CLEANING DEVICE FOR A TOMOGRAPHY DEVICE HAVING AN EXAMINATION TUNNEL AND TOMOGRAPHY DEVICE

Abstract

A cleaning device for a tomography device, in particular an MRT, has an examination tunnel. The cleaning device has a nozzle assembly for applying a liquid cleaning agent to a tunnel inner surface facing toward the tunnel axis, a mounting device, which is configured to mount the nozzle assembly on a structural unit of the tomography device parallel to the tunnel axis and displaceably along the examination tunnel, and a control unit, which is configured, in the intended cleaning operation, to specify the application of the cleaning agent in dependence on the movement of the nozzle assembly.

Claims

1. A cleaning device for a tomography device having an examination tunnel, the cleaning device comprising: a nozzle assembly for applying a liquid cleaning agent to a tunnel inner surface facing toward a tunnel axis; and a mounting device configured to mount said nozzle assembly parallel to the tunnel axis and displaceably on a structural unit of the tomography device along the examination tunnel.

2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a controller, which is configured, in an intended cleaning operation, to specify an application of the liquid cleaning agent in dependence on a movement of said nozzle assembly.

3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein said mounting device mounts said nozzle assembly, in an intended usage state, on a patient table of the tomography device so that said nozzle assembly is also moved upon movement of the patient table.

4. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein said mounting device has a rail guide, by means of which said nozzle assembly is displaceably guided separately from a patient table in the examination tunnel.

5. The cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein said mounting device has a rail slide, which is coupled in an intended usage state to a guide rail of the patient table.

6. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle assembly is formed by a nozzle head having a plurality of nozzle openings, which are oriented in different radial directions relative to a movement axis of said nozzle head.

7. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein said nozzle assembly has a mounting bracket, on which a plurality of individual nozzles are oriented in different radial directions and which is disposed in an intended usage state at a comparatively small distance from the tunnel inner surface.

8. The cleaning device according to claim 7, wherein said mounting bracket is configured as a circle or circular arc section.

9. The cleaning device according to claim 7, wherein said mounting bracket is configured to be polygonal.

10. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising: a wiper assembly mounted after said nozzle assembly in an intended feed direction thereof, and configured to clean the tunnel inner surface facing toward the tunnel axis mechanically under an effect of the liquid cleaning agent and/or to absorb the liquid cleaning agent again; and a wiper mounting device configured to mount said wiper assembly on the structural unit of the tomography device parallel to the tunnel axis and displaceably along the examination tunnel.

11. The cleaning device according to claim 10, further comprising moving cleaning elements acting mechanically on the tunnel inner surface; and wherein said wiper assembly has a drive for movement, decoupled from said nozzle assembly, of said cleaning elements acting mechanically on the tunnel inner surface.

12. The cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage container and a collection container for the liquid cleaning agent and remain outside the examination tunnel in an intended cleaning operation.

13. A cleaning device for a tomography device having an examination tunnel, the cleaning device comprising: a wiper assembly configured to clean a tunnel inner surface facing toward a tunnel axis mechanically under an effect of a liquid cleaning agent; and a mounting device configured to mount said wiper assembly on a structural unit of the tomography device parallel to the tunnel axis and displaceably along the examination tunnel.

14. The cleaning device according to claim 13, wherein said mounting device mounts said wiper assembly in an intended usage state on a patient table of the tomography device, so that said wiper assembly is also moved upon movement of the patient table.

15. The cleaning device according to claim 13, wherein said mounting device has a rail guide, by means of which said wiper assembly is displaceably guided separately from the patient table in the examination tunnel.

16. The cleaning device according to claim 15, wherein said mounting device has a rail slide, which is coupled in an intended usage state to a guide rail of the patient table.

17. The cleaning device according to claim 13, further comprising: moving cleaning elements acting mechanically on the tunnel inner surface; and a drive for moving said moving cleaning elements acting mechanically on the tunnel inner surface.

18. The cleaning device according to claim 13, wherein elements of the cleaning device entering the examination tunnel in an intended cleaning operation are formed with omission or at least reduction of ferromagnetic material.

19. The cleaning device according to claim 13, further comprising an ultra-violet (UV) radiator assembly for UV irradiation of the tunnel inner surface.

20. A tomography device, comprising: an examination tunnel; and said cleaning device according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0046] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a tomography device having a cleaning device;

[0047] FIG. 2 is a schematic view according to FIG. 1 of a further exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device; and

[0048] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a patient table having a further exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0049] Parts corresponding to one another are always provided with the same reference signs in all figures.

[0050] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a tomography device, specifically a magnetic resonance tomography device, abbreviated “MRT 1”. The MRT 1 has a housing 2, in which annular magnetic coils are arranged, so that an examination tunnel, abbreviated “tunnel 4”, is formed in the center thereof. A patient is moved by means of a patient table 6 guided on the housing 2 through this tunnel 4 in the intended examination operation.

[0051] A part of a tunnel inner surface 8 bounding the tunnel 4 is accessible here to the patient lying on the patient table 6. For this reason, it is expedient to clean, in particular to disinfect, this part of the tunnel inner surface 8 regularly. It is problematic here - as can be seen in particular from FIG. 3 - that in MRTs the tunnel 4 is usually comparatively long, often longer than 1.5 m at a tunnel diameter of approximately 60 to 70 cm. The accessibility for cleaning is thus already made more difficult. In addition, in modern MRTs, the magnetic field strength - also in the inactive state due to superconducting materials - is usually above the permissible workplace load of 2 Tesla, so that cleaning by cleaning personnel is only possible with difficulty.

[0052] For this reason, a cleaning device 10 is assigned to the MRT 1. This has a nozzle assembly 12, which is configured to dispense a liquid cleaning agent, especially a disinfectant specifically, onto the tunnel inner surface 8. For this purpose, the nozzle assembly 12 contains a mounting bracket 14, on which multiple spray nozzles 16 (also: “individual nozzles”) are arranged in such a way that the tunnel inner surface 8 to be sprayed, specifically the part thereof to be disinfected, can be sprayed in a planar closed manner. For this purpose, the spray nozzles 16 are each aligned in different radial directions relative to a tunnel axis of the tunnel 4 or the displacement axis of the patient table 6. The mounting bracket 14 is configured in the present exemplary embodiment as a circular arc section, so that all spray nozzles 16 (at least approximately) have the same distance to the tunnel inner surface 8. The cleaning device 10 also has a mounting device (not shown in greater detail here), by means of which the mounting bracket 14 of the nozzle assembly 12 is fixed on the patient table 6, specifically at its end (see FIG. 3). The cleaning device 10, at least the nozzle assembly 12, can thus be moved through the tunnel 4 by moving the patient table 6. An additional drive is therefore not necessary.

[0053] Furthermore, the cleaning device 10 has a control unit 18, which is shown as a “black box” on the patient table 6 in the present exemplary embodiment. However, the control unit 18 is preferably integrated as a software component in a control unit of the MRT 1. A storage container 20 for the cleaning agent is also contained in the “black box” shown. The control unit 18 is configured to control the dispensing of the cleaning agent in dependence on the axial position of the patient table 6 and thus the nozzle assembly 12 and/or on the feed speed of the patient table 6.

[0054] In one embodiment (not shown in greater detail), the storage container 20 and an expediently assigned pump are also arranged outside the tunnel 4, for example adjacent to the housing 2, and are coupled using a connecting line to the spray nozzles 16.

[0055] In a simple embodiment of the cleaning device 10, only a spraying disinfection of the tunnel inner surface 8 is carried out.

[0056] In order that the parts of the cleaning device 10 are not attracted (or displaced in general terms) by the magnetic field of the magnetic coils, the parts of the cleaning device 10, specifically the elements which enter the tunnel 4 during the cleaning procedure, are formed from a non-ferromagnetic material.

[0057] An alternative exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device 10 is shown in FIG. 2. The mounting bracket 14 is configured to be approximately rectangular in this case. Otherwise, the structure corresponds to the cleaning device 10 according to FIG. 1.

[0058] A further exemplary embodiment of the cleaning device 10 is schematically shown in FIG. 3. This contains a wiper assembly 22 here in addition to the nozzle assembly 12. This is arranged trailing the nozzle assembly 12 in a feed direction 24. In other words, the nozzle assembly 12 is introduced first into the tunnel 4 during the entry of the patient table 6 into the latter. The wiper assembly 12 has, in addition to a mounting bracket 26, multiple cleaning elements mounted on the latter, in the form of sponges 28 here. These are either arranged so that a closed contact line or surface is formed over the part of the tunnel inner surface 8 to be cleaned. Alternatively, the sponges are moved (for example rotated) by means of a drive (not shown in greater detail) in such a way that a planar closed wiping of this part of the tunnel inner surface 8 is enabled.

[0059] Upon the entry into the tunnel 4, the tunnel inner surface 8 is thus initially sprayed linearly transversely to the feed direction 24 by means of the spray nozzles 16 and thus in a planar manner due to the feed. After sufficient action time of the cleaning agent, the latter is subsequently wiped off by means of the sponges 28. The action time results here from the feed speed of the patient table 6 and the distance between nozzle assembly 12 and wiper assembly 22.

[0060] In addition to the storage container 20, a collection container 30 is also provided here, in which cleaning agent absorbed by means of the sponges 28 is accommodated. For example, the sponges 28 are connected for this purpose to a suction device.

[0061] In an alternative exemplary embodiment (not shown in greater detail), only the wiper assembly 22 is provided in place of the nozzle assembly 12. In this case, the supply of the cleaning agent takes place into the sponges 28, by means of which the application of the cleaning agent thus takes place. In this case, the suction device can also be omitted and drying can take place in the air. Otherwise, the features described on the basis of FIGS. 1 and 2 also apply, transferred accordingly, to the wiper assembly 22.

[0062] The subject matter of the invention is not restricted to the above-described exemplary embodiments. Rather, further embodiments of the invention can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the above description. In particular, the individual features of the invention described on the basis of the various exemplary embodiments and the design variants thereof can also be combined with one another in another way.

[0063] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention.

[0064] List of Reference Numerals [0065] 1 MRT [0066] 2 housing [0067] 4 tunnel [0068] 6 patient table [0069] 8 tunnel inner wall [0070] 10 cleaning device [0071] 12 nozzle assembly [0072] 14 mounting bracket [0073] 16 spray nozzle [0074] 18 control unit [0075] 20 storage container [0076] 22 wiper assembly [0077] 24 feed direction [0078] 26 mounting bracket [0079] 28 sponge [0080] 30 collection container