RADAR-EQUIPPED PATIENT BED FOR A MEDICAL IMAGING APPARATUS, AND OPERATING METHOD THEREFOR

• US 20100292559A1
• Filed: 05/14/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Popescu, Stefan, Wittmann, Georg, Hannemann, Thilo
• Granted Patent: US 8,689,377 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/407
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/143 for coupling microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/05 Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves impedance plethysmography A61B5/0295; measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof A61B5/11; detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof A61B5/24
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/704 Tables
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/04 Positioning of patients; Tiltable beds or the like operating tables A61G13/00; operating chairs A61G15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/0407 Supports, e.g. tables or beds, for the body or parts of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5217 extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/40 Positioning of patients, e.g. means for holding or immobilising parts of the patient's body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4416 related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities, e.g. combination of ultrasound and X-ray acquisitions
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5673 Gating or triggering based on a physiological signal other than an MR signal, e.g. ECG gating or motion monitoring using optical systems for monitoring the motion of a fiducial marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/03 Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/065 Patch antenna array

Abstract

A patient bed for an imaging medical apparatus has a patient support plate that has at least one radar antenna to obtain physiological and/or geometric data from a patient the patient support plate. In a method for the operation of such a patient bed having at least one radar antenna in an imaging medical apparatus, the at least one radar antenna is operated to obtain data from the patient on the patient support plate.

Claims

1. A patient bed for a medical imaging apparatus, comprising:

a patient support plate configured to receive a supine patient thereon; and

at least one radar antenna mounted at said patient support plate and configured to obtain at least one of physiological data and geometric data from the patient on the patient support plate.

2. A patient bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one radar antenna is a patch antenna.

3. A patient bed as claimed in claim 2 wherein said patch antenna has a layer thickness in a range between 2 μ

m and 20 μ

m.

4. A patient bed as claimed in claim 1 comprising a radar antenna array mounted at said patient support plate.

5. A patient bed as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least two radar antennas mounted at said patient support plate that are located adjacent to each other.

6. A patient bed as claimed in claim 1 wherein said patient support plate comprises a flat patient support plate component, selected from the group consisting of a film and a substrate layer, at which said at least one radar antenna is mounted.

7. A patient bed as claimed in claim 6 wherein said patient support plate component is comprised of circuit board material.

8. A patient bed as claimed in claim 6 wherein said patient support plate component comprises at least one electrically conductive coating, in addition to said at least one radar antenna.

9. A patient bed as claimed in claim 8 wherein said electrically conductive coating is a continuous coating on a side of said patient support plate component facing away from the patient.

10. A patient bed as claimed in claim 8 wherein said electrically conductive coating is a metallic coating.

11. A patient bed as claimed in claim 8 wherein said electrically conductive coating has a thickness in a range between 2 μ

m and 20 μ

m.

12. A patient bed as claimed in claim 6 wherein said patient support plate component has a thickness in a range between 0.5 mm and 2.5 mm.

13. A patient bed as claimed in claim 6 wherein said patient support plate component is integrated into said patient support plate.

14. A patient bed as claimed in claim 6 wherein said patient support plate component is applied at a side of said patient support plate facing toward the patient.

15. A patient bed as claimed in claim 1 comprising a base on which said patient support plate is mounted, and comprising a control and evaluation unit electrically connected to said at least one radar antenna and configured to operate said at least one radar antenna, said control and evaluation unit being located in said base.

16. A method for operating a patient bed of a medical imaging apparatus, comprising the steps of:

placing a patient in a superimposition on a patient support plate in a medical imaging apparatus;

embodying at least one radar antenna in said patient support plate; and

operating said at least one radar antenna in said patient support plate to interact with the patient on the patient support plate to acquire at least one of physiological data and geometric data from the patient.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising operating said at least one radar antenna in a pulsed radar mode.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising generating a 3D image of the patient on the patient support plate from data obtained from the patient with said at least one radar antenna.

19. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising acquiring geometric data from the patient on the patient support plate with said at least one radar antenna, and electronically evaluating said geometric data to determine at least one of a position of the patient on the patient support plate and an alignment of the patient on the patient support plate relative to the medical imaging apparatus.

20. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising acquiring physiological data from the patient on the patient support plate, and evaluating said physiological data to determine at least one of a respiration cycle and a cardiac cycle of the patient on the patient support plate.

21. A medical imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire medical image data from a patient therein;

a patient support plate configured to support a patient in the data acquisition unit in a superimposition on the patient support plate; and

at least one radar antenna mounted at said patient support plate and a control and evaluation unit configured to operate said at least one radar antenna to acquire at least one of geometric data and physiological data from the patient on the patient support plate.

22. A medical imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 21 wherein said data acquisition unit is selected from the group consisting of an x-ray computed tomography apparatus, a C-arm x-ray apparatus, and an ultrasound apparatus.