SYSTEM AND METHOD TO MANAGE MAINTENANCE OF A RADIOLOGICAL IMAGING SYSTEM

• US 20100189227A1
• Filed: 01/26/2009
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Zheng, Yibin, Mannar, Kamal
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,384 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/207
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4429 related to the mounting of source units and detector units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4488 Means for cooling A61B6/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/586 Detection of faults or malfunction of the device
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4184 characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32371 Predict failure time by analysing history fault logs of same machines in databases
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45169 Medical, rontgen, x ray
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2235/00 X-ray tubes
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 1/54 Protecting or lifetime predictionoverload protection combined with control H05G1/46
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

A system and method to predict a failure of an imaging system that includes a radiation source having an x-ray tube assembly is provided. The system includes a storage medium having a plurality of programmable storage instructions to instruct a processor to perform the steps of acquiring an age of the x-ray tube assembly, calculating a baseline probability of a survivability of the tube assembly for a remaining time period dependent on the age of the tube assembly, acquiring measurement of at least one operating parameter of the x-ray tube assembly, and automatically changing the baseline probability of a survivability of the imaging system for the remaining time period in response to the measurement of the at least one operating parameter of the x-ray tube assembly.

Claims

1. A method to predict a failure of an imaging system that includes an x-ray tube assembly as a radiation source, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring an age of the x-ray tube assembly;

calculating a baseline probability of a survivability of the tube assembly for a remaining time period independent of a usage of the tube assembly;

acquiring measurement of at least one operating parameter of the x-ray tube assembly; and

automatically changing the probability of a survivability of the x-ray tube assembly in response to the measurement of the at least one operating parameter of the x-ray tube assembly.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one operating parameter includes a measure of a severity of an occurrence of an event code generated by the imaging system, the event code associated with an abnormal operating condition of the radiation source.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein measurement of the at least one operating parameter includes measurement of a frequency of an occurrence of an event code generated by the imaging system, the event code associated with an abnormal operating condition of the radiation source.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of extracting the event code from acquired data received from the imaging system, the event code representative of at least one of:

an error message, a measurement outside of a threshold range, and a message indicative of a state of the system.

5. The method of claim 1, the baseline probability of the survivability of the system is dependent on acquired data of a survivability for a population of other x-ray tube assemblies with age and usage of the imaging system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one operating parameter generally equals a measure of usage of imaging system weighted relative to a measure of an occurrence of event codes associated with operation of the imaging system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one operating parameter generally equals a measure of usage of the imaging system weighted relative to a measure of usage of the tube assembly of the system independently thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically changing the baseline probability of time to failure of the imaging system includes decreasing the probability survivability of the imaging system in response to acquiring a measurement of an occurrence of an event code outside a threshold range.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of automatically changing the baseline probability of time to failure of the imaging system includes decreasing the probability survivability in proportion to a predicted value of usage of one or more of the imaging system, the radiation source, and the tube assembly.

10. A system to predict a failure of an imaging system that includes a radiation source having an x-ray tube assembly, the system comprising:

a storage medium having a plurality of programmable storage instructions; and

a processor in communication with the imaging system, the plurality of program instructions to instruct the processor to perform the steps of;

acquiring an age of the x-ray tube assembly;

calculating a baseline probability of a survivability of the tube assembly for a remaining time period dependent on the age of the tube assembly;

acquiring measurement of at least one operating parameter of the x-ray tube assembly; and

automatically changing the baseline probability of a survivability of the imaging system for the remaining time period in response to the measurement of the at least one operating parameter of the x-ray tube assembly.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one operating parameter includes a measure of a severity of an occurrence of an event code generated by the imaging system, the event code associated with an abnormal operating condition of the radiation source, or a measure of usage of the x-ray tube assembly.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein measurement of the at least one operating parameter includes measurement of a frequency of an occurrence of an event code generated by the imaging system, the event code associated with an abnormal operating condition of the radiation source.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising the step of extracting the event code from acquired data received from the imaging system, the event code representative of at least one of:

an error message, a measurement outside of a threshold range, and a message indicative of a state of the system.

14. The system of claim 10, the baseline probability of the survivability of the system is dependent on acquired data of a survivability for a population of other x-ray tube assemblies with age and usage of the imaging system.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one operating parameter generally equals a measure of usage of imaging system weighted relative to a measure of an occurrence of event codes associated with operation of the imaging system.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one operating parameter generally equals a measure of usage of the imaging system weighted relative to a measure of usage of the tube assembly of the system independently thereof.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the step of automatically changing the baseline probability of time to failure of the imaging system includes decreasing the probability survivability of the imaging system in response to acquiring a measurement of an occurrence of an event code outside a threshold range.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the step of automatically changing the baseline probability of time to failure of the imaging system includes decreasing the probability survivability in proportion to a predicted value of usage of one or more of the imaging system, the radiation source, and the tube assembly.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the baseline probability of a survivability of the imaging system for the remaining time period includes a predicted number of hours or days to failure.