JP7099544B2 - How to adjust the display angle of X-ray equipment and X-ray images - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an X-ray imaging apparatus and a method for adjusting a display angle of an X-ray image for adjusting a display angle of an X-ray image displayed on a display unit using an X-ray imaging apparatus.

For example, the X-ray imaging apparatus used for inspection and surgery of the circulatory system and the like includes an X-ray irradiation unit equipped with an X-ray tube and X-rays irradiated from the X-ray irradiation unit and passed through the subject. An X-ray detector such as a flat panel detector, a substantially C-shaped C-shaped arm having an arc-shaped guide portion and supporting the X-ray tube and the X-ray detector, and an arc-shaped guide portion. A slide mechanism that slidably supports the C-type arm by engaging, a rotation mechanism that rotatably supports the C-type arm around the axis oriented in the horizontal direction via the slide mechanism, and a C-type arm. It is equipped with a swivel mechanism that swivels around the vertical axis. The X-ray image by the X-ray detected by the X-ray detector is displayed on a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel.

In such an X-ray photographing apparatus, when the C-shaped arm is rotated, the X-ray image displayed on the display unit also rotates, and the direction of the image is changed. For this reason, conventionally, the orientation of the X-ray image displayed on the display unit is made constant by rotating the X-ray detector according to the turning angle of the C-shaped arm (see Patent Document 1). ).

FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing a state in which the orientation of the X-ray image is adjusted by such a conventional X-ray photographing apparatus. In this figure, the state when the X-ray image by the X-ray detected by the flat panel detector 32 supported by the arm 13 is displayed on the monitor 17 as a display unit is shown.

As shown on the left side in FIG. 7, the X-ray image detected by the flat panel detector 32 in a state where the arm 13 is not rotated is displayed in an upright state on the monitor 17. On the other hand, the X-ray image detected by the flat panel detector 32 in the swiveled state of the arm 13 is displayed in an inclined state on the monitor 17 as shown in the center in FIG. 7. In order to display this X-ray image in an upright state, the flat panel detector 32 may be rotated with respect to the arm 13 as shown on the right side in FIG. 7.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-226001

When the turning angle of the arm 13 is small, the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 can be made upright by simply rotating the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the arm 13 at a small angle. However, when the turning angle of the arm 13 becomes large, it is necessary to make the turning angle of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the arm 13 also large. In order to rotate the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the arm 13 at a large angle such as 360 degrees, wiring processing or the like is required, and a large-scale mechanism is required. Further, if the rotation angle of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the arm 13 becomes large, a long time is required from the start of rotation of the flat panel detector 32 to the end of rotation.

On the other hand, instead of rotating the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the arm 13, it is also conceivable to rotate the X-ray image by the X-rays detected by the flat panel detector 32 by image processing. However, when such a configuration is adopted, there arises a problem that the image quality of the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 deteriorates due to the complementary calculation for rotating the X-ray image.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is possible to quickly rotate an X-ray image to an appropriate angle while simplifying the rotation mechanism of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm. It is an object of the present invention to provide a radiographing apparatus and a method for adjusting a display angle of an X-ray image.

The invention according to claim 1 is an arm that supports an X-ray irradiation unit and an X-ray detector in a state of facing each other, an arm swivel mechanism that swivels the arm around a vertical axis, and detection by the X-ray detector. In an X-ray imaging apparatus including a display unit for displaying an X-ray image, a turning angle detector for detecting the turning angle of the arm and the X-ray detector at least 90 degrees with respect to the arm. The rotation mechanism that rotates within the range of, the rotation angle detector that detects the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm, and the X-ray image displayed on the display unit are displayed every 90 degrees by image processing. When the rotation angle of the image processing unit and the arm to be rotated by the image processing unit is θ1, the rotation angle of the image by the image processing unit is θ2, and the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm is θ3, θ1. The image processing unit is controlled so that the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit is changed every 90 degrees so that = θ2 + θ3, and the rotation mechanism is controlled with respect to the arm by the rotation mechanism. It is characterized by including a control unit that changes the rotation angle θ3 of the X-ray detector within an angle range smaller than 90 degrees.

The invention according to claim 2 is an arm that supports an X-ray irradiation unit and an X-ray detector in a state of facing each other, an arm swivel mechanism that swivels the arm around a vertical axis, and detection by the X-ray detector. In an X-ray imaging apparatus including a display unit for displaying an X-ray image, a rotation mechanism for rotating the X-ray detector with respect to the arm within a range of at least 90 degrees, and the display unit. It is characterized in that it is provided with an image processing unit that rotates an X-ray image to be displayed at an angle of 90 degrees by image processing.

The invention according to claim 3 is a method for adjusting a display angle of an X-ray image, which adjusts the display angle of the X-ray image displayed on the display unit by using the X-ray imaging apparatus according to claim 2. When the turning angle of the arm is θ1, the rotation angle of the image by the image processing unit is θ2, and the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm is θ3, the arm is set to θ1 = θ2 + θ3. The rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit is changed every 90 degrees with respect to the turning angle θ1, and the rotation angle θ3 of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm is changed within an angle range smaller than 90 degrees. It is characterized by doing.

According to the inventions of claims 1 to 3, the X-ray image detected by the X-ray detector is rotated at an angle of 90 degrees by image processing, and the X-ray detector is rotated with respect to the arm. By rotating the X-ray image at an angle smaller than 90 degrees, the X-ray image displayed on the display unit can be arranged at an appropriate angle. Therefore, by setting the rotation range of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm to a range of at least 90 degrees, the rotation mechanism of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm can be simplified. Further, since the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm can be set to an angle smaller than 90 degrees, the time required to arrange the X-ray image displayed on the display unit at an appropriate angle can be shortened. Is possible. Since the rotation of the X-ray image by the image processing is every 90 degrees, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality due to the rotation of the image.

It is a perspective view of the X-ray photographing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which looked at the photographing trolley 1 from the side opposite to FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the rotation mechanism for rotating a flat panel detector 32 with respect to a support part 33 of the tip of a C type arm 13. It is a block diagram which shows the main control system of the X-ray photographing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13, the rotation angle θ2 of the image displayed on the monitor 17 by the image processing unit 51, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13. be. It is a table which shows the relationship between the turning angle θ1 of a C-type arm, the rotation angle θ2 of an image by the image processing unit 51, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13. It is a top view which shows typically the state which adjusts the direction of an X-ray image by a conventional X-ray photographing apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the X-ray photographing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the photographing trolley 1 as viewed from the opposite side of FIG. This X-ray imaging apparatus is for performing X-ray fluoroscopy and X-ray imaging when performing an operation in surgery, and includes an imaging trolley 1 and a monitor trolley 2.

The photographing trolley 1 is irradiated from the main body 11, the X-ray tube 21, an X-ray irradiation unit having a collimeter 23 that defines the irradiation field of the X-rays emitted from the X-ray tube 21, and the X-ray tube 21. It includes a flat panel detector 32 as an X-ray detector that detects X-rays that have passed through the examiner, and a C-shaped arm 13 that supports the X-ray irradiation unit and the flat panel detector 32 in a facing state. The flat panel detector 32 having a rectangular shape is supported by the support portion 33 at the tip of the C-type arm 13, and the C-type arm is supported by the action of the rotation mechanism arranged inside the support portion 33. It rotates with respect to 13.

The main body 11 has a bogie-like structure, and the main body 11 includes a front wheel 10 which is a wheel for changing a direction, a pair of left and right rear wheels 12 which are drive wheels rotated by driving a motor (not shown), and the main body 11. A pair of left and right handles 25 for operating the traveling direction of the vehicle are arranged. Inside the main body 11, various controls including imaging control for executing X-ray imaging or X-ray fluoroscopy under specified conditions, rotation control of the flat panel detector 32 and rotation control of the X-ray image, which will be described later, are included. A control unit 50 (see FIG. 4) for executing the above is installed internally.

The C-shaped arm 13 has a substantially arcuate shape, and has an X-ray irradiation unit including an X-ray tube 21 and a collimeter 23, and a flat panel detector 32 as an X-ray detector, from the X-ray irradiation unit to a flat panel. The X-ray axis leading to the detector 32 is supported so as to match the diameter of the arc of the C-shaped arm 13. The C-shaped arm 13 is slidably supported with respect to the support portion 14. Further, the support portion 14 is arranged on the main body 11 and is connected to the connecting portion 24 that rotates the support portion 14 together with the C-shaped arm 13 and the like around the horizontal axis. The connecting portion 24 rotates around a vertical axis with respect to the main body 11. Therefore, the C-shaped arm 13 swivels around the vertical axis together with the X-ray tube 21, the collimator 23, and the flat panel detector 32 as the connecting portion 24 turns. The turning angle of the C-shaped arm 13 is detected by a turning angle detector 47 (see FIG. 4) composed of a rotary encoder and a potentiometer arranged on a support shaft of the connecting portion 24.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an LCD touch panel 26 is arranged on the upper surface of the main body 11. The LCD touch panel 26 displays a plurality of operation switches indicating various operation items required for X-ray fluoroscopy or X-ray photography, an X-ray fluoroscopy image, a photographed image, or the like.

On the other hand, the monitor trolley 2 supports a monitor 17 as a display unit for displaying an X-ray image by X-rays detected by the flat panel detector 32, and also has an input unit 16 composed of a retractable keyboard or the like. The provided housing 15 is provided. The housing 15 is movable due to the action of the plurality of wheels 18 and 19.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a rotation mechanism for rotating the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the support portion 33 at the tip of the C-shaped arm 13.

The flat panel detector 32 is connected to a support shaft 41 that faces in the direction perpendicular to the lower surface (X-ray detection surface) (points in the normal direction of the X-ray detection surface). The support shaft 41 is arranged at the center of the flat panel detector 32 having a rectangular shape. The support shaft 41 is rotatably supported by the action of a bearing 42, and a gear 43 is fixed near the upper end thereof. The gear 43 meshes with a gear 44 fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 45. Therefore, the flat panel detector 32 rotates about the support shaft 41 by the drive of the motor 45. The rotation angle of the flat panel detector 32 is detected by a rotation angle detector 46 including a rotary encoder or a potentiometer attached to the motor 45. The rotation angle range of the flat panel detector 32 is at least 90 degrees. That is, the flat panel detector 32 may rotate in a range of 90 degrees (for example, a range of plus or minus 45 degrees). This makes it possible to simplify the rotation mechanism including the wiring of the flat panel detector 32 to the C-shaped arm 13.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main control system of the X-ray imaging apparatus according to the present invention.

The above-mentioned X-ray imaging apparatus includes a control unit 50 that controls the entire apparatus. The control unit 50 is composed of a computer on which software is installed. The functions of each unit included in the control unit 50 are realized by executing the software installed in the computer. As a functional configuration, the control unit 50 includes an image processing unit 51 that rotates the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 at an angle of 90 degrees by image processing, and a rotation angle θ2 of the X-ray image by the image processing unit 51. It is provided with an angle calculation unit 52 that calculates the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-shaped arm 13. The control unit 50 is connected to the above-mentioned X-ray tube 21, flat panel detector 32, input unit 16, monitor 17, motor 45, rotation angle detector 46, and rotation angle detector 47.

Next, in the X-ray imaging apparatus having the above configuration, an operation of rotating the X-ray image that rotates with the rotation of the C-type arm 13 to an appropriate angle will be described. FIG. 5 is for explaining the relationship between the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13, the rotation angle θ2 of the image displayed on the monitor 17 by the image processing unit 51, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13. It is explanatory drawing of.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the C-shaped arm 13 is turned by an angle θ1 with respect to the photographing carriage 1. The turning of the C-type arm 13 is executed by a manual operation in which the operator holds and turns the C-type arm 13. However, a configuration may be adopted in which the C-type arm 13 is swiveled by driving a motor or the like.

When the C-shaped arm 13 is rotated by the angle θ1, the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 as the display unit also rotates. Therefore, in this X-ray imaging apparatus, when the C-type arm 13 is turned, the image processing unit 51 shown in FIG. 4 is controlled by the command of the control unit 50 to change the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51. At the same time, the rotation mechanism shown in FIG. 3 is controlled to change the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-shaped arm 13 by the rotation mechanism.

In this case, the angle calculation unit 52 shown in FIG. 4 sets the turning angle of the C-type arm 13 to θ1, the rotation angle of the image by the image processing unit 51 to θ2, and the rotation angle of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13. Is θ3, the angle θ2 and the angle θ3 are calculated so that θ1 = θ2 + θ3. Then, a command is transmitted from the control unit 50 based on the calculation result of the angle calculation unit 52, the image processing unit 51 is controlled, and the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is set to 90 degrees as one unit every 90 degrees. At the same time, the rotation mechanism is controlled to change the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-shaped arm 13 by the rotation mechanism within a range of an angle smaller than 90 degrees.

FIG. 6 is a table showing the relationship between the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13.

For example, when the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13 is 45 degrees, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is set to 0 degrees, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13 is set to 45 degrees. do. When the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13 is 100 degrees, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is 90 degrees, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13 is 10 degrees. When the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13 is 170 degrees, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is 90 degrees, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13 is 80 degrees. When the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13 is 200 degrees, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is 180 degrees, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13 is 20 degrees.

When the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13 is 170 degrees, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is 180 degrees, and the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-type arm 13 is in the opposite direction. 10 degrees (-10 degrees) may be set, and when the turning angle θ1 of the C-type arm 13 is 200 degrees, the rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit 51 is set to 270 degrees, and the flat panel with respect to the C-type arm 13. The rotation angle θ3 of the detector 32 may be set to 70 degrees (−70 degrees) in the opposite direction. Similarly, when θ1 is 200 degrees, it may be treated as 160 degrees (−160 degrees) in the opposite direction.

The angle calculation unit 52 determines θ2 and θ3 in consideration of rotation in the forward and reverse directions. At this time, in order to shorten the time required for the rotation of the flat panel detector 32, it is preferable to select θ2 and θ3 so that θ3 is the smallest.

When the X-ray image is rotated by the image processing unit 51, there arises a problem that the image quality of the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 is deteriorated due to the complementary calculation for rotating the X-ray image. However, when the X-ray image is rotated in units of 90 degrees every 90 degrees, the image can be rotated by using matrix transformation or the like without performing a complementary operation. Therefore, when the above-mentioned configuration is adopted, the image quality of the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 does not deteriorate.

Further, when the above-mentioned configuration is adopted, the rotation angle range of the flat panel detector 32 may be at least 90 degrees, and the flat panel detector 32 may be rotated within a range of 90 degrees. This makes it possible to simplify the rotation mechanism including the wiring of the flat panel detector 32 to the C-shaped arm 13. Further, since the rotation angle of the flat panel detector 32 with respect to the C-shaped arm 13 becomes small, it is possible to shorten the time until the X-ray image displayed on the monitor 17 is arranged at an appropriate angle. ..

In the above-described embodiment, the flat panel detector 32 is rotated with respect to the C-shaped arm 13 by the drive of the motor 45, but the flat panel detector 32 may be manually rotated by the operator. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the image is automatically rotated by the image processing unit 51, but the image processing unit 51 uses the image processing unit 51 to rotate the X-ray image every 90 degrees with 90 degrees as one unit based on the operator's command. May be rotated to.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the rotation angle θ3 of the flat panel detector 32 is detected by the rotation angle detector 46 composed of a rotary encoder or a potentiometer attached to the motor 45, but the angle θ3 is detected by the support portion 33. It may be recognized by a scale or the like provided in the above. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the turning angle θ1 of the C-shaped arm 13 is detected by the turning angle detector 47 composed of a rotary encoder and a potentiometer arranged on the support shaft of the connecting portion 24, but the angle θ1 is detected. It may be recognized by a scale or the like provided on the main body 11 or the like. When such a configuration is adopted, the operator inputs the angle θ1 or the angle θ3 recognized by the scale or the like from the input unit 16, and the angle calculation unit 52 calculates θ2 and θ3 based on the input values. At the same time, the calculation result may be displayed on the LCD touch panel 26 as needed.

1 Shooting trolley 2 Monitor trolley 11 Main body 13 C-type arm 15 Housing 16 Input section 17 Monitor 21 X-ray tube 23 Collimeter 32 Flat panel detector 33 Support section 45 Motor 46 Rotation angle detector 47 Turning angle detector 50 Control section 51 Image processing unit 52 Angle calculation unit

Claims (2)

An arm that supports the X-ray irradiation unit and the X-ray detector in a facing state, and
An arm swivel mechanism that swivels the arm around a vertical axis,
A display unit that displays the X-ray image detected by the X-ray detector, and
In an X-ray imaging device equipped with
A swivel angle detector that detects the swivel angle of the arm,
A rotation mechanism that rotates the X-ray detector with respect to the arm within a range of at least 90 degrees, and
A rotation angle detector that detects the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm, and
An image processing unit that rotates the X-ray image displayed on the display unit at an angle of 90 degrees by image processing, and an image processing unit.
The image processing is such that θ1 = θ2 + θ3 when the rotation angle of the arm is θ1, the rotation angle of the image by the image processing unit is θ2, and the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm is θ3. The rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit is changed every 90 degrees by controlling the unit, and the rotation angle θ3 of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm by the rotation mechanism by controlling the rotation mechanism. With a control unit that changes the angle within a range of less than 90 degrees,
An X-ray imaging device characterized by being equipped with. An arm that supports the X-ray irradiation unit and the X-ray detector in a facing state, and
An arm swivel mechanism that swivels the arm around a vertical axis,
A display unit that displays the X-ray image detected by the X-ray detector, and
A rotation mechanism that rotates the X-ray detector with respect to the arm within a range of at least 90 degrees, and
An image processing unit that rotates the X-ray image displayed on the display unit at an angle of 90 degrees by image processing, and an image processing unit.
This is a method for adjusting the display angle of an X-ray image, which adjusts the display angle of the X-ray image displayed on the display unit by using an X-ray photographing apparatus provided with the above.
When the turning angle of the arm is θ1, the rotation angle of the image by the image processing unit is θ2, and the rotation angle of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm is θ3, θ1 = θ2 + θ3 of the arm. The rotation angle θ2 of the image by the image processing unit is changed every 90 degrees with respect to the turning angle θ1, and the rotation angle θ3 of the X-ray detector with respect to the arm is changed within an angle range smaller than 90 degrees. A method of adjusting the display angle of an X-ray image.

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