Tomographic System

• US 20080030192A1
• Filed: 07/20/2005
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FUJIFILM Healthcare Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fukui, Yasuhiro, Irie, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,306,605 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/308
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/061 for measuring dimensions, e.g. length
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/376 using X-rays, e.g. fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/10 for stereotaxic surgery, e.g. frame-based stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for

Abstract

The tomographic system of the present invention comprises a means for taking tomographic images at plural tomographic positions in the axial direction of the body of the subject simultaneously, a display means for displaying the obtained plural tomographic imagers, a relative distance between tomographic images computing unit, and a control means for displaying and controlling the relative distance between tomographic images and the plural tomographic images on the afore-mentioned display means. With this, the operator can see the displayed data of the relative distances between tomographic images and the length of the treatment device instantaneously, and can therefore determine the insert position of the treatment device for the subject efficiently.

Claims

1. A tomographic system comprising

a scanning means for simultaneously obtaining tomographic images at tomographic positions in the axial direction of a body of a subject,

a display means for displaying the plural tomographic images thus obtained,

a relative distance between tomographic images computing means for computing relative distances at each tomographic position for the plural tomographic images, and

a control means for controlling a display of the computed relative distance between tomographic images and the obtained plural tomographic images.

2. The tomographic system according to claim 1, wherein

the relative distance comprises a distance and a sign relative to a position of a reference tomographic image for the plural tomographic images.

3. The tomographic system according to claim 1, wherein

the control means displays at least three of the plural tomographic images in arbitrary order on the display means and displays the relative distances between tomographic images corresponding to each of the plural tomographic images displayed in arbitrary order on the display means.

4. The tomographic system according to claim 1, wherein

the scanning means comprises a moving means for moving the subject in the axial direction of the body, and

the control means changes and displays displayed values of the relative distances between tomographic images in real time according to the operation for changing the tomographic position of the subject by the moving means.

5. The tomographic system according to claim 4, wherein

the control means resets displayed values of the relative distances between tomographic images to an initial value after the movement by the moving means.

6. The tomographic system according to claim 4, wherein

the display means is used for confirming a position from which a treatment device is inserted into the body of the subject on the plural tomographic images, and

the moving means moves the subject in the axial direction of the body in accordance with the movement of the position from which the treatment device is inserted.

7. The tomographic system according to claim 1, wherein

the control means displays reference images for assisting insertion of the treatment device into the body of the subject in parallel with the plural tomographic images displayed on the screen of the display means.

8. The tomographic system according to claim 7, wherein

the reference images is a tomographic image that has been taken in advance for an intended treatment area in the a subject.

9. The tomographic system according to claim 7, wherein

the reference image is a three-dimensional image constructed from tomographic images that have been taken in advance for an intended treatment area in the subject.

10. The tomographic system according to claim 7, wherein

the reference image is a tomographic image of other subject who has similar symptoms to those shown in an intended treatment area of the subject.

11. The tomographic system according to claim 7, wherein

the reference image is a tomographic image of other subject who is in the similar generation and has similar age or body figure to the subject.

12. The tomographic system according to claim 1, wherein

the control means comprises a direction input means for controlling X ray irradiation, and controls a commencement and a suspension of X ray irradiation for the subject through operating the direction input means.

13. A tomographic system comprising

a scanning means having an X ray source and an X ray detector, which are placed as opposed with a subject therebetween and are driven to rotate around the subject and a moving means to move the subject,

an operation control means to control an operation of the scanning means,

an image processing means for processing signals detected by the X ray detector of the scanning means so as to generate a tomographic image of the subject, and

a display means for displaying the tomographic image produced by the image processing means, wherein

the image processing means displays plural tomographic images obtained simultaneously by the scanning means in parallel and also displays position information (relative distance) of other tomographic images, with a tomographic position corresponding to one of the plural tomographic images as a reference, together with the plural tomographic images on the display means.

14. The tomographic system according to claim 13, wherein

the image processing means inputs information on the changes in the tomographic position produced by operation of the moving means, and updates and displays in real time on the display means the changes in the tomographic position of the reference associated with the movement by the moving means.

15. The tomographic system according to claim 13, wherein

the image processing means uses a tomographic image that has been taken in advance for an intended treatment area of the subject as a reference image and displays the reference image in parallel with the plural tomographic images on a screen of the display means.

16. A tomographic system comprising

a scanning means including

a magnetostatic magnet which generates a homogeneous static magnetic field in a space where a subject is placed,

a gradient magnetic field coil which forms magnetic gradient in the space,

an irradiation coil which irradiates to nuclei of atoms constituting a tissue of the subject with high frequency magnetic field whose frequency is same as a resonance frequency of the nuclei, and

a receiving coil which receives NMR signals generated from the subject,

an image processing means which processes the NMR signals received by the receiving coil and computes so as to reconstruct a tomographic image of the subject, and

an image display means which displays the tomographic image reconstructed by the image processing means, wherein

the image processing means displays plural tomographic images which are taken simultaneously in the scanning means in parallel, and also displays position information (relative distance) of other tomographic images, using a tomographic position corresponding to one of the plural tomographic images as a reference, together with the plural tomographic images on the image display means.

17. The tomographic system according to claim 16, wherein

the scanning means further comprises a moving means for moring the subject and

the image processing means inputs information on the changes in the tomographic position produced by operation of the moving means, and updates and displays in real time on the image display means the changes in the tomographic position of the reference associated with a movement by the moving means.

18. The tomographic system according to claim 16, wherein

the image processing means uses a tomographic image that has been taken in advance for an intended treatment area for the subject as a reference image and displays the reference image in parallel with the plural tomographic images on a screen of the image displaying means.