed when the tilt position is determined to fix the gantry 3. In the figure, it is shown that the position has been rotated from the position shown by the broken line to the position shown by the solid line.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the vertical movement mechanism section. In the figure,
The same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 16 is a vertical movement mechanism for moving the gantry 3 up and down to change the position of the tomographic surface to be detected of the subject 2. The vertical movement mechanism portion 16 is composed of the following parts and is housed in the grooves 7 of the frames 6 on both sides. Reference numeral 17 is a winding wire, one end of which is wound around the mandrel 13 of the tilt mechanism main body 12 and the other end of which is attached to the balancing weight 19 via a pulley 18. The pulley 18 is rotated by a motor 20 and moves the gantry 3 up and down in the presence of the balancing weight 19 by pulling up or down the mandrel 13.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described by showing the operation procedure.

(1) The subject 2 is made to stand in a designated position such that the subject 2 stands or leans on the auxiliary plate 10. In this case, the gantry 3 is in the upper position of the frame 6.

(2) Lower the gantry 3 by the vertical movement mechanism unit 16,
The subject 2 is accommodated and fixed in the subject insertion port 4.

(3) When shooting Scout View, use the motor 20
Is rotated, and the winding wire 17 wound around the mandrel 13 is moved up and down to move the gantry 3 up and down. The hoisting wire 17 is stretched by a balancing weight 19. When the mandrel 13 is moved up and down by the winding wire 17, the tilt mechanism main body 12 is fixed by the lock lever 15 and therefore does not rotate. Scout view shooting only when necessary.

(4) Whether or not the place or affected area where tomography should be performed is grasped by the scout view radiography, or whether or not the scout view radiography is performed, if the radiography position is determined, the gantry 3 is moved up and down to that position. ) To move and fix, and scan for tomography.

(5) When tilting the gantry 3 for scanning, loosen the lock lever 15 and rotate the mandrel 13 to rotate the tilt scale.
Set the tilt angle with 14, tilt the gantry 3, and tighten the lock lever 15 to fix it again. Even if the mandrel 13 is rotated, the winding wire 17 is pulled by the balancing weight 19 to be unwound from the mandrel 13 or wound around the mandrel 13, but the gantry 3 does not move up and down.

(6) When changing the position of the tomographic imaging, the vertical movement mechanism 16 is used to move to the next imaging location by automatic feeding.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the positioning of imaging is performed by moving the gantry in the vertical direction with respect to the floor surface. Therefore, the floor area for installing the X-ray CT apparatus is the gantry floor surface. Therefore, a space-saving X-ray CT apparatus with a small installation floor area can be obtained. Furthermore, there is no need for a table equipped with a sliding mechanism,
The cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the subject can be imaged in a standing position, many subjects can be imaged in a short time. Furthermore, the device can be made compact so that it can be installed in a small room.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the above embodiment. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 21 is a cot for sleeping the subject 2.
Reference numeral 22 is a forward / backward movement mechanism unit connected to the grooves 7 of the two frames 6. The forward / backward moving mechanism 22 moves the gantry 3 back and forth in the same manner as the vertical moving mechanism 16 shown in FIG. However, since it is a back-and-forth movement, it is different in that the wire is stretched from both sides around the mandrel 13 instead of the balancing weight 19. In this embodiment, the subject 2 is laid down and imaged.

(Effect of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the gantry moving means moves the gantry vertically to the floor with the object holding means penetrating the object insertion port. As a result, the floor area for installing the X-ray CT apparatus will be about the area where the gantry is projected on the floor surface, and a space-saving X-ray CT apparatus with a small installation floor area can be obtained. The above effect is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the tilt mechanism portion, FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory view of the vertical movement mechanism portion, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional X-ray CT apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of FIG. 3 ... Gantry, 4 ... Subject insertion port 5 ... Tilt mechanism section, 6 ... Frame 7 ... Groove, 8 ... Ceiling 9 ... Floor, 10 ... Auxiliary plate 12 ... Tilt mechanism section body 13 …… Mandrel, 15 …… Lock lever 16 …… Vertical movement mechanism part, 17 …… Hoisting wire 18 …… Pulley, 19 …… Balance weight 21 …… Simple bed, 22 …… Back and forth motion mechanism part

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A subject holding means for holding a subject in an upright state with respect to a floor, a subject insertion opening into which the subject is inserted, an X-ray source facing the subject insertion opening, and A gantry having an X-ray detector, and gantry moving means for moving the gantry in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface in a state where the subject holding means penetrates the subject insertion opening. X-ray CT device that does.