IMAGING APPARATUS COMPRISING A RING-SHAPED GANTRY

• US 20110280380A1
• Filed: 05/11/2011
• Published: 11/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Maschke, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,039,282 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/196
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4411 the apparatus being modular A61B6/4283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4435 the source unit and the detector unit being coupled by a rigid structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4458 the source unit or the detector unit being attached to robotic arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4464 the source unit or the detector unit being mounted to ceiling

Abstract

An imaging apparatus having a ring-shaped gantry is provided. The gantry has a rotor arrangement rotating therein and a radiation source as well as at least one radiation detector. The gantry has at least one gantry segment which can be detached from the ring shape to allow the gantry to be opened laterally. The gantry is arranged on a supporting structure so as to be movable in space. The supporting structure is a ceiling-mounted stand having at least two degrees of freedom of movement. The gantry has at least two radiation sources disposed offset by an angle on the rotor arrangement and associated with each of which is at least one radiation detector.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. An imaging apparatus, comprising:

a ceiling-mounted stand having at least two degrees of freedom of movement; and

a ring-shaped gantry arranged on the stand to be moved in space comprising;

a rotor arrangement rotating in the gantry,

at least two radiation sources disposed offset by an angle on the rotor arrangement, and

at least two radiation detectors each associated with each of the radiation sources,

wherein the gantry comprises at least one gantry segment which can be detached from the gantry to allow the gantry to be opened laterally.

12. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the gantry is movable linearly by the stand along at least one horizontal axis and a vertical axis and is rotatably mounted on the stand by a revolute joint having at least one degree of rotational freedom.

13. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the gantry is movable linearly by the stand along two horizontal axes standing orthogonally relative to each other.

14. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the radiation detectors are disposed opposite the radiation sources on the rotor arrangement.

15. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a plurality of stationary radiation detectors complementing one another to form a ring shape is arranged in the gantry.

16. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the radiation detectors comprise different types.

17. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein one of the radiation detectors is a receiver consisting of a multiplicity of individual detectors and the other radiation detector is a planar solid-state radiation detector.

18. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein one of the radiation source is a carbon nanotube emitter.

19. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the rotor arrangement extends through an angle of maximum 270°

.

20. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the two radiation sources are arranged offset by 90°

from each other.

21. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a patient positioning table that is movable translationally and/or rotatably in space.

22. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 21, wherein the patient positioning table is arranged on an articulated-arm robot having at least four degrees of freedom.

23. The imaging apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein the articulated-arm robot has six degrees of freedom.