Patent Application
20140093051
1. Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a mobile X-ray imaging apparatus configured to take X-rays on rounds.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known X-ray imaging apparatus having a mobile function is provided with a moving carriage, and a high-voltage power supply device for supplying power to the X-ray imaging apparatus is built into the moving carriage. Further, a control device for controlling an arm and a support post which support the X-ray imaging apparatus, a control device for controlling a moving mechanism of the moving carriage, and a battery device for supplying power to the entire mobile X-ray imaging apparatus are also built into the moving carriage.
Wheels that transmit driving force and casters that can change the moving direction are disposed on the lower portion of the moving carriage. The support post is disposed vertically on the upper portion of the moving carriage, and the arm is attached to the support post in a cantilever state via a fixing member. An X-ray tube and a collimator for generating X-rays are disposed on the arm.
Furthermore, a support member which holds the X-ray tube and the collimator is provided on the moving carriage. The casters and the driving wheels attached to the moving carriage make the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus movable. An operator holds a grip portion to move and operate the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus. Japanese Patent No. 3412620 discusses the above-described mobile X-ray imaging apparatus.
An X-ray imaging apparatus for rounds having a pair of independently-driven driving wheels is discussed in Japanese Patent No. 4632638. According to an operation of an operation handle, the X-ray imaging apparatus drives the driving wheels via motor mechanisms that are independently provided on the right and the left sides thereof. This mobile X-ray imaging apparatus for rounds is characterized in that the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus includes an input unit for a minute operation of the apparatus in addition to the above-described operation handle, and a technique relating to the input unit for the minute operation of the apparatus is also discussed in Japanese Patent No. 4632638.
The mobile X-ray imaging apparatus for rounds includes a drive operation unit configured to drive the driving wheels of the carriage in a drive mode, a minute operation unit configured to drive the driving wheels in a minute operation mode, a motor drive control unit configured to control the driving force of a motor that drives the driving wheels, a determination unit configured to determine whether to operate in the drive mode or the minute operation mode based on the operations input from the drive operation unit and the minute operation unit, and a drive instruction unit configured to instruct the motor drive control unit to drive the motor at a rotating speed corresponding to the drive mode or the minute operation mode based on a mode determination result determined by the determination unit. The determination unit determines to prioritize the minute operation mode so that the operation input from the drive operation unit is ignored when the operation is being input from the minute operation unit, and the drive instruction unit outputs an instruction to stop driving the motor to the motor drive control unit when the carriage has been moved for a predetermined distance by the minute operation during the minute operation mode. According to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent No. 4632638, an instruction to start driving the motor in the minute operation is output to the motor drive control unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the motor was stopped, and thus the instruction to stop driving the motor and the instruction to start driving the motor by the minute operation are output repeatedly.
The mobile X-ray imaging apparatus is used to take X-rays in a general ward. In the conventional mobile X-ray imaging apparatus having an X-ray tube, in order for an operator to minutely drive the moving carriage while the arm thereof is expanded in an X-ray imaging state, a push-button switch serving as an instruction unit that is separately disposed in the vicinity of the X-ray tube has been used. The operator presses the push-button switch to control the minute driving.
However, it is difficult for the operator to intuitively perceive the moving direction when pressing the push-button switch, and thus the operator needs to operate the push-button switch while checking the indication of the moving direction. Further, in a case where the operator fails to check the indication of the moving direction, the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus may be operated erroneously. In addition, because a plurality of instruction units such as the drive operation unit and the minute operation unit is required, a control system which controls both of the units is also required, and this may leads to an increase in costs.
Aspects of the present invention are generally directed to a mobile X-ray imaging apparatus capable of avoiding an erroneous operation while performing a minute drive operation at higher operability when X-ray imaging is to be arranged at a general ward.
According to an aspect of the preset invention, a mobile X-ray imaging apparatus includes an X-ray tube portion, an arm configured to hold the X-ray tube portion, and a moving handle portion provided on the X-ray tube portion and operable to move the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus.
Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Furthermore, the moving carriage 1 includes a support post portion 4 that holds the X-ray tube support arm 5. A moving handle 14 is connected via moving instruction detection units 15 arranged on the right and the left side of the tube arm 13. The moving handle 14 is provided on any one of the tube arm 13 or the frame. In the state illustrated in
In order to drive the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus straight forward, the operator uniformly applies force to a rightward moving input 16 and a leftward moving input 17, so that the right and the left moving instruction detection units 15 respectively detect the operation force. Then, the control unit 2 provides a driving instruction to apply right driving wheel rotational force 20 and left driving wheel rotational force 19 to the right and the left driving wheels 18, thereby moving the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus. When the operator changes the moving direction of the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus, the right and the left driving wheels 18 are respectively controlled according to the amounts and directions of the rightward force and the leftward force applied to the moving handle 14, and thus the operator can freely move the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus to a final destination.
When the operator reaches an X-ray imaging site as a final destination, while holding the moving handle 14 as it is, the operator uses a release switch disposed on the moving handle 14 to release a locked state caused by the fixing unit, and pulls the moving handle 14 upward.
There may be a case where the X-ray tube 6 cannot reach the X-ray imaging position even if the X-ray tube support arm 5 is fully extended. In such a case, the operator needs to slightly move the moving carriage 1 closer to the bed 42 to make a positional adjustment within the adjustment range of the X-ray tube support arm 5 again. Therefore, in the minute drive mode, the operator holds the moving handle 14 together with the moving handle switch 21 disposed on the moving handle 14, and moves the moving handle 14 in a desired moving direction. With the above operation, the moving carriage 1 follows the movement thereof, and is minutely driven to a target position. Thereafter, the operator can place the X-ray tube 6 on the X-ray imaging position by making a fine adjustment on the X-ray tube support arm 5 again. Through the above processing, a series of X-ray imaging preparation is completed.
Next, in the same manner as the X-ray imaging procedure of a general X-ray imaging apparatus, the operator sets an imaging condition through a display 8 or another input device, and presses an irradiation switch (not illustrated) to emit X-rays from the X-ray tube 6. The X-rays that are collimated and aligned by the collimator 7 on the lower portion thereof pass through the body of the subject 41, so that an image is captured on the X-ray imaging flat panel 43. This captured image is transmitted to the control unit 2 through wireless or wired transmission (not illustrated), and the operator confirms the image on the display 8 to complete the X-ray imaging procedure.
As described above, because the moving handle 14 is disposed on the X-ray tube 6, the moving handle 14 is positioned nearby the operator in any of the cases where the operator moves the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus and the operator makes a positional adjustment on the X-ray tube 6, and thus the convenience of the operator is improved. Further, the operator can move the mobile X-ray imaging apparatus by operating the moving handle 14 in any of the general drive mode and the minute drive mode, and, therefore, the operator does not have to learn different operation procedure of the operation unit at each mode.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, these embodiments are not seen to be limiting. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-215968 filed Sep. 28, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-215968 | Sep 2012 | JP | national |
