COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (CT) MACHINE SYSTEM AND STATE MONITORING METHOD

Abstract

A computed tomography (CT) machine system and a state monitoring method are described. The CT machine system comprises a drum-shaped component, a 3D camera, and a control system. The drum-shaped component comprises a cylindrical body, with the center of the cylindrical body being provided with a hollow portion which is rotationally symmetrical about the central axis of the cylindrical body, a rotating component disposed in the cylindrical body rotating about the central axis, a plurality of trigger marks arranged in the rotating component, and a window provided in the cylindrical body. The 3D camera generates image data that is transferred to the control system, from which the control system determines state data of the CT machine. The 3D camera captures an image of the trigger marks through the window to generate marked image data.

Claims

1. A computed tomography (CT) machine system, comprising: a 3D camera; a control system; and a drum-shaped component including (i) a cylindrical body including a window, the cylindrical body being identified with a central axis, and the center of the cylindrical body being provided with a hollow portion which is rotationally symmetric about the central axis, and (ii) a rotating component disposed in the cylindrical body, the rotating component being rotatable about the central axis, wherein the 3D camera is configured to capture an image of a plurality of trigger marks that are arranged in the rotating component through the window to generate image data that is transferred to the control system, and wherein the control system is configured to determine state data of the CT machine based upon the received image data.

2. The CT machine system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of trigger marks are uniformly arranged in the rotating component around the central axis such that the 3D camera captures an image of at least three of the plurality of trigger marks through the window.

3. The CT machine system of claim 1, wherein the cylindrical body includes an annular disc-shaped end cover at an axial end side, the window being provided in the disc-shaped end cover, and wherein the plurality of trigger marks are arranged in an end face of the rotating component facing the disc-shaped end cover.

4. The CT machine system of claim 1, wherein the rotating component comprises a peripheral rib portion that extends radially outwards, and wherein the plurality of trigger marks are arranged in an axial end face of the peripheral rib portion.

5. The CT machine system of claim 1, wherein the window is of an elongated shape that extends perpendicular to a central horizontal plane where the central axis is located and is symmetrical about the central horizontal plane.

6. The CT machine system of claim 3, wherein the 3D camera is located on one side of the disc-shaped end cover, and wherein a line connecting the 3D camera and a center of the window is parallel to the central axis.

7. The CT machine system of claim 1, wherein the window comprises a lens structure that enables the 3D camera to focus on the plurality of trigger marks.

8. The CT machine system of claim 3, wherein: the field of view of the 3D camera covers the entire disc-shaped end cover, the drum-shaped component is tiltable, and the 3D camera is configured to capture an image of the drum-shaped component to generate tilt angle image data.

9. The CT machine system of claim 8, wherein the 3D camera further is configured to capture an image of a patient on an examination table to generate patient image data, and wherein the control system comprises: vibration determination circuitry configured to determine a vibration state of the rotating component based upon the image data; tilt angle determination circuitry configured to determine a tilt angle of the drum-shaped component based upon the tilt angle image data; and patient contour and position determination circuitry configured to determine a contour of the patient and a position of the patient based upon the patient image data.

10. The CT machine system of claim 9, wherein the control system further comprises: communication circuitry configured to send and receive an operation instruction; and fault diagnosis and alarm circuitry configured to (i) diagnose whether there is a fault based upon the vibration state, (ii) determine a distance between the patient and the drum-shaped component based upon the tilt angle, the contour of the patient, and the position of the patient, and (iii) provide an alarm when the distance between the patient and the drum-shaped component is less than a predetermined threshold distance.

11. A method for monitoring a state of a computed tomography (CT) machine system, comprising: capturing, via a 3D camera, an image of a plurality of trigger marks located in a rotating component of the CT machine system to generate image data; processing, via processing circuitry, the image data to calculate a mark displacement distance; and determining, via processing circuitry, a vibration state of the rotating component based upon the mark displacement distance.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: generating three-dimensional coordinates of the plurality of trigger marks based upon the image data; converting the three-dimensional coordinates to a first plane to obtain two-dimensional coordinates; calculate the mark displacement distance based upon the two-dimensional coordinates; and determining an amplitude and vibration frequency of the rotating component based upon the mark displacement distance.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: recording the vibration state of the rotating component during operation as a first vibration state; recording the vibration state of the rotating component during operation as a second vibration state; comparing the second vibration state with the first vibration state to obtain a vibration deviation; and generating an alarm when the vibration deviation exceeds a predetermined deviation value threshold.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: capturing, via the 3D camera, an image of a drum-shaped component of the CT machine system, which is tiltable at a tilt angle relative to a first plane, to generate the image data including the drum-shaped component; determining the tilt angle of the drum-shaped component and a contour of the drum-shaped component based upon the image data; causing the drum-shaped component to tilt at a target pose in the absence of a patient; determining a tilt angle and a contour of the drum-shaped component to obtain an actual pose of the drum-shaped component; determining a pose deviation between the target pose and the actual pose; and performing a pose calibration based upon the pose deviation.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising: capturing, via the 3D camera, an image of a patient on an examination table to generate patient image data; determining a contour of the patient and a position of the patient based upon the patient image data; calculating, upon receiving a command to tilt a drum-shaped component of the CT machine system, a target component contour when the drum-shaped component reaches a target position; calculating a distance between the target component contour and the contour of the patient; and generating an alarm when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance threshold.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

[0053] The drawings of the description that constitute part of the present disclosure are used to provide further understanding of the present disclosure, and the illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure and the description thereof are intended to explain the present disclosure and do not constitute improper limitation to the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0054] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a CT machine system according to the present disclosure;

[0055] FIG. 2 shows a partial schematic diagram of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG. 3a shows a side view that illustrates the relationship between a drum-shaped component and the field of view of a 3D camera of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure;

[0057] FIG. 3b shows a top view that illustrates the relationship between the drum-shaped component and the field of view of the 3D camera of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure;

[0058] FIG. 4 shows a front view of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG. 5 shows a partial schematic diagram of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure;

[0060] FIG. 6a shows a side view that illustrates the relationship between the drum-shaped component at the maximum forward tilt position and the field of view of the 3D camera according to the present disclosure;

[0061] FIG. 6b shows a side view that illustrates the relationship between the drum-shaped component at the maximum backward tilt position and the field of view of the 3D camera according to the present disclosure;

[0062] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a control system of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure; and

[0063] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a state monitoring method according to the present disclosure.

[0064] In the above figures, the following reference numerals are included: [0065] 100: drum-shaped component; [0066] 110: cylindrical body; [0067] 111: end cover; [0068] 120: rotating component; [0069] 121: trigger mark; [0070] 130: window; [0071] 200: 3D camera; [0072] 300: control system; [0073] 310: vibration determination module; [0074] 320: tilt angle determination module; [0075] 330: patient contour and position determination module; [0076] 340: communication module; [0077] 350: fault diagnosis and alarm module; [0078] F: field of view of 3D camera; [0079] S: light receiving range; [0080] A: vertical axis; [0081] B: horizontal axis; [0082] S100: method step; [0083] S300: method step; [0084] 5500: method step;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] In order to solve the problem in the prior art that it is not easy to effectively monitor states of a CT machine and a patient, a CT machine system is provided.

[0086] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 1, the CT machine system comprises a drum-shaped component 100, a 3D camera 200, and a control system 300 (not shown in detail). The drum-shaped component 100 comprises: a cylindrical body 110, with the center of the cylindrical body 110 being provided with a hollow portion which is rotationally symmetrical about the central axis of the cylindrical body 110; a rotating component 120 disposed in the cylindrical body 110, the rotating component 120 rotating about the central axis, and a plurality of trigger marks 121 (not shown in detail in FIG. 1) being arranged in the rotating component 120; and a window 130 provided in the cylindrical body 110. The 3D camera 200 captures an image to generate image data, the image data is transferred to the control system 300, and the control system 300 determines state data of the CT machine according to the received image data. The 3D camera 200 captures an image of the trigger marks 121 through the window 130 to generate mark image data.

[0087] In FIG. 1, the cylindrical body 110 has an annular disc-shaped end cover 111 at one axial end side, the window 130 is provided in the end cover 111, and the trigger marks 121 are arranged in the end face of the rotating component 120 facing the end cover 111. The cylindrical body 110 itself is of an approximately annular shape, and therefore the end cover 111 matching thereto is also of an annular shape. In this case, the 3D camera 120 is disposed on the side facing the end cover 111.

[0088] FIG. 2 shows a partial schematic diagram of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 2, the trigger marks 121 are uniformly arranged in the rotating component 120 around the central axis and at predetermined intervals such that the 3D camera 200 captures at least three trigger marks 121 through the window 130. The trigger marks 121 have small spacing, and are arranged in an edge region of the end face of the rotating component 120, forming a circle.

[0089] Preferably, the window 130 is of an elongated shape which extends perpendicular to a central horizontal plane where the central axis is located and is symmetrical about the central horizontal plane. The elongated shape can be understood as a shape in which the longitudinal extension thereof is greater than the transverse extension.

[0090] In this embodiment, the window 130 is of a substantially rectangular shape, with the long side thereof being a straight line, and the short side thereof being a circular arc, and having a certain thickness.

[0091] The window 130 may comprise a lens structure which allows the 3D camera 200 to focus on the trigger marks 121. The light path of the light that enters the window from the outside is indicated by a dashed line.

[0092] FIGS. 3a and 3b show a side view and a top view, respectively, which illustrate the relationship between the drum-shaped component and the field of view of the 3D camera of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure. In the side view of FIG. 3a, the 3D camera 200 is located at the position of half height of the drum-shaped component 100, and the field of view F of the 3D camera 200 partially covers the drum-shaped component 100.

[0093] In the top view of FIG. 3b, the 3D camera 200 is located in the edge region directly facing the drum-shaped component 100, and in this case the field of view F covers most of the front surface of the drum-shaped component 100. By means of setting the position of the 3D camera 200 in the manner of this embodiment, it is possible to capture the complete contour of the front surface of the drum-shaped component 100 and also capture the contour of the part of interest of the patient.

[0094] FIG. 4 shows a front view of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis B and the vertical axis A of the drum-shaped component 100 are shown. The drum-shaped component 100 is tilted about the horizontal axis B, and it can be seen that the window 130 is symmetrical with respect to the horizontal plane, and the line connecting the 3D camera 200 and the center of the window 130 is perpendicular to the end cover 111, i.e. the 3D camera 200 is located in the central horizontal plane where the axis of rotation is located, and the projection of the 3D camera on the end cover falls on a midpoint of the window.

[0095] FIG. 5 shows a partial schematic diagram of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 5, a top view of the drum-shaped component 100 is shown. Various components are arranged in the drum-shaped component 100 and indicated by dashed lines. The rotating component 120 comprises a peripheral rib portion that radially extends outwards, and the trigger mark 121 is arranged in the edge region in the axial end face of the peripheral rib portion. The 3D camera 200 directly faces the end cover 111 and is on the same line as the window 130 and the trigger mark 121, and the line connecting the 3D camera 200 and the rotating component 120 represents an optical path for collecting information of the trigger mark 121. The optical path starts from the 3D camera 200, passes through the window 130, and reaches the trigger mark 121.

[0096] FIGS. 6a and 6b respectively show a side view that illustrates the relationship between the drum-shaped component at the maximum forward tilt position and at the maximum backward tilt position and the field of view of the 3D camera. The drum-shaped component 100 can be tilted at a tilt angle relative to the horizontal direction, and the 3D camera 200 captures an image of the drum-shaped component 100 to generate tilt angle image data.

[0097] FIG. 6a shows a light receiving range S of the trigger mark 121 when the drum-shaped component 100 is tilted forward, and FIG. 6b shows the light receiving range S of the trigger mark 121 when the drum-shaped component 100 is tilted forward. In order to enable the 3D camera 200 to effectively capture an image of the trigger mark 121 when the drum- shaped component 100 is tilted, it can be seen from the figures that the window 130 has a suitable size and a lens structure such that the 3D camera 200 is always in the light receiving range S at all times.

[0098] In summary, FIGS. 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6a, and 6b illustrate the positional relationship of the 3D camera 200 with the drum-shaped component 100, the window 130, and the trigger mark 121.

[0099] The field of view of the 3D camera 200 may cover the entire end cover 111, and the 3D camera 200 captures an image of a patient on an examination table to generate patient image data.

[0100] The 3D camera may not only capture a plane image, but may also collect depth information of a photographed subject, i.e., the three-dimensional position, size, etc. According to the present disclosure, common 3D cameras can all be implemented for this purpose, and there is no special requirement for the imaging principle thereof, and the 3D camera should be understood as including necessary accessories required for the functions thereof. In addition to the trigger mark, the 3D camera further captures the image of the patient, and in this way image data of the patient can be obtained for further processing.

[0101] In this way, the system according to the present disclosure can also be used for monitoring a tilting state of the CT machine.

[0102] FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a control system 300 of the CT machine system according to the present disclosure. The control system comprises: a vibration determination module 310 for determining a vibration state of the rotating component 120 according to the mark image data; a tilt angle determination module 320 for determining a tilt angle of the drum-shaped component 100 according to the tilt angle image data; and a patient contour and position determination module 330 for determining a contour and a position of the patient according to the patient image data.

[0103] In addition, the control system further comprises: a communication module 340 for sending and receiving an operation instruction; and a fault diagnosis and alarm module 350 for diagnosing whether there is a fault or not according to the vibration state, determining a distance between the patient and the drum-shaped component 100 according to the tilt angle, the contour and the position, and giving an alarm when the distance is less than a preset safety threshold. The various modules as noted herein may be implemented as any suitable combination of processors, processing circuity, hardware components, and/or software implemented via execution of instructions by the processors, processing circuity, hardware components, etc.

[0104] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a state monitoring method according to the present disclosure. A method for monitoring a state of a CT machine system is provided, the method comprising:

[0105] S100: capturing an image of trigger marks located in a rotating component by means of a 3D camera to generate mark image data;

[0106] S300: processing the mark image data to obtain a mark displacement amount; and

[0107] S500: determining a vibration state of the rotating component according to the mark displacement amount.

[0108] In this way, the vibration state of the rotating component can be determined by means of capturing the image of the trigger marks that can reflect the motion state of the rotating component.

[0109] Processing the mark image data to obtain a mark displacement amount may comprise:

[0110] generating three-dimensional coordinates of the trigger marks according to the mark image data; converting the three-dimensional coordinates to the horizontal plane to obtain two-dimensional coordinates; obtaining the mark displacement amount according to the two-dimensional coordinates.

[0111] Determining a vibration state of the rotating component according to the mark displacement amount may comprise: determining the amplitude and vibration frequency of the rotating component according to the mark displacement amount. After the data is collected, a vibration displacement curve with respect to time can be made, and the data in a time domain is then converted to the data in a frequency domain by means of Fourier transformation, so as to obtain an amplitude-frequency curve, a vibration frequency and amplitude data.

[0112] The method may further comprise: recording the vibration state of the rotating component during normal operation as a standard vibration state; recording the vibration state of the rotating component in real time as a real-time vibration state; comparing the real-time vibration state with the standard vibration state to obtain a real-time vibration deviation; and giving an alarm when the real-time vibration deviation exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0113] The method may further comprise: capturing an image of a drum-shaped component 100, which can be tilted at a tilt angle relative to the horizontal plane, by means of the 3D camera to generate image data of the drum-shaped component; and determining the tilt angle and a contour of the drum-shaped component 100 according to the image data of the drum-shaped component.

[0114] The tilt of the drum-shaped component 100 may be controlled at a target pose in the absence of a patient; the current tilt angle and the contour of the drum-shaped component 100 are determined to obtain an actual pose of the drum-shaped component 100; a pose deviation between the target pose and the actual pose is determined; and the pose control is calibrated according to the pose deviation.

[0115] The method may further comprise: capturing an image of a patient on an examination table by means of the 3D camera to generate patient image data; determining a contour and a position of the patient according to the patient image data.

[0116] The method may further comprise: calculating, upon receiving a command for tilting the drum-shaped component 100, a target component contour when the drum-shaped component 100 reaches a target position; calculating the minimum distance between the target component contour and the contour of the patient; and giving an alarm when the minimum distance exceeds a predetermined safety distance.

[0117] The present disclosure is implemented herein using various examples, by means of providing a CT machine system which comprises a 3D camera and a rotating component, with trigger marks being provided in the rotating component, the vibration state of the rotating component can be determined by means of capturing the image of the trigger marks by the 3D camera. In this way, the problem in the prior art that it is not easy to effectively monitor states of a CT machine and a patient is solved.

[0118] From the above description, it can be seen that the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure achieve the following technical effects:

[0119] 1. An abnormal condition within the CT machine can be detected when it first occurs, thereby further avoiding damage. In addition, collisions between the patient and the CT machine are avoided. Therefore, the CT performance is maintained in a reliable state, thereby ensuring the safety of the machine and the patient.

[0120] 2. The system achieves the monitoring of vibration and the state monitoring for preventing collisions between the patient and the machine by only use of a simple 3D camera. The 3D camera used is much cheaper than a contact vibration sensor commonly used in vibration testing. Therefore, the method saves costs.

[0121] 3. Also, the state monitoring of collisions between the CT machine and the patient is achieved in an unmanned and non-contact manner. The state of the CT gantry is monitored in real time, which provides the feasibility of analysis on the internal abnormal condition, so it is not necessary to remove the CT gantry and detect a high-speed rotating component. Therefore, the method is time-saving and labor-saving.

[0122] It should be noted that the embodiments in the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict. The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and the embodiments.

[0123] It should also be noted that all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, unless otherwise indicated.

[0124] In the present disclosure, if there is no explanation to the contrary, the orientation words used such as “upper”, “lower”, “top” and “bottom” usually refer to the directions shown in the drawings, or refer to a component itself in the vertical, perpendicular or gravitational direction. Similarly, for ease of understanding and description, the orientation words “inside” and “outside” refer to the inside and the outside relative to the contour of the component itself, but the above orientation terms are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0125] The embodiments described above are merely some of rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. On the basis of the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments which would have been obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without involving any inventive effort shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0126] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is merely for description of specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In addition, it should also be understood that when the term “including” and/or “comprising” is used in this specification, it indicates the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and/or combinations thereof.

[0127] It should be noted that the terms such as “first” and “second” in the description and the claims of the present disclosure and in the aforementioned accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order of precedence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than those illustrated or described herein.

[0128] The aforementioned description is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and various changes and modifications would have been made by a person skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.