Excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography

Abstract

The present invention discloses an excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastic imaging, including a vibration source, a transmission device and an execution terminal, wherein the vibration source is used to generate vibrations through a mechanical driving device; the transmission device includes a flexible rope for transmitting the vibrations generated by the vibration source to the execution terminal, so that the execution terminal performs reciprocating motion; the execution terminal is used to contact the side of the breast of the subject to generate shear waves in the breast of the subject. The present invention adopts an incompressible / stretchable flexible rope as a vibration transmission medium, so that the vibration amplitude and phase information of the execution terminal remain consistent with the vibration source; a mechanical device driven by a servo motor is adopted as an excitation source, and the vibration signal frequency, amplitude and phase information are precisely controllable; the flexible rope vibration transmission medium can be used to flexibly arrange the transmission channel path according to the specific conditions of the magnetic resonance room, and the device is easy to operate and flexible to use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of magnetic resonance imaging, and in particular to an excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastic imaging. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the continuous development of diagnostic technology has led to the emergence of elastic imaging technology, which is to obtain the hardness or elasticity of different tissues by applying a certain force to human tissues to generate strain, and to determine the properties of tissues by studying the hardness of different tissues. Since the range of variation of tissue elastic modulus is larger than the resolution range of CT, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging modes, it has great development potential.

[0003] To perform breast MRI, it is first necessary to generate shear waves of a certain frequency and amplitude in the breast tissue of the subject through an excitation device. Existing excitation devices for breast MRI are mainly based on pneumatic excitation methods, that is, an audio speaker is used as the excitation source, and the vibration signal of the speaker is transmitted to the human breast tissue through a sealed hose connected to it. Due to the compressibility of air, it is difficult to accurately control the frequency and phase of the excitation signal. Therefore, a more reliable solution is now needed. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography in view of the deficiencies in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastic imaging, including a vibration source, a transmission device and an execution terminal,

[0006] The vibration source is used to generate vibration through a mechanical drive device;

[0007] The transmission device includes a flexible rope for transmitting the vibration generated by the vibration source to the execution terminal, so that the execution terminal performs a reciprocating motion;

[0008] The execution terminal is used to contact the side of the tested breast to generate shear waves in the tested breast.

[0009] Preferably, the mechanical drive device is a servo motor, and the vibration source includes a base, the servo motor disposed on the base, a crank connected to a rotor of the servo motor, a first connecting rod rotatably connected to the crank via a first end, and a second connecting rod rotatably connected to a second end of the first connecting rod;

[0010] The first end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the second end of the first connecting rod, and the second end of the second connecting rod is slidably connected to the machine base.

[0011] Preferably, a receiving groove for receiving the first connecting rod is provided on the machine base, and a sealing cover is provided on the receiving groove.

[0012] Preferably, the transmission device includes the flexible rope connected to the second connecting rod, a linear elastic element connected to an end of the flexible rope, and a fixed terminal for mounting the linear elastic element.

[0013] Preferably, the flexible rope is made of a non-magnetic flexible material that is neither compressible nor stretchable.

[0014] Preferably, the flexible rope is also provided with a plurality of steering rollers for changing its direction.

[0015] Preferably, the execution terminal is fixedly connected to the flexible rope so as to drive the execution terminal to reciprocate through the flexible rope;

[0016] The execution terminal is arranged in the breast coil and contacts the test breast placed in the breast coil, so as to generate shear waves in the test breast through the reciprocating motion of the execution terminal.

[0017] Preferably, the execution terminal comprises a connecting handle fixedly connected to the flexible rope and a contact member having an arc-shaped contact surface fixedly connected to the connecting handle, and the contact member contacts the subject's breast through the arc-shaped contact surface.

[0018] Preferably, the excitation device for breast MRI also includes a protective device snap-fitted onto the breast coil, the protective device is provided with two openings corresponding to the breast coil, and the bottom surface of the protective device is provided with a mounting surface for snapping onto the breast coil.

[0019] Preferably, the execution terminal includes at least one disposed in the breast coil, the protective device is provided with a path slot for the flexible rope to pass through, and a plug hole communicating with the path slot is provided on the side wall of the opening above the breast coil on which the execution terminal is disposed;

[0020] The connecting handle of the execution terminal passes through the insertion hole and is fixedly connected to the flexible rope, and the contact piece of the execution terminal extends into the breast coil.

[0021] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0022] The present invention adopts an incompressible / stretchable flexible rope as a vibration transmission medium, so that the vibration amplitude and phase information of the execution terminal remain consistent with the vibration source; a mechanical device driven by a servo motor is adopted as an excitation source, and the frequency, amplitude and phase information of the vibration signal are precisely controllable; the flexible rope vibration transmission medium can be used to flexibly arrange the transmission channel path according to the specific conditions of the magnetic resonance room, and the device is easy to operate and flexible to use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the spatial arrangement of the excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of an excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the vibration source of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the vibration source of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the crank, the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod of the present invention being connected in coordination;

[0028] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of the crank of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the linear elastic element and the fixed terminal of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 8 It is a structural schematic diagram of the execution terminal of the present invention;

[0031] Fig. 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of the bottom of the protective device of the present invention;

[0032] Fig.10 It is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of the protective device of the present invention.

[0033] Description of reference numerals:

[0034] 1. vibration source, 11. servo motor, 12. crank, 13. first connecting rod, 14. second connecting rod, 15. machine base, 16. sealing cover, 17. receiving groove;

[0035] 2. Transmission device, 21. Flexible rope, 22. Linear elastic element, 23. Fixed terminal, 24. First diverting pulley, 25. Second diverting pulley, 26. Third diverting pulley;

[0036] 3. execution terminal, 31. connection handle, 32. contact piece, 33. arc-shaped contact surface;

[0037] 4. protective device, 41. path groove, 42. mounting surface, 43. opening, 44. jack, 45. pulley groove, 46. wiring channel;

[0038] 5. Scanning bed;

[0039] 6. Breast coil. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with embodiments so that those skilled in the art can implement the invention with reference to the description.

[0041] It should be understood that the terms such as “having”, “including” and “comprising” used herein do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other elements or combinations thereof.

[0042] like Figure 1 As shown, an excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography of this embodiment includes a vibration source 1, a transmission device 2 and an execution terminal 3. The vibration source 1 is used to generate vibrations through a mechanical drive device; the transmission device 2 includes a flexible rope 21 for transmitting the vibrations generated by the vibration source 1 to the execution terminal 3, so that the execution terminal 3 performs reciprocating motion; the execution terminal 3 is used to contact the side of the subject's breast to generate shear waves in the subject's breast. The flexible rope 21 is a non-magnetic flexible material that is neither compressible nor stretchable. For example, in one embodiment, the flexible rope 21 is preferably made of carbon fiber material.

[0043] The vibration source 1 can be set in the equipment room, the execution terminal 3 can be set in the scanning room, and the vibration signal of the vibration source 1 is transmitted to the execution terminal 3 through the transmission device 2.

[0044] The present invention adopts a mechanical drive device and transmits the excitation signal through the incompressible / stretchable flexible rope 21, which can realize the precise control of the excitation frequency, phase and excitation amplitude. The device is flexible to operate and easy to use. The following is further described through more specific embodiments.

[0045] Reference Figure 2-6 In a preferred embodiment, the mechanical driving device is a servo motor 11, and the vibration source 1 includes a base 15, a servo motor 11 disposed on the base 15, a crank 12 connected to the rotor of the servo motor 11, a first connecting rod 13 rotatably connected to the crank 12 through a first end, and a second connecting rod 14 rotatably connected to the second end of the first connecting rod 13; the first end of the second connecting rod 14 is rotatably connected to the second end of the first connecting rod 13, and the second end of the second connecting rod 14 is slidably connected to the base 15. A sliding hole (not shown in the figure) is provided on the right side of the base 15, and the second end of the second connecting rod 14 can be slidably inserted therein, thereby limiting the second connecting rod 14 to only horizontal linear motion. A receiving groove 17 for receiving the first connecting rod 13 is provided on the base 15, and a sealing cover 16 is provided on the receiving groove 17.

[0046] The rotor of the servo motor 11 drives the crank 12 to rotate. One end of the first connecting rod 13 is rotatably connected to the crank 12, and the other end can be slidably inserted on the machine base 15 along a horizontal straight line. Under the limit of the machine base 15, the crank 12 passes, and the first connecting rod 13 drives the second connecting rod 14 to perform linear reciprocating motion.

[0047] Furthermore, the transmission device 2 includes a flexible rope 21 connected to the second connecting rod 14, a linear elastic element 22 connected to the end of the flexible rope 21, and a fixed terminal 23 for installing the linear elastic element 22. The fixed terminal 23 is fixed to the scanning bed 5 or other auxiliary devices. The linear elastic element 22 is a spring, one end of which is fixed to the fixed terminal 23 and the other end is fixed to the end of the flexible rope 21. The flexible rope 21 is tightened by the linear elastic element 22 to keep the flexible rope 21 taut to achieve the reciprocating motion of the flexible rope 21. In this embodiment, the fixed terminal 23 is fixed to the scanning bed 5. One end of the flexible rope 21 is connected to the driving device, and the other end is connected to the linear elastic element. The linear elastic element is connected to the fixed terminal 23 fixed to the scanning bed 5 or other auxiliary devices, so that the movement of the flexible rope 21 is kept consistent with the driving device. The servo motor 11 is used as the excitation source. By controlling the servo motor 11, the frequency, amplitude and phase information of the vibration signal can be accurately controlled.

[0048] According to the spatial arrangement requirements of the flexible rope 21, a plurality of steering rollers for changing the direction of the flexible rope 21 may be provided on the flexible rope 21. For example, in this embodiment, three steering rollers are provided: a first steering roller, a second steering roller, and a third steering roller. The direction is changed by the steering pulleys, so that the path of the transmission channel meets the spatial requirements of the magnetic resonance room.

[0049] Reference Figure 7-8 Furthermore, the execution terminal 3 is fixedly connected to the flexible rope 21 so as to drive the execution terminal 3 to make reciprocating motion through the flexible rope 21; the execution terminal 3 is arranged in the breast coil 6 and contacts the test breast placed in the breast coil 6 so as to generate shear waves in the test breast through the reciprocating motion of the execution terminal 3.

[0050] The execution terminal 3 includes a connection handle 31 fixedly connected to the flexible rope 21 and a contact member 32 having an arc-shaped contact surface 33 fixedly connected to the connection handle 31. The contact member 32 contacts the subject's breast through the arc-shaped contact surface 33. The arc-shaped contact surface 33 has an arc-shaped curved surface similar to breast tissue, and is placed in close contact with the breast tissue when in use. The connection handle 31 and the contact member 32 are preferably an integral part.

[0051] Reference Figure 9-10Furthermore, the excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastic imaging also includes a protective device 4, a breast coil 6 is arranged on the scanning bed 5, and the protective device 4 is buckled and connected to the breast coil 6. The protective device 4 is provided with two openings 43 corresponding to the two breast coils 6, and the bottom surface of the protective device 4 is provided with a mounting surface 42 for buckling on the breast coil 6. The execution terminal 3 includes at least one arranged in the breast coil 6, the protective device 4 is provided with a path groove 41 for the flexible rope 21 to pass through, and the side wall of the opening 43 above the breast coil 6 on which the execution terminal 3 is arranged is provided with a socket 44 connected to the path groove 41; the connection handle 31 of the execution terminal 3 passes through the socket 44 and is fixedly connected to the flexible rope 21, and the contact member 32 of the execution terminal 3 extends into the breast coil 6.

[0052] In this embodiment, the execution terminal 3 includes one or two execution terminals distributed in the left and right breast coils 6. The execution terminal 3 is made of non-magnetic material, such as a conventional plastic part.

[0053] In this embodiment, a pulley groove 45 is further provided in the protective device 4, and a third steering pulley 26 is provided in the pulley groove 45. A wiring channel 46 is provided in communication with the pulley groove 45, and the wiring channel 46 is communicated with the path groove 41 through the pulley groove 45. The wiring channel 46 is perpendicular to the path groove 41. The flexible rope 21 passes through the wiring channel 46 and then bypasses the third steering pulley 26, and passes through the path groove 41 after a 90° turn to connect to the fixed end. The first steering pulley 24 and the second steering pulley 25 each turn 90°, and the first steering pulley 24 and the second steering pulley 25 facilitate the introduction of the flexible rope 21 into the wiring channel 46 along a straight line. The pulley groove 45, the third steering pulley 26 and the wiring channel 46 facilitate the spatial arrangement of the flexible rope 21 in the protective device 4.

[0054] The working principle of the present invention is:

[0055] The vibration source 1 is placed in the equipment room, the execution terminal 3 and the protection device 4 are placed in the scanning room, and the transmission device 2 spans the equipment room and the scanning room to realize the connection between the vibration source 1 and the execution terminal 3. When the equipment is in use, the servo motor 11 is powered on and rotates, and the crank 12 and the connecting rod 1 drive the connecting rod 2 to perform reciprocating linear motion. One end of the flexible rope 21 is connected to the connecting rod 2, and the other end is fixedly connected to the linear elastic element fixedly connected to the fixed terminal 23. Under the action of the linear elastic element and the connecting rod 2, the flexible rope 21 is always in a taut state, thereby ensuring that the flexible rope 21 and the connecting rod 2 perform synchronous reciprocating motion, and further driving the execution terminal 3 to perform reciprocating motion. The arc-shaped contact plate on the execution terminal 3 is in direct contact with the side of the subject's breast. The reciprocating motion of the execution terminal 3 generates shear waves in the subject's breast tissue, thereby meeting the requirements of breast magnetic resonance elastic imaging.

[0056] The present invention adopts an incompressible / stretchable flexible rope 21 as a vibration transmission medium, so that the vibration amplitude and phase information of the execution terminal 3 remain consistent with the vibration source 1; a mechanical device driven by a servo motor 11 is used as an excitation source, and the frequency, amplitude and phase information of the vibration signal are accurately controllable; the flexible rope 21 vibration transmission medium can be used to flexibly arrange the transmission channel path according to the specific conditions of the magnetic resonance room, and the device is easy to operate and flexible to use.

[0057] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed as above, they are not limited to the applications listed in the specification and the implementation modes. They can be fully applied to various fields suitable for the present invention. For those familiar with the art, additional modifications can be easily implemented. Therefore, without departing from the general concept defined by the claims and the scope of equivalents, the present invention is not limited to specific details.

Claims

1. An excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography, characterized in that: It includes a vibration source, a transmission device and an execution terminal. The vibration source is used to generate vibration through a mechanical drive device; The transmission device includes a flexible rope for transmitting the vibration generated by the vibration source to the execution terminal, so that the execution terminal performs a reciprocating motion; The execution terminal is used to contact the side of the tested breast to generate shear waves in the tested breast; The mechanical driving device is a servo motor, and the vibration source includes a base, the servo motor disposed on the base, a crank connected to a rotor of the servo motor, a first connecting rod rotatably connected to the crank through a first end, and a second connecting rod rotatably connected to a second end of the first connecting rod; The first end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the second end of the first connecting rod, and the second end of the second connecting rod is slidably connected to the base; The base is provided with a receiving groove for receiving the first connecting rod, and the receiving groove is provided with a sealing cover; The transmission device includes the flexible rope connected to the second connecting rod, a linear elastic element connected to the end of the flexible rope, and a fixed terminal for mounting the linear elastic element; The execution terminal is fixedly connected to the flexible rope so as to drive the execution terminal to perform reciprocating motion through the flexible rope; The execution terminal is arranged in the breast coil and contacts the test breast placed in the breast coil, so as to generate shear waves in the test breast through the reciprocating motion of the execution terminal.

2. The excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible rope is made of a non-magnetic flexible material that is neither compressible nor stretchable.

3. The excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible rope is also provided with a plurality of steering rollers for changing the direction thereof.

4. The excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 3, characterized in that: The execution terminal comprises a connection handle fixedly connected to the flexible rope and a contact member having an arc-shaped contact surface fixedly connected to the connection handle, wherein the contact member contacts the breast of the subject through the arc-shaped contact surface.

5. The excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a protective device that is buckled onto the breast coil, the protective device is provided with two openings corresponding to the breast coil, and the bottom surface of the protective device is provided with a mounting surface for buckling onto the breast coil.

6. The excitation device for breast magnetic resonance elastography according to claim 5, characterized in that: The execution terminal includes at least one disposed in the breast coil, the protective device is provided with a path slot for the flexible rope to pass through, and the side wall of the opening above the breast coil on which the execution terminal is disposed is provided with a plug hole connected to the path slot; The connecting handle of the execution terminal passes through the insertion hole and is fixedly connected to the flexible rope, and the contact piece of the execution terminal extends into the breast coil.

Images