Nuclear medicine diagnostic equipment

Abstract

A nuclear medicine diagnostic device is provided that can efficiently examine the breasts and axillae of a subject in a supine position, without causing anxiety or fatigue to the subject during the examination. [Solution] In the nuclear medicine diagnostic device, the size of the radiation detection unit is determined so that the radiation detection range formed by the radiation detection unit is large enough to accommodate the subject's breasts and axillae. An opening 21 that communicates with a space that can accommodate the subject's arms is formed on the side of the main body cover 16 of the bed 14. The openings 21 are formed on both sides of the side of the main body cover 16 that are on the sides of the subject on the support part 11 of the bed 14.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in a nuclear medicine imaging system for breast examinations, the patient's breast, previously administered with a radiopharmaceutical, is inserted into a ring-shaped radiation detection unit with a tunnel-shaped examination space. The radiation detection unit detects annihilation photons emitted from the patient's breast. The time at which the photons are detected is measured, and if the detection time difference between the two detectors in the radiation detection unit is within a certain time, the photons are counted as a pair of annihilation photons. Furthermore, the point at which the annihilation occurred is identified as the position on the straight line between the pair of detectors. The emission data obtained in this way is stored, and a PET image is obtained by image reconstruction using the stored emission data. The acquired PET image is then displayed on a monitor and transferred to a hospital server.

[0003] In such a nuclear medicine diagnostic device for breast examinations, there are two methods for positioning the radiation detection unit relative to the subject's breast: one method involves fixing the subject in a certain position on a bed or chair, etc., and then positioning the radiation detection unit by bringing it close to the subject; and another method involves fixing the radiation detection unit in place, and then inserting the subject's breast into the radiation detection unit to position it.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a table for performing medical procedures in which a subject is placed on a tabletop formed with an insertion port through which the subject's breast is inserted, and the subject's breast is positioned close to an X-ray imaging device by hanging down through the insertion port. The table described in Patent Document 1 is configured to select and use alternative inserts having insertion ports with larger or smaller diameters based on the size of the subject's breast.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a dedicated breast nuclear medicine diagnostic device capable of examining the breasts and axillae of a subject. The nuclear medicine diagnostic device described in Patent Document 2 is equipped with an annular (ring-shaped) detector unit that images the breasts of a subject M in a seated position, and an arm rest that supports the arm inserted into the detector unit. The detector unit in this nuclear medicine diagnostic device has a hole with an inner diameter that extends from the shoulder on the arm side where the arm closest to the breast can be inserted to the base of the breast. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-185349 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-94697 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As described in Patent Document 2, when an examination is performed on a subject in a sitting position, the examination takes up to about 10 minutes, which causes a problem that the subject feels pain while maintaining the same posture. For this reason, it is preferable to have a configuration that allows examination of the breasts and axillae of a subject in a supine position, as described in Patent Document 1. However, a nuclear medicine diagnostic device with such a configuration has not yet been realized.

[0008] In response to this, in order to enable examination of the breasts and axillae of a subject placed in a supine position on a support unit as described in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to employ a radiation detection unit having an examination space large enough to accommodate the subject's breasts and axillae, and to employ a configuration in which a space is formed below the radiation detection unit in which the subject's arms can be stored. When such a configuration is employed, the subject can be examined in a supine position, which reduces the burden on the subject.

[0009] On the other hand, when such a configuration is adopted, the subject needs to insert their arm into the internal space through an arm insertion opening in the radiation detection unit, but this internal space is closed except for the insertion opening, which causes the subject to feel uneasy when inserting their arm. Also, if an object is dropped into the insertion opening or the subject vomits, it is difficult to deal with the situation because it is necessary to deal with it through the insertion opening. Furthermore, even if a support member is installed to support the subject's arm in preparation for a long examination, installing the support member itself is difficult if the space for storing the subject's arm is closed.

[0010] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a nuclear medicine diagnostic device that can efficiently examine the breasts and axillae of a subject in a supine position, without causing anxiety or fatigue to the subject during the examination. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The invention described in claim 1 is a nuclear medicine diagnostic device that includes a ring-shaped radiation detection unit having an examination space formed therein, and a bed having a subject placement section on its upper surface with an insertion port formed therein that communicates with the examination space in the radiation detection unit, and that is capable of examining the axillary region of the subject, wherein the radiation detection unit has a detection range of radiation that is large enough to accommodate the subject's breasts and axillary region, a space is formed below the radiation detection unit that can accommodate the subject's arms, and an opening that communicates with the space is formed on the side of the bed.

[0012] The invention as set forth in claim 2 is the invention as set forth in claim 1, wherein the opening is formed in at least one of the side surfaces of the bed that is on the side of the subject on the bed.

[0013] A third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein a support member for supporting an arm of the subject is disposed in the space. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the inventions of claims 1 and 2, the radiation detection unit has an examination space large enough to accommodate the breast and armpits of the examinee, and the space is large enough to accommodate the arm of the examinee, making it possible to perform an examination of the breast and armpits of an examinee in a supine position. The opening communicating with the space prevents the examinee from feeling uneasy when inserting their arm into the insertion opening, and also makes it possible to easily remove any object that falls from the insertion opening.

[0015] According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to install a support member for supporting the subject's arm through the opening in the space for storing the subject's arm, which allows the subject to maintain the same posture without feeling tired even during a long examination. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing how an examination of a subject M is performed using this nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an opening 21 formed on the side of the main body cover 16 of the bed 14. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side schematic view showing how an examination of a subject M is performed using this nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an opening 21 formed on a side surface of a main body cover 16 of a bed 14.

[0018] The nuclear medicine diagnosis device according to this embodiment is particularly capable of examining the subject's breasts as well as their axillae. This nuclear medicine diagnosis device is also known as a mammography PET (Positron Emission Tomography) device, and includes a bed 14 having a platform 11 arranged thereon for placing the subject M. The platform 11 is formed with a recess 13 in which the subject M's head is placed and an insertion port 12 through which the subject M's breasts and axillae are inserted. A space 20 large enough to accommodate the subject M's arms is formed inside a main body cover 16 below the platform 11 on the bed 14. When the subject M is in a prone position on the platform 11, a ring-shaped radiation detection unit 15 is disposed around the subject M's breasts and axillae, which are inserted into the space 20 through the insertion port 12 of the platform 11.

[0019] A nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is used to examine the breasts and axilla of a subject M. In this nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus, the breast and axilla of the subject M, who has been administered a radiopharmaceutical in advance, are inserted through an insertion port 12 into a ring-shaped radiation detection unit 15 having a tunnel-like examination space formed therein. 511 keV annihilation photons emitted from the subject M are detected by the radiation detection unit 15. The time at which the photons are detected is measured, and if the difference in detection times between the two detectors in the radiation detection unit 15 is within a certain time, the photons are counted as a pair of annihilation photons. Furthermore, the point at which the annihilation occurred is identified as being on the straight line between the pair of detectors that detected the photons. The emission data obtained in this manner is stored in a console 6, and a PET image is acquired by performing image reconstruction using the emission data stored in the console 6. The acquired PET image is then displayed on a display unit 7 and transferred to a hospital server via an intra-hospital network 8.

[0020] At this time, the breasts and armpits of the subject M need to be positioned within the radiation detection range 19 of the radiation detection unit 15. To make this possible, the size of the radiation detection unit 15 is determined so that the radiation detection range 19 formed by the radiation detection unit 15 is large enough to accommodate the breasts and armpits of the subject M.

[0021] When examining the breasts and axillae of subject M, as shown in Fig. 2, the arms of subject M are stored in a space 20 formed inside the main body cover 16 below the placement portion 11 of the bed 14. At this time, the examination using the nuclear medicine diagnostic device may take about 10 minutes. For this reason, a support member 22 for supporting the arms of subject M is disposed in the space 20.

[0022] The support member 22 has a configuration in which a soft material such as sponge is surrounded by synthetic leather or the like. The size and shape of the support member 22 are changed depending on the physique of the subject M, the posture of the subject M during the examination, etc. If necessary, a plurality of support members 22 may be used to support the arms of the subject M.

[0023] In the nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, openings 21 that communicate with a space 20 capable of accommodating the arms of the subject M are formed on the side surfaces of the main body cover 16 of the bed 14. As shown in FIG. 3 , the openings 21 are formed on both sides of the side surfaces of the main body cover 16 that are on the sides of the subject M on the placement portion 11 of the bed 14.

[0024] When examining the breasts and axillae of subject M, subject M needs to insert his / her arm into space 20 formed inside main body cover 16 through insertion opening 12 formed in mounting portion 11, as shown in Fig. 2. If space 20 is closed at this time, subject M will feel uneasy when inserting his / her arm into space 20 through insertion opening 12 because he / she will not be able to recognize the shape of space 20. However, in the nuclear medicine diagnosis device according to the embodiment of the present invention, opening 21 is formed that communicates with space 20 that accommodates subject M's arm, so subject M can recognize what space 20 is like, and subject M does not feel uneasy.

[0025] During the examination, an item used for the examination or vomit from the subject M may fall into the space 20 from the insertion port 12. Even in such a case, the fallen object can be easily removed by using the opening 21 that communicates with the space 20.

[0026] Furthermore, during an examination using the nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus, support members 22 for supporting the arms of the subject M are disposed in the space 20 in order to reduce fatigue on the subject M and prevent the examination area of ​​the subject M from moving. The size and shape of the support members 22 need to be changed depending on the physique and the like of the subject M. Even in such a case, by utilizing the opening 21 communicating with the space 20, it is possible to install the support members 22 corresponding to the subject M in the space 20, or to change the shape, size, number, and the like of the support members 22 depending on the physique and the like of the subject M.

[0027] In the above-described embodiment, the openings 21 communicating with the space 20 are formed on both sides of the main body cover 16 that are on the sides of the subject M on the placement section 11 of the bed 14, but these openings 21 may be formed on at least one of the side surfaces of the main body cover 16. In addition, the openings 21 communicating with the space 20 may also be formed at a position on the head side of the subject M on the placement section 11.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a nuclear medicine diagnosis device for examining the breasts and axillae of the subject M, but the present invention may also be applied to a nuclear medicine diagnosis device that can examine other parts of the subject M, such as the head of the subject M, in addition to the breasts and axillae of the subject M. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 6 Console 7 Display section 8. Hospital network 11 Placement section 12 Insertion port 13 Recess 14 berths 15 Radiation detection unit 16 Main unit cover 19 Radiation detection range 20 space 21 Opening 22 Support member M Subject

Claims

1. a ring-shaped radiation detection unit having an examination space formed therein, the radiation detection unit detecting annihilation photons emitted from the breast of a subject to which a radiopharmaceutical has been administered in advance; a bed having a platform on an upper surface of which a subject is placed, the platform being disposed above the radiation detection unit and having an insertion opening formed therein that communicates with the examination space; A nuclear medicine diagnostic device capable of examining the breast and axilla of the subject without compressing the breast and axilla, the bed has a space below the radiation detection unit that can accommodate the arm of the subject inserted into the insertion port, A nuclear medicine diagnosis device in which an opening is formed on the side of the bed, the opening communicating with the space and allowing objects that have fallen into the space through the insertion opening to be removed.

2. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, The opening is formed in at least one of the sides of the bed that faces the subject on the bed.

3. The nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, A nuclear medicine diagnosis apparatus in which a support member for supporting an arm of the subject is disposed in the space.

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