A collimator for an X-ray imaging device and an X-ray imaging device

Abstract

The present application discloses a collimator for an X-ray imaging device and an X-ray imaging device. The collimator includes: a housing, on which a ray inlet and a ray outlet are provided, and the ray inlet receives X-rays from a ray source of the X-ray imaging device; a first grating, disposed on the housing, and the first grating can divide the X-rays.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of medical devices, and particularly to a collimator and an X-ray imaging device. Background Art

[0002] A collimator is an optical device installed in front of an X-ray source (such as the tube of a CT). The main function of the collimator is to control the irradiation field of the X-rays emitted by the X-ray source, so as to minimize the projection range and avoid unnecessary radiation to the human body on the premise of meeting X-ray imaging and diagnosis. At the same time, the collimator can also absorb some scattered rays to improve the clarity of imaging.

[0003] In X-ray imaging, X-ray phase-contrast imaging technology may be used to achieve imaging. Phase-contrast imaging observes the change of the electron density inside an object by capturing the phase-shift information of X-rays, so as to reveal the internal structure of the object. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In one aspect, one embodiment of the present application provides a collimator for an X-ray imaging device, which includes: a housing, on which a ray inlet and a ray outlet are provided, and the ray inlet receives X-rays from the ray source of the X-ray imaging device; a first grating, provided on the housing, and the first grating can divide the X-rays.

[0005] In some embodiments, a first guide rail is provided on the housing, and the first grating is slidably provided on the first guide rail.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first guide rail is arranged perpendicular to the stripe length direction of the first grating.

[0007] In some embodiments, a second guide rail is provided on the housing, and the first grating is slidably provided on the second guide rail. When the first grating slides along the second guide rail, the distance between the first grating and the X-ray source emitting the X-rays can be changed.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first grating is detachably connected to the housing.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first grating is located at the ray outlet or the ray inlet.

[0010] In some embodiments, the first grating includes a silicon wafer plated with gold.

[0011] In another aspect, one embodiment of the present application provides an X-ray imaging device, which includes the collimator according to any one of the above technical solutions.

[0012] In some embodiments, the X-ray imaging device further includes an X-ray source, a second grating, and a third grating; the X-rays emitted by the X-ray source can enter through the ray inlet of the collimator, and the collimator, the second grating, and the third grating are arranged in sequence along the irradiation direction of the X-rays.

[0013] In some embodiments, the imaging device includes a CT, a DR, an X-ray machine, or a digital breast tomosynthesis device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] This application will be further described by way of exemplary embodiments, which will be described in detail through the drawings. These embodiments are not restrictive. In these embodiments, the same numbers represent the same structures, where:

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the collimator of the X-ray imaging device shown in some embodiments of the present application;

[0016] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the collimator of the X-ray imaging device shown in some embodiments of the present application;

[0017] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the X-ray imaging device shown in some embodiments of the present application.

[0018] Description of the reference numerals: 10, collimator; 11, housing; 12, ray outlet; 13, first grating; 20, X-ray source; 30, second grating; 40, third grating; 50, X-ray detector; 100, X-ray imaging device; 200, object to be imaged. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0020] On the contrary, the present application covers any alternatives, modifications, equivalent methods, and solutions made within the spirit and scope of the present application defined by the claims. Further, in order to enable the public to have a better understanding of the present application, some specific details are described in detail in the following detailed description of the present application. Those skilled in the art can fully understand the present application without the description of these details.

[0021] Embodiments of the present application relate to a collimator and an X-ray imaging device. A grating is provided on the housing of the collimator to divide the X-rays passing through the collimator. With such a setting, the structure of the X-ray imaging device using this collimator is more compact and has a higher integration level. The collimator of the present application can be applied to various devices that perform imaging by X-ray irradiation, including but not limited to CT, DR, X-ray machines, digital breast tomosynthesis devices, etc. Preferably, the collimator of the present application can be applied to devices capable of performing X-ray phase-contrast imaging.

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a collimator shown in some embodiments of the present application, Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a collimator shown in some embodiments of the present application. As Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the collimator 10 includes a housing 11 and a first grating 13. A ray inlet (not shown in the figure) and a ray outlet 12 are provided on the housing 11. X-rays can enter the housing 11 from the ray inlet and exit from the ray outlet 12. The first grating 13 is provided on the housing 11, and the first grating 13 can divide the X-rays entering the ray inlet or exiting the ray outlet 12. The first grating 13 can divide the X-rays into multiple sub-rays. The divided sub-rays are incoherent with each other, and each sub-ray has spatial coherence. The X-rays divided by the first grating 13 can achieve X-ray phase-contrast imaging. The function of the first grating 13 can be equivalent to the function of the source grating in the X-ray phase-contrast imaging method (such as the Talbot-Lau interference method), and the source grating is also called the G0 grating. In addition, the first grating 13 can be a multi-slit absorption grating, and the period of the first grating 13 can be set to about a dozen micrometers to dozens of micrometers.

[0023] In some embodiments, as Figure 1 shown, the first grating 13 can be located at the ray outlet 12. In other embodiments, as Figure 2 shown, the first grating 13 can be located at the ray inlet. In some other embodiments, the first grating 13 can also be provided at other positions within the housing 11. Those skilled in the art can determine the installation position of the first grating 13 according to the distance setting requirements between the X-ray source 20 and the first grating 13.

[0024] In some embodiments, a first guide rail (not shown in the figure) may be provided on the housing 11, and the first grating 13 may be slidably disposed on the first guide rail. Through such an arrangement, the position of the first grating 13 can be changed to adjust whether the first grating 13 is located on the irradiation path of the X-ray. Through such an arrangement, the beam limiter 10 can also be used in the X-ray imaging device 100 without a source grating. In some embodiments, when the first grating 13 is located at the ray inlet or the ray outlet 12, the first guide rail can be correspondingly fixed outside the housing 11, and pulleys cooperating with the first guide rail can be provided on the first grating 13. When the pulleys slide on the first guide rail, the first grating 13 can be driven to slide along the first guide rail. In some other embodiments, the first guide rail can also be fixed inside the housing 11. In some embodiments, the beam limiter 10 may include a first locking mechanism. When the first grating 13 moves along the first guide rail and reaches a preset position, the first locking mechanism can lock the relative position of the first grating 13 and the first guide rail. The preset position may be a position where the first grating 13 is exactly located on the irradiation path of the X-ray (such as Figure 1 or Figure 2 the position shown in), at this time, the X-ray is divided after passing through the first grating 3. The preset position may also be a position where the first grating is exactly moved away and not in the irradiation path of the X-ray. At this time, the first grating 13 no longer affects the X-ray.

[0025] In some embodiments, the first guide rail may be arranged perpendicular to the stripe length direction of the first grating 13. Through such an arrangement, during the phase-contrast imaging process of the X-ray, the first grating 13 can perform a stepping movement along the direction perpendicular to its stripe length, and then obtain the intensity change curve of the X-ray received at a certain pixel point on the detector, thereby realizing the stepping imaging of the X-ray. The phase-contrast imaging effect can be improved through the stepping imaging of the X-ray. Through such an arrangement, the application scenario of the beam limiter 10 can be expanded.

[0026] In some embodiments, a second guide rail may be provided on the housing 11, and the first grating 13 is slidably disposed on the second guide rail. When the first grating 13 slides along the second guide rail, the distance between the first grating 13 and the X-ray source 20 that emits X-rays can be changed. When the beam limiter 10 is used for phase-contrast imaging, by adjusting the position of the first grating 13 on the second guide rail, the distance between the first grating 13 and other gratings for phase-contrast imaging can also be changed. The second guide rail may be disposed inside the housing 11, and the setting direction of the second guide rail may be a direction perpendicular to the plane where the grating is located. The second guide rail may extend from the ray inlet to the ray outlet 12. The first grating 13 may be disposed on the second guide rail through a pulley that can cooperate with the second guide rail. When the pulley slides on the second guide rail, it can drive the first grating 13 to slide along the second guide rail. In some embodiments, the beam limiter 10 may include a second locking mechanism. When the first grating 13 moves along the second guide rail to reach a preset position, the second locking mechanism can lock the relative position between the first grating 13 and the second guide rail.

[0027] In some embodiments, the first grating 13 is detachably connected to the housing 11. The first grating 13 may be connected to the housing 11 by means of snap connection, threaded connection, etc. Through such a setting, when the first grating 13 is not needed, the first grating 13 can be conveniently disassembled, expanding the application scenario range of the beam limiter 10. In some other embodiments, the first grating 13 may also be fixedly connected to the housing 11 of the beam limiter 10 by means of bonding, welding, etc.

[0028] In some embodiments, the first grating 13 includes a silicon wafer electroplated with gold. The first grating 13 uses a silicon wafer as a substrate and gold as an absorption material. In some other embodiments, the first grating may also use other materials as substrates, such as glass. In addition, the absorption material may also be a heavy metal with a relatively low melting point, such as platinum, lead, bismuth, etc.

[0029] In some embodiments, the beam limiter 10 may include lead leaves made of lead for shielding X-rays. For example, a pair of lead leaf groups may be respectively disposed in two mutually perpendicular directions so that the X-ray irradiation range is rectangular. In some embodiments, the lead leaves may be connected to a driving mechanism disposed inside the beam limiter 10. Through the driving mechanism, the lead leaf group can be manually or driven by a motor to move so as to change the X-ray irradiation range. In addition, in order to enable the operator of the X-ray imaging device 100 to visually observe the X-ray irradiation range, an optical component composed of a visible light source and a reflecting lens may be disposed inside the beam limiter 10. The optical component can project visible light consistent with the X-ray irradiation range onto the human body to indicate the X-ray irradiation range.

[0030] The beneficial effects that the collimator disclosed in this application may bring include, but are not limited to: (1) By integrally arranging the first grating on the housing of the collimator, the integration degree of the device using X-ray for phase-contrast imaging is higher and the structure is more compact; (2) By providing the first guide rail, it is possible to control whether the first grating is located in the irradiation path of the X-ray, so that the collimator can be used in a variety of imaging scenarios; (3) By providing the second guide rail, the distance between the first grating and the X-ray source can be adjusted, making the use of the collimator more convenient and the imaging effect better. It should be noted that the beneficial effects that may be produced by different embodiments are different. In different embodiments, the beneficial effects that may be produced may be any one or several combinations of the above, or any other beneficial effects that may be obtained.

[0031] On the other hand, one embodiment of this application provides an X-ray imaging device 100, which includes the collimator 10 of any of the above technical solutions. In some embodiments, the X-ray imaging device 100 may include a CT, a DR, an X-ray machine, a digital breast tomosynthesis device, etc.

[0032] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the X-ray imaging device 100 shown according to some embodiments of this application, as Figure 3 shown, in some embodiments, the X-ray imaging device 100 further includes an X-ray source 20, a second grating 30, and a third grating 40. Figure 3 The first grating 13 in is arranged on the housing of the collimator. The X-ray emitted by the X-ray source 20 can enter from the ray inlet of the collimator 10. The collimator 10, the second grating 30, and the third grating 40 are arranged in sequence along the irradiation direction of the X-ray. The object to be imaged 200 is placed between the collimator 10 (the first grating 13) and the second grating 30. The second grating 30 can be understood as a phase grating in the Talbot-Lau interference method, and the third grating 40 can be understood as an analysis grating in the Talbot-Lau interference method. The second grating 30 can change the phase of the X-ray, and the Talbot effect is generated after the X-ray passes through the second grating 30. The third grating 40 is arranged parallel to the second grating 30 and is placed at the Talbot distance of the diffraction of the second grating 30.

[0033] The X-ray source 20 may include a high-voltage generator and a tube. The collimator 10 can be installed at the ray-emitting window of the tube to limit the irradiation range of the X-ray according to the needs of diagnosis. More importantly, since the X-ray emitted by the tube does not have spatial coherence, by using the collimator 10 provided with the first grating 13, X-ray with spatial coherence can be obtained. The period p1 of the second grating 30 and the period p2 of the third grating 40 may satisfy the following relationship:

[0034]

[0035] Among them, L is the distance from the first grating 13 to the second grating 30, and D is the distance from the second grating 30 to the third grating 40. By using the beam limiter 10 with the second guide rail, the distance between the first grating 13 and the second grating 30 can also be adjusted more conveniently.

[0036] In some embodiments, the X-ray imaging device 100 may further include an X-ray detector 50. The X-ray detector 50 can be used to receive X-rays and convert the received X-ray signals into electrical signals that can be digitally processed through optoelectronic signal conversion technology (for example, digital photography technology). The X-ray detector 50 can detect the light intensity information of the X-rays and acquire images. After the acquisition within one grating period is completed, the refraction image information, attenuation image information, and dark field image information can be calculated by comparing the differences between the sample light intensity curves and the background light intensity curves corresponding to each pixel point.

[0037] The beneficial effects that the X-ray imaging device disclosed in this application may bring include, but are not limited to: (1) By using the beam limiter integrated with the first grating, the integration degree of the X-ray imaging device is higher and the structure is more compact; (2) By using the beam limiter integrated with the first grating, the first grating can be closer to the X-ray source, and the X-ray imaging device has a larger magnification; (3) The X-ray imaging device can perform imaging in different ways and can be used in different scenarios. It should be noted that the beneficial effects that may be produced by different embodiments are different. In different embodiments, the beneficial effects that may be produced can be any one or several combinations of the above, or any other beneficial effects that may be obtained.

[0038] The above are only the preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of this application shall be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A collimator for an X-ray imaging device, characterized in that, Comprising: A housing, on which a ray inlet and a ray outlet are provided, and the ray inlet receives X-rays from the ray source of the X-ray imaging device; A first grating, disposed on the housing and located at the ray outlet or the ray inlet, and the first grating can split the X-rays into multiple sub-rays, and the split sub-rays are incoherent with each other.

2. The collimator according to claim 1, wherein A first guide rail is provided on the housing, and the first grating is slidably disposed on the first guide rail.

3. The collimator according to claim 2, wherein, The first guide rail is arranged perpendicular to the stripe length direction of the first grating.

4. The collimator according to claim 1, characterized in that, A second guide rail is provided on the housing, and the first grating is slidably disposed on the second guide rail. When the first grating slides along the second guide rail, the distance between the first grating and the X-ray source emitting the X-rays can be changed.

5. The beam limiter according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first grating is detachably connected to the housing.

6. The collimator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first grating includes a silicon wafer plated with gold.

7. An X-ray imaging device, characterized in that, Comprising the collimator according to any one of claims 1-6.

8. The X-ray imaging device according to claim 7, characterized in that, Further comprising an X-ray source, a second grating and a third grating; the X-rays emitted by the X-ray source can enter from the ray inlet of the collimator, and the collimator, the second grating and the third grating are arranged in sequence along the irradiation direction of the X-rays.

9. The X-ray imaging device according to claim 7, wherein The imaging device includes a CT, a DR, an X-ray machine or a digital breast tomosynthesis device.

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