Medical image diagnosis apparatus

• US 9,337,901 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2013
• Issued: 05/10/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Katsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Rossoshek, Helen
• Application Number:
  US13/758,029
• Publication Number:
  US 20130200842A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 320/108, 320/166, 600/424, 600/509
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/548 Remote control of the apparatus or devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/23 The load being a medical device, a medical implant, or a life supporting device
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/12 of the resonant type
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/402 the two or more transmitting or the two or more receiving devices being integrated in the same unit, e.g. power mats with several coils or antennas with several sub-antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00302 Overcharge protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/24 Inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/79 for data transfer in combination with power transfer

Abstract

The medical image diagnosis apparatus has a body, a power transmitting part, a power receiving part, and a device. The power transmitting part is housed in the body, has a transmission coil, and generates an oscillating field due to resonance from the transmission coil upon receiving electric power. The power receiving part has a reception coil, resonates with a frequency substantially equal to the resonant frequency of the transmission coil, and generates electric power upon receiving the oscillating field. The device houses the power receiving part, deriving organization information through operation via non-contact with the body by electric power from the power receiving part. The apparatus comprises a status checker and a controller that determines whether or not electric power should be generated depending on at least one of the statuses to control the generation of electric power by the transmission coil.

Claims

1. A medical image diagnosis apparatus that receives signals from a test body and derives organization information thereof so as to check the test body, comprising:

a body;

a power transmitting circuit having a transmission coil housed in the body, receiving electric power from the outside and generating an oscillating field due to resonance from the transmission coil;

a power receiving circuit having a reception coil that resonates at a frequency substantially equal to the resonant frequency of the transmission coil and generates electric power upon receiving the oscillating field generated by the transmission coil;

a device that houses the power receiving circuit and operates by electric power from the power receiving circuit via non-contact with the body so as to derive the organization information;

a status checker configured to derive at least one of the operation statuses of the body and the device; and

a controller configured to determine whether or not the electric power should be generated depending on at least one of the statuses of the body and the device, and based on the determination results, to control the generation of the electric power by the transmission coil.

2. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device is a wireless X-ray detector of an X-ray diagnosis apparatus, a high frequency coil unit of an MRI apparatus, or an ultrasound probe of an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus.

3. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power transmitting circuit comprises the transmission coil and first capacitor so as to generate resonance, while the power receiving circuit comprises the reception coil and second capacitor so as to generate resonance.

4. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device has a battery for storing the electric power generated by the reception coil and operates using the electric power stored in the battery.

5. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an indicator configured to indicate the remaining power level of the battery.

6. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, comprising the two or more devices, wherein the two or more power receiving circuits included in the two or more devices receive an oscillating field generated by the one power transmitting circuit to generate electric power.

7. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the status checker has a first detector configured to detect the start trigger of the check, and

the controller is configured to stop the supply of electric power by the power transmitting circuit according to detection of the start trigger.

8. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the start trigger includes at least one of the input of patient information into the body, execution of the operation for instructing start of the check, and arrangement of the device at a predetermined position.

9. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the status checker has a second detector for detecting ending of the trigger of the check, and

the controller is configured to start the supply of electric power by the power transmitting circuit according to detection of the start trigger.

10. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the ending trigger includes at least one of the ending of the processing relevant to the check, execution of the operation for instructing the ending of the check, execution of the operation for the powering off of the body or the device, and the absence of operation to the body and the device for more than a predetermined time.

11. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the status checker has a third detector for detecting the charging level of the battery, and

the controller is configured to control the supply of electric power by the power transmitting circuit based on the detection results of the charging level.

12. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to detect whether or not the distance between the transmission coil and the device is no more than a reference distance.

13. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the power transmitting circuits arranged at different places, respectively.

14. The medical image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the power receiving circuit receives the oscillating fields generated by no more than two of the plurality of power transmitting circuits at the same time to generate electric power.