X-ray fluoroscope

• US 7,477,723 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2005
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
• Original Assignee: Shimadzu Corporation
• Inventors: Kuni, Yoshio, Kamegawa, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kiknadze; Irakli
• Application Number:
  US11/663,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20070286341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 378/42, 378/44, 378/45, 378/46, 378/57, 378/62, 378/63, 378/206, 378/207, 378/208
• US Class Current: 378/42
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2223/076 X-ray fluorescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/223 by irradiating the sample with X-rays or gamma-rays and by measuring X-ray fluorescence

Abstract

An optical camera 5 for photographing a fluoroscopy object W on a sample stage 3 is provided. Prior to a fluoroscopic operation, the sample stage 3 is driven, and the fluoroscopy object W is photographed in a plurality of postures by the optical camera 5, and optical images are stored in a storage device 14. Among the optical images stored in the storage device 14, an optical image O that is closest to an image of the fluoroscopy object W viewed from the fluoroscopy direction at current time is selected and displayed on a display 13 during the fluoroscopic operation. This enables intuitive grasping of the fluoroscopy direction, and intuitive grasping of the fluoroscopy position is also enabled by superimposing and displaying a marker M, which represents a position of an X-ray optical axis L, in addition to the optical image O.

Claims

1. An X-ray fluoroscope, comprising:

an X-ray source and an X-ray detector which are arranged to be opposed to each other;

a sample stage for fixing a fluoroscopy object, being provided between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector;

a driving mechanism for moving and rotating the sample stage relatively with respect to a pair of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector;

an optical camera for photographing the fluoroscopy object on the sample stage;

a storage section for storing a plurality of optical images of the fluoroscopy object being photographed in advance by the optical camera from a plurality of directions by driving the sample stage; and

an optical image display section for, at the time of observation of an X-ray fluoroscopic image, selecting an optical image that is closest to a state of the fluoroscopy object being viewed from an X-ray fluoroscopy direction, from the plurality of optical images stored in the storage section, on the basis of a position and a rotating state of the sample stage, and displaying the selected optical image on a display.

2. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 1, wherein the optical image display section displays a marker representing at least one of a position and a direction of an X-ray optical axis on a screen of the display by superimposing the marker on the optical image of the fluoroscopy object.

3. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 2, further comprising:

a controller for automatically driving the driving mechanism so that, by moving the marker representing at least one of the position and the direction of the X-ray optical axis on the display, a relationship between the X-ray optical axis and the fluoroscopy object coincides with at least one of a position and a direction of the moved marker.

4. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 2, wherein the optical image display section displays an optical image that is photographed from a direction perpendicular to the X-ray fluoroscopy direction concurrently or in a switchable manner on the display, in addition to the optical image that is closest to the state of the fluoroscopy object being viewed from the X-ray fluoroscopy direction.

5. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 4, further comprising:

a controller for automatically driving the driving mechanism so that, by moving the marker representing at least one of the position and the direction of the X-ray optical axis on the display, a relationship between the X-ray optical axis and the fluoroscopy object coincides with at least one of a position and a direction of the moved marker.

6. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 1,

wherein the optical image display section displays an optical image that is photographed from a direction perpendicular to the X-ray fluoroscopy direction concurrently or in a switchable manner on the display, in addition to the optical image that is closest to the state of the fluoroscopy object being viewed from the X-ray fluoroscopy direction.

7. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 6, further comprising:

a controller for automatically driving the driving mechanism so that, by moving the marker representing at least one of the position and the direction of the X-ray optical axis on the display, a relationship between the X-ray optical axis and the fluoroscopy object coincides with at least one of a position and a direction of the moved marker.

8. The X-ray fluoroscope according to claim 1, wherein the selected optical image and the X-ray fluoroscopic image are concurrently displayed on the display.

9. An X-ray fluoroscopic method in an X-ray fluoroscope having an X-ray source and an X-ray detector which are arranged to be opposed to each other, and a sample stage for fixing a fluoroscopy object, being provided between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector, the X-ray fluoroscopic method comprising:

storing a plurality of optical images being obtained in advance by photographing the fluoroscopy object by the optical camera from a plurality of directions while driving the sample stage by moving and rotating the sample stage relatively with respect to a pair of the X-ray source and the X-ray detector; and

at the time of observation of an X-ray fluoroscopic image, selecting an optical image that is closest to a state of the fluoroscopy object being viewed from an X-ray fluoroscopy direction, from the plurality of stored optical images, on the basis of a position and a rotating state of the sample stage, and displaying the selected optical image on a display.

10. The X-ray fluoroscopic method according to claim 9, wherein the selected optical image and the X-ray fluoroscopic image are concurrently displayed on the display.

11. The X-ray fluoroscopic method according to claim 9, further comprising displaying a marker representing at least one of a position and a direction of an X-ray optical axis on a screen of the display by superimposing the marker on the optical image of the fluoroscopy object.

12. The X-ray fluoroscopic method to claim 11, further comprising moving the marker representing at least one of the position and the direction of the X-ray optical axis on the display, a relationship between the X-ray optical axis and the fluoroscopy object coincides with at least one of a position and a direction of the moved marker.

13. X-ray fluoroscopic method according to claim 9, wherein an optical image that is photographed from a direction perpendicular to the X-ray fluoroscopy direction is displayed concurrently or in a switchable manner on the display, in addition to the optical image that is closest to the state of the fluoroscopy object being viewed from the X-ray fluoroscopy direction.