Chemical liquid injection system detecting mount and dismount of chemical liquid syringe to and from chemical liquid injector

• US 7,500,961 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2004
• Issued: 03/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nemoto Kyorindo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nemoto Kyorindo Company Limited
• Inventors: Nemoto, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Lucchesi; Nicholas D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Campbell; Victoria P
• Application Number:
  US10/563,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20060151049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,708 Days
• Field of Search: 604/151, 600/432, 141/27, 141/94
• US Class Current: 604/151
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/14 Detection of the presence or absence of a tube, a connector or a container in an apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6036 characterised by physical shape, e.g. array of activating switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14546 Front-loading type injectors
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1456 with a replaceable reservoir comprising a piston rod to be moved into the reservoir, e.g. the piston rod is part of the removable reservoir

Abstract

The present invention includes mount-detecting means 131 placed at the position of liquid injector 100 where liquid syringe 200 is mounted and removed. This allows mount-detecting means 131 to detect the mount and dismount of liquid syringe 200 on and from liquid injector 100, and the detection result can be output to notify the operator, and/or the operation of piston actuating mechanism 116 can be controlled in accordance with the detection result. Thus, the present invention provides liquid injector 100 which can detect the mount and dismount of liquid syringe 200 on and from liquid injector 100.

Claims

1. A liquid injection system comprising a liquid syringe,

a liquid injector and a cylinder adapter;

the liquid syringe including a cylinder member and a piston member slidably inserted into the cylinder member, and the liquid injector including a cylinder holding mechanism for receiving the cylinder member of the liquid syringe mounted removably thereon and a piston actuating mechanism for relatively moving the piston member with respect to the held cylinder member of the liquid syringe,

wherein the liquid injector comprises mount-detecting means, placed at a position to be covered by the cylinder adapter, for detecting contact and separation of the cylinder member when the cylinder member is mounted on and removed from the cylinder holding mechanism, respectively, and

wherein the cylinder adapter the allows cylinder holding mechanism to hold the liquid syringe having a size other than the maximum size, and wherein the cylinder adapter comprises an adapter body having an outer surface held by the cylinder holding mechanism and an inner surface holding the cylinder member, and a contact-transfer member supported movably and moved to a position where the contact-transfer member is in contact with the mount-detecting means when the adapter body with the cylinder member mounted thereon is installed in the cylinder holding mechanism.

2. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder holding mechanism comprises:

a pair of left and right movable holders, each having an arc-shaped groove defined in an inner surface, to the groove of which a cylinder flange of the liquid syringe with its axis extending forwardly and rearwardly are removably engaged, and

a holder pivot support mechanism for pivotally supporting each of the movable holders for vertical angular movement between an open position in which the movable holders are open upwardly for allowing the cylinder flange to be inserted into the grooves and a closed position in which the cylinder flange is retained from left and right sides by the grooves.

3. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the contact-transfer member is biased to a position where the contact-transfer member is not in contact with the mount-detecting means when the adapter body with the cylinder member not mounted thereon is installed in the cylinder holding mechanism.

4. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder adapter includes:

a pair of left and right movable holders, each having an arc-shaped groove defined in an inner surface, to the groove of which the cylinder flange of the liquid syringe with its axis extending forwardly and rearwardly are removably engaged, and

a holder pivot support mechanism for pivotally supporting each of the movable holders for vertical angular movement between an open position in which the movable holders are open upwardly for allowing the cylinder flange to be inserted into the grooves and a closed position in which the cylinder flange is retained from left and right sides by the grooves.

5. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein components of the cylinder adapter are made of a nonmagnetic material.

6. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid injector further includes a display panel for outputting as display the detection result of the mount-detecting means.

7. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid injector further includes drive control means for controlling the piston actuating mechanism to disable the operation thereof when the mount-detecting means detects no mount of the liquid syringe.

8. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the liquid injector further comprises:

an imaging diagnostic apparatus for capturing an image of a patient to whom a liquid is injected from the liquid syringe; and

control means for controlling the imaging diagnostic apparatus to disable the operation thereof when the mount-detecting means detects no mount of the liquid syringe.

14. A liquid injection system according to claim 1, wherein the contact-transfer member is movable radially with respect to the syringe.

9. A liquid injection system comprising:

a first liquid syringe comprising a cylinder member and a piston member slidably inserted into the cylinder member;

a liquid injector comprising a cylinder holding mechanism for receiving the cylinder member of the liquid syringe mounted removably thereon, and a piston actuating mechanism for moving the piston member relative to the cylinder member when the cylinder member is held by the cylinder holding mechanism;

wherein the liquid injector further comprises a switch that detects contact and separation of the cylinder member when the cylinder member is mounted on and removed from the cylinder holding mechanism, respectively; and

a cylinder adapter, wherein the cylinder adapter allows the cylinder holding mechanism to hold the liquid syringe having a size other than the maximum size, and wherein the cylinder adapter comprises an adapter body having an outer surface held by the cylinder holding mechanism and an inner surface holding the cylinder member, and a contact-transfer member supported movably and moved to a position where the contact-transfer member is in contact with the mount-detecting means when the adapter body with the cylinder member mounted thereon is installed in the cylinder holding mechanism.

10. A liquid injection system according to claim 9, wherein the liquid injector further includes a computer for controlling the piston actuating mechanism to disable the operation thereof when the switch detects no mount of a liquid syringe.

11. A liquid injection system according to claim 9, wherein the liquid injector further comprises:

an imaging diagnostic apparatus for capturing an image of a patient into whom a liquid is injected from the liquid syringe; and

a computer for controlling the imaging diagnostic apparatus to disable the operation thereof when the switch detects no mount of the liquid syringe.

12. A liquid injection system comprising:

a first liquid syringe comprising a cylinder member and a piston member slidably inserted into the cylinder member;

a second liquid syringe having a smaller size than the first liquid syringe;

a liquid injector comprising a cylinder holding mechanism for receiving the cylinder member of the liquid syringe mounted removably thereon, and a piston actuating mechanism for moving the piston member relative to the cylinder member when the cylinder member is held by the cylinder holding mechanism; and

a cylinder adapter for allowing the cylinder holding mechanism to hold the second liquid syringe;

wherein the liquid injector further comprises mount-detecting means for detecting contact and separation of the cylinder member when the cylinder member is mounted on and removed from the cylinder holding mechanism, respectively,

wherein the cylinder holding mechanism directly receives the first liquid syringe mounted thereon and receives the second liquid syringe mounted thereon through the cylinder adapter; and

the cylinder adapter comprises;

an adapter body having an outer surface held by the cylinder holding mechanism and an inner surface holding the cylinder member; and

a contact-transfer member that is supported movably and is moved to a Position where the contact-transfer member is in contact with the mount-detecting means when the adapter body with the cylinder member mounted thereon is installed in the cylinder holding mechanism.

13. A liquid injection system according to claim 12, wherein the cylinder adapter further comprises:

a pair of left and right movable holders, each having an arc-shaped groove defined in an inner surface, the grooves of which are removably engaged by the cylinder flange of the liquid syringe; and

a holder pivot support mechanism for pivotally supporting each of the movable holders for vertical angular movement between an open position in which the movable holders are open upwardly for allowing the cylinder flange to be inserted into the grooves and a closed position in which the cylinder flange is retained from left and right sides by the grooves.