Motorized Collimator Alignment via Camera Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile radiography and fluoroscopic imaging systems are cumbersome, expensive, and lack precise alignment mechanisms, often requiring mechanical fixation of the detector to the radiation source, which can lead to misalignment and increased exposure to radiation.
Innovation Solution
A motorized collimator system with computer-controlled shutters and a camera providing an overlay of the radiation field of view (FOV) on the patient image, allowing real-time adjustment and alignment to ensure the radiation beam is accurately positioned on the anatomical region of interest, reducing unnecessary exposure and system weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical fixation of the detector to the radiation source is used, then alignment stability is improved, but device complexity and system weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical alignment and fixation mechanisms with a camera-based visual feedback system. The camera captures images of alignment markers on the detector and uses image processing to calculate alignment status, eliminating the need for complex mechanical fixation mechanisms while maintaining alignment stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a camera to create an optical copy (image) of the alignment markers on the detector. This visual copy is then processed to determine alignment status, replacing direct mechanical measurement and fixation methods with an optical information copying approach.
2Measurement precision
If mechanical fixation mechanisms are used to prevent misalignment, then alignment precision is improved, but system weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes heavy mechanical fixation mechanisms with a lightweight camera and image processing system. The camera-based visual feedback provides precise alignment measurement without requiring heavy mechanical structures, significantly reducing system weight while maintaining or improving alignment precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the detector's own alignment markers as the measurement target. The camera captures images of these markers, and the image processing automatically calculates alignment status, allowing the system to self-diagnose and self-adjust without external heavy measurement equipment.
3Device complexity
If manual collimator adjustment is used, then device complexity is reduced, but alignment precision and productivity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback loop where the camera continuously monitors the alignment markers, the image processing system calculates alignment status, and this information is fed back to automatically adjust the collimator position. This closed-loop feedback system achieves high alignment precision without requiring complex manual adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The collimator adjustment system uses the visual feedback from the camera and image processing to automatically adjust its own position. The system serves itself by using the captured images to drive the adjustment mechanism, eliminating the need for complex manual operation while maintaining simplicity in the control architecture.
4Productivity
If automated collimator adjustment is implemented, then alignment precision and productivity are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex automated mechanical adjustment systems with a camera-based visual feedback system coupled with image processing. The automation is achieved through software-based image analysis and control algorithms rather than complex mechanical actuators, reducing overall device complexity while improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses optical copying (camera imaging) of alignment markers to drive the automated adjustment process. This information copying approach allows sophisticated automated control without requiring equally sophisticated mechanical adjustment mechanisms, as the complexity is shifted to the optical information domain rather than the mechanical domain.
Data Source
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AI summary
X-ray imaging systems and methods comprising, at least, an x-ray source, an x-ray detector, and a collimator assembly. The collimator assembly comprising a computer, a display, a camera, an x-ray source to object (patient) measuring device to measure source to object distance (SOD), and a plurality of metallic barriers used to manipulate a size and shape of X-ray beams, thereby also reducing the volume of irradiated tissue in the patient. The collimator may comprise computer-controlled motorized shutters to admit radiation into the region defined by the adjustable beam-defining components of the collimator of an X-ray apparatus. In some embodiments, the plurality of metallic barriers may be a fixed cone, or a cone comprised of movable plates.