A device and method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator tube

Abstract

The present invention designs a device and method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator tube, belonging to the field of core components of high-end X-ray computed tomography systems. First, a monitoring and management device is provided, which specifically includes: a filament power supply power analysis unit, an FPGA processing unit, an ARM processing unit, a data storage unit, and a data upload unit. The above device is used to monitor and manage the life of the tube. By predicting the tube life information by the high-voltage generator, the manufacturer's maintenance cycle for the tube is reasonably analyzed, directly reducing the maintenance cost of the tube. The CT system can understand more internal status information of the tube, reasonably arrange scanning conditions, and improve scanning efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of core components of high-end X-ray computed tomography systems, and in particular relates to a device and method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator on a tube. Background Art

[0002] CT uses X-rays to penetrate human tissue, which are then received by detectors and converted into digital signals. After computer processing, these signals are transformed into cross-sectional or 3D images of the examined area, enabling the detection of tissue or organ lesions. The system consists of three main components: the tube, a high-voltage generator, and a detector. The high-voltage generator manages the X-rays emitted by the tube, while the detector receives the rays and converts them into electrical signals. A post-processing system then reconstructs the image.

[0003] The main parameters for measuring the tube are heat capacity and service life. The heat capacity determines the continuous working time of the tube at full load, thus improving the scanning performance of the CT system. The service life determines the cost of equipment use. The tube cost accounts for about 1 / 5 of the CT system, and it is also a consumable in the later maintenance, which has a great impact on the customer's cost of use.

[0004] The current market ball tube management system has the following shortcomings:

[0005] 1. The average lifespan of the tube is short. It is a black box system, and its quality can only be judged by whether it can continue to expose.

[0006] 2. The tube has a high value and accounts for a high proportion of maintenance. It is impossible to predict its usage and it can only be replaced according to its service life;

[0007] 3. The existing high-voltage generator and the tube are only in the power supply and load relationship, and do not have the function of monitoring the tube status;

[0008] 4. The CT system cannot determine the cause of tube damage and cannot perform system optimization, so it can only passively replace tube accessories. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In response to the shortcomings of the existing technology, the present invention provides a device and method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT tube by a high-voltage generator. The device and method are applied to medical CT equipment. Based on the waveform judgment of the feedback current of the tube filament by the high-voltage generator and the offline management of the tube exposure time, the device predicts the change trend of the tube filament diameter through power calculation and data analysis, thereby realizing the life monitoring of the tube. The tube life prediction information can be fed back to the CT system, thereby determining when to perform tube maintenance and replacement, greatly reducing equipment maintenance costs and more efficiently allocating resources.

[0010] A device for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator on a tube, specifically comprising: a filament power supply power analysis unit, an FPGA processing unit, an ARM processing unit, a data storage unit, and a data upload unit;

[0011] The filament power analysis unit is located in the filament control circuit board, and the FPGA processing unit, data storage unit, ARM processing unit and data upload unit are located in the system control circuit board, and the two are connected by a cable;

[0012] The filament power supply power analysis unit collects power supply input voltage and current through current transformers and resistor voltage dividers to analyze changes in tube filament diameter; the FPGA processing unit performs table processing on the filament diameter and power supply power at different currents; the ARM processing unit performs tube life analysis and prediction; the data storage unit is used to accumulate and record tube usage time; and the data upload unit is used to upload tube life prediction data;

[0013] A method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator for a tube is implemented based on the above-mentioned device for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator for a tube, and specifically includes the following steps:

[0014] Step 1: After receiving the exposure command from the CT system, the high voltage generator sets the filament, kilovolt, and milliampere parameters to expose the tube;

[0015] Step 2: The filament power supply power analysis unit collects the power supply input voltage and current through the current transformer and resistor voltage divider, collects the filament power supply voltage and current, and calculates the power parameters consumed by the filament module;

[0016] Step 3: Use Ohm's law and the material resistance formula to infer the diameter of the bulb filament based on the power parameters;

[0017] Step 3.1: The filament current is FIL_i, the filament resistance is R_i, collect the filament power module input voltage U_i, the filament power module input current I_i, and calculate the corresponding values ​​of 100 points, i = 1...100;

[0018] Step 3.2: According to the formula Calculate the R_i value of 100 points;

[0019] Step 3.3: Calculate the mean of R_i to obtain mean(R_i);

[0020] Step 3.4: Calculate the filament diameter s using the formula mean(R_i) = a1 / s, given the filament resistance material factor a and the filament length l.

[0021] Step 4: The data storage module records the cumulative usage time of the tube;

[0022] Step 5: The FPGA processing module normalizes the tube filament diameter parameter and the accumulated tube usage time and draws a table;

[0023] Step 6: The ARM processing module calculates and predicts the remaining life of the tube based on the table information in the FPGA and the tube filament current requirements under various exposure conditions;

[0024] Step 6.1: Retrieve the data of the bulb filament diameter Si and usage time Ti from the FPGA at 100 points, i=i=1…100;

[0025] Step 6.2: Take T1 as the first point on the horizontal axis, S 100 For the first point on the ordinate, draw the Si and Ti curves;

[0026] Step 6.3: Fit the relationship between Si and Ti using the curve: Si = a*Ti + b, where a and b are fitting coefficients.

[0027] Step 6.4: Set the minimum value S_min of the filament direct Si by referring to the tube manual, and substitute S_min into the fitting formula to calculate the usage time T_max;

[0028] Step 6.5: The remaining filament usage time T_last = T_max - Ti;

[0029] Step 7: The data upload module uploads the remaining tube life data in the ARM processing module to the CT system control board to complete the high voltage generator's prediction of the tube life.

[0030] Beneficial technical effects of the present invention:

[0031] To address the problems of opaque internal status information of the CT tube in the system, the high-voltage generator can only drive the tube but not monitor it, and the frequent replacement of the tube increases the cost of the system, a life monitoring and management method for the CT high-voltage generator on the tube is proposed, which has the following specific effects:

[0032] 1. The high-voltage generator calculates the filament power relationship, infers the tube filament diameter, and combines the usage time to predict the tube life, making the tube life information transparent;

[0033] 2. The relationship between the high-voltage generator and the tube has been upgraded from a power supply and load relationship to a system concept. The high-voltage generator monitors the internal information of the tube in real time, and the system integration is higher.

[0034] 3. Through the high-voltage generator's prediction of the tube life information, the manufacturer's maintenance cycle of the tube can be reasonably analyzed to directly reduce the tube maintenance cost;

[0035] 4. The high-voltage generator has the function of uploading tube life information data, which can enable the CT system to understand more internal status information of the tube, reasonably arrange scanning conditions, and improve scanning efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a device for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high voltage generator on a tube according to the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the filament power supply power analysis unit of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the FPGA processing unit of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the data storage structure of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the ARM processing unit of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the data uploading structure of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 7 This is a logic diagram of a method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator on a tube according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] An implementation of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0044] A device for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high voltage generator tube, as shown in the attached Figure 1 As shown, it specifically includes: a filament power supply power analysis unit, an FPGA processing unit, an ARM processing unit, a data storage unit, and a data upload unit;

[0045] The filament power analysis unit is located in the filament control circuit board, and the FPGA processing unit, data storage unit, ARM processing unit and data upload unit are located in the system control circuit board, and the two are connected by a cable;

[0046] The filament power supply power analysis unit collects power supply input voltage and current through current transformers and resistor voltage dividers to analyze changes in tube filament diameter; the FPGA processing unit uses Xilinx series chips to perform table processing on the filament diameter and power supply power under different currents; the ARM processing unit uses STM32 series chips to analyze and predict tube life; the data storage unit is used to accumulate and record tube usage time; and the data upload unit is used to upload tube life prediction data;

[0047] The present invention is based on an FPGA+ARM architecture design. The filament power supply power analysis unit completes filament power supply voltage and current sampling to calculate the power consumed by the filament. The FPGA unit infers the diameter parameter of the tube filament based on exposure parameters and filament feedback current, Ohm's law, and the relationship between resistance and material. The diameter parameter is normalized with the accumulated usage time of the tube and recorded in a table. The ARM unit calculates the expression of filament diameter and tube usage time based on the table information processed by the FPGA, and makes a prediction and analysis of the tube life under different exposure conditions. The data storage unit records the accumulated usage time of the tube. The data upload unit uploads the tube life prediction information in the high-voltage generator to the CT system.

[0048] like Figure 2 The structure of the filament power supply power analysis unit of the present invention is shown. This circuit collects and calculates the filament power supply input voltage and current. Voltage is collected using a high-precision resistor divider, while current is collected using the Analog Devices AD8217 high-precision current acquisition chip. This chip is a high-voltage, high-resolution current shunt amplifier with a set gain of 20V / V and a maximum gain error of ±0.35% over the entire temperature range. This high-precision voltage and current sampling circuit accurately calculates the filament power supply.

[0049] like Figure 3 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the FPGA processing unit of the present invention. The chip is selected from the Xilinx series. The FPGA unit uses the filament power supply power to expose the filament setting parameters, and uses the relationship formula between the resistance of the same material and the wire diameter to obtain the filament diameter information. Combined with the cumulative usage time of the bulb, the filament diameter size and the cumulative usage time of the bulb are normalized to create a corresponding data table. The feature is the filament diameter inference method.

[0050] like Figure 4 The data storage structure of the present invention is shown as a schematic diagram. The data storage uses the industrial-grade operating temperature SRAM chip IS61WV5128FALL, with a read speed of 10ns and a storage capacity of 512KX8bit. The product has the characteristics of high reliability, high stability and low power consumption, and is used to store the cumulative usage time of the tube.

[0051] like Figure 5 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the ARM processing unit of the present invention, which uses an STM32 series ARM processing chip. The ARM processing unit derives a prediction formula for filament diameter and usage time through a normalized table of filament diameter and accumulated tube usage time, and outputs the corresponding remaining tube life time under different filament current conditions. It is characterized by a life prediction algorithm.

[0052] like Figure 6Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the data upload structure of the present invention. The data upload uses the SPI communication format to upload tube life information to the CT system. A high-speed optocoupler device, HCPL2630M, is used between interfaces for isolated transmission. The isolation voltage reaches 5kV, the common-mode transient immunity (CMTI) is 10kV / us, the data transmission rate is 10Mbit / s, and the propagation delay is 75ns, which can meet the requirements of high-speed and reliable data transmission.

[0053] A method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high voltage generator for a tube is implemented based on the above-mentioned device for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high voltage generator for a tube, as shown in the attached Figure 7 Specifically, it includes the following:

[0054] When the CT system emits X-rays, the high-voltage generator sets the filament and kilovolt-milliampere parameters. During exposure, the filament power analysis unit collects the filament power supply voltage and current, calculates the power parameters consumed by the filament module, and simultaneously collects the filament feedback current. The FPGA processing unit uses a formula to reverse-calculate the filament diameter at this time, and combines the tube's usage time parameters to compile a corresponding table of tube filament diameter and usage time. The ARM processing unit analyzes the filament diameter and usage table data to predict the remaining life of the tube. The data storage unit is used to store the accumulated usage time of the tube. The data upload unit uploads the tube life prediction information in the ARM to the system, completing the tube life prediction function.

[0055] The specific steps are as follows:

[0056] Step 1: After receiving the exposure command from the CT system, the high voltage generator sets the filament, kilovolt, and milliampere parameters to expose the tube;

[0057] Step 2: The filament power supply power analysis unit collects the power supply input voltage and current through the current transformer and resistor voltage divider, collects the filament power supply voltage and current, and calculates the power parameters consumed by the filament module;

[0058] Step 3: Use Ohm's law and the material resistance formula to infer the diameter of the bulb filament based on the power parameters;

[0059] Step 3.1: The filament current is FIL_i, the filament resistance is R_i, collect the filament power module input voltage U_i, the filament power module input current I_i, and calculate the corresponding values ​​of 100 points, i = 1...100;

[0060] Step 3.2: According to the formula Calculate the R_i value of 100 points;

[0061] Step 3.3: Calculate the mean of R_i to obtain mean(R_i);

[0062] Step 3.4: Calculate the filament diameter s using the formula mean(R_i) = a1 / s, given the filament resistance material factor a and the filament length l.

[0063] Step 4: The data storage module records the cumulative usage time of the tube;

[0064] Step 5: The FPGA processing module normalizes the tube filament diameter parameter and the accumulated tube usage time and draws a table;

[0065] Step 6: The ARM processing module calculates and predicts the remaining life of the tube based on the table information in the FPGA and the tube filament current requirements under various exposure conditions;

[0066] Step 6.1: Retrieve the data of the bulb filament diameter Si and usage time Ti from the FPGA at 100 points, i=i=1…100;

[0067] Step 6.2: Take T1 as the first point on the horizontal axis, S 100 For the first point on the ordinate, draw the Si and Ti curves;

[0068] Step 6.3: Fit the relationship between Si and Ti using the curve: Si = a*Ti + b, where a and b are fitting coefficients.

[0069] Step 6.4: Set the minimum value S_min of the filament direct Si by referring to the tube manual, and substitute S_min into the fitting formula to calculate the usage time T_max;

[0070] Step 6.5: The remaining filament usage time T_last = T_max - Ti;

[0071] Step 7: The data upload module uploads the remaining tube life data in the ARM processing module to the CT system control board to complete the high voltage generator's prediction of the tube life.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator tube is implemented based on a device for monitoring and managing the life of a CT high-voltage generator tube, the device comprising: A filament power supply power analysis unit, an FPGA processing unit, an ARM processing unit, a data storage unit, and a data upload unit; wherein the filament power supply power analysis unit is located in the filament control circuit board, and the FPGA processing unit, the data storage unit, the ARM processing unit, and the data upload unit are located in the system control circuit board, and the two are connected by a cable; the filament power supply power analysis unit collects power supply input voltage and current through a current transformer and a resistor voltage divider to analyze changes in the diameter of the bulb filament; the FPGA processing unit tabulates the filament diameter and power supply power under different currents; the ARM processing unit performs analysis and prediction of the bulb life; the data storage unit is used to accumulate and record the usage time of the bulb; and the data upload unit is used to upload the bulb life prediction data. The method is characterized in that it specifically comprises the following steps: Step 1: After receiving the exposure command from the CT system, the high voltage generator sets the filament, kilovolt, and milliampere parameters to expose the tube; Step 2: The filament power supply power analysis unit collects the power supply input voltage and current through the current transformer and resistor voltage divider, collects the filament power supply voltage and current, and calculates the power parameters consumed by the filament module; Step 3: Use Ohm's law and the material resistance formula to infer the diameter of the bulb filament based on the power parameters; Step 3.1: The filament current is FIL_i, the filament resistance is R_i, collect the filament power module input voltage U_i, the filament power module input current I_i, and calculate the corresponding values ​​of 100 points, i = 1...100; Step 3.2: According to the formula Calculate the R_i value of 100 points; Step 3.3: Calculate the mean of R_i to obtain mean(R_i); Step 3.4: Calculate the filament diameter s using the formula mean(R_i) = a1 / s, given the filament resistance material factor a and the filament length l. Step 4: The data storage module records the cumulative usage time of the tube; Step 5: The FPGA processing module normalizes the tube filament diameter parameter and the accumulated tube usage time and draws a table; Step 6: The ARM processing module calculates and predicts the remaining life of the tube based on the table information in the FPGA and the tube filament current requirements under various exposure conditions; Step 6.1: Retrieve the data of the bulb filament diameter Si and usage time Ti from the FPGA at 100 points, i=i=1…100; Step 6.2: Take T1 as the first point on the horizontal axis, S 100 For the first point on the ordinate, draw the Si and Ti curves; Step 6.3: Fit the relationship between Si and Ti using the curve: Si = a*Ti + b, where a and b are fitting coefficients. Step 6.4: Set the minimum value S_min of the filament direct Si by referring to the tube manual, and substitute S_min into the fitting formula to calculate the usage time T_max; Step 6.5: The remaining filament usage time T_last = T_max - Ti; Step 7: The data upload module uploads the remaining tube life data in the ARM processing module to the CT system control board to complete the high voltage generator's prediction of the tube life.

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