WO2010036086A2 - Ct-attachable pet - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a CT-attachable PET (33) for providing a fusion image combining an anatomical image from a CT scanner and a functional image from a PET detector, the CT-attachable PET comprising the PET detector (30) which is positioned in a depth (35) of 0cm to 150cm from one side of the PET attached on the CT scanner (20). Also, the present invention provides a method for providing a CT-PET fusion image by attaching the CT-attachable PET to the CT scanner. The CT-attachable PET of the present invention can be detachably mounted to a conventional CT and enables fusion of anatomical images and functional images without an expensive CT and PET-integrated equipment which has been used in hospitals. Thus, the CT-attachable PET of the present invention is very economical by increasing availability of a conventional CT device without purchasing an expensive PET/CT integrated device. At the same time, the CT-attachable PET improves reliability of diagnosing various tumors, neurological disorders, and heart disease.

Description

CT attached type PET

The present invention relates to a CT attached PET and a method for providing a CT-PET fusion image using the same.

 Computed Tomography (CT) is a device that uses a computer to image a certain cross-section of the human body, and it is widely used today by using X-ray developed by G. Housefield and J. Abrose of England in 1972. The principle is to divide a cross section of the human body into a small matrix, transmit a thin X-ray beam in various directions, and measure X-ray absorption values of each matrix and reconstruct them into images. The reconstruction method uses Fourier transform method and superposition integral method.

 Positron emission tomography (PET) was developed using M. Tyre-Pogossian and M. Phelps at the University of Washington, St. Louis, Missouri, in the mid-1970s, using the principle of extinction radiation detection. Since then, PET has been developed by several commercial companies including CPS-CTI, and in recent years, the utilization of PET in the form of PTI / CTI converged image device has been greatly increased.

 As is well known in the art, PET has the affinity of certain neuro-receptors for metabolism and neurotransmitter ligands of certain substrates such as glucose and ganciclovir. It has the ability to measure gene phenomena as well as affinity / distribution.

 As described above, the conventional CT and PET each have inherent advantages and disadvantages. PET can provide molecular and functional information of human tissue with very high contrast. However, due to its inherently low resolution, there is a limit to providing anatomical information. CT can provide detailed anatomical information about human tissue, but it cannot provide molecular and functional information as opposed to PET.

 In order to solve this problem, CT and PET have been developed as an integrated device. However, in order to obtain an image in which functional information and anatomical information are fused as described above, an expensive integrated PET / CT fusion image device needs to be introduced, which causes a high cost.

 It is an object of the present invention to provide a CT attached PET.

 Another object of the present invention to provide a method for providing a CT-PET fusion image using the CT attached PET.

 In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a PET detector 30 located at 0 cm to 150 cm depth 35 from one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner 20, the anatomical image of the CT scanner And CT attached PET 33 for providing a fusion image of the functional image of the PET detector. The PET detector is located at a depth of 0 cm from one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner when the PET detector is located on one side of the PET.

 In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the inner diameter 34 of the PET detector is 2 cm to 130 cm.

 In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elliptical short radius 35 of one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner is 0 cm to 200 cm. The oval short radius 35 of one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner is 0 cm, which corresponds to the case where one side of the PET is vertical.

 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the support further comprises a support 32 for maintaining the CT attached PET attachment. The support 32 is inclined at 0 to 45 degrees with respect to the vertical plane. The inclination of the support to 0 ° with respect to the vertical plane corresponds to the case where the support is perpendicular to the floor.

 As another aspect of the present invention,

 (i) mounting the marker 40 at one end of the bed 11 carrying the patient;

 (ii) attaching the CT attached PET 33 to a CT scanner 20;

 (iii) the bed is inserted into the CT port 21 and the PET port 31 and photographed with the CT scanner 20 and the PET detector 33 to move the pointers 41a, 42a, 43a provided on the marker. Recognizing;

 (iv) adjusting a reference point of coordinates found through the pointer position photographed on the CT scanner and the pointer position photographed on the PET detector to a center point where the CT image and the PET image are fused;

 (v) CT and PET imaging; And

 (vi) a method of providing a CT-PET fusion image, comprising fusing a CT image and a PET image through a fusion image processor.

 In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the markers are X-axis 41, Y-axis 42 and Z-axis 43 and pointers 41a, 42a, 43a provided on each axis as reference points on the coordinates. Is done.

CT attached PET of the present invention can be detachably mounted on the existing CT without the use of expensive equipment in which the CT and PET used in the hospital is integrally integrated, and it is possible to fuse anatomical and functional images Done Therefore, it is very economical by increasing the utilization of the existing CT device through the CT-attached PET of the present invention without purchasing an expensive PET / CT integrated device, and at the same time, it is highly reliable in the diagnosis of various tumors, brain neurological diseases, heart diseases, etc. There is an effect to be improved.

 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a PET / CT system attached CT attached PET which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

 Figure 2 is a side view (b) and cross-sectional view (a, c) showing a CT-attached PET which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

 Figure 3 is a side view showing a CT attached PET is another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

 4 is a cross-sectional view showing that the CT attached PET 33, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is attached to the CT scanner 20. As shown in FIG.

 5 is a schematic diagram showing before (a, b) and after (c) the CT attached PET is attached to the CT scanner.

 6 is a perspective view schematically showing the marker 40.

 ** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

 10: support means 11: bed

 20: CT scanner 21: CT shooting port

 30: PET detector 31: PET shooting port

 32: support 33: CT attached PET

 34: inner diameter of PET detector 35: position of PET detector

 36: Elliptical short radius on one side of PET attached to CT scanner

 40: marker

 Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings CT attached PET which is an embodiment of the present invention in more detail as follows.

 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a PET / CT system attached CT attached PET which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

 PET / CT system according to an embodiment of the present invention as shown is a bed 11 made of a flat plate shape so that the patient can lie down and transportably mounted along the longitudinal direction at the upper end of the support means (10); A CT scanner 20 which is paired with the support means 10 and has a CT port 21 into which the bed 11 can be introduced, and takes an anatomical image of the patient; PET detector 30 is formed in communication with the CT imaging port 21 and the PET detector 30 is mounted on one side of the CT scanner 20; And a marker 40 detachably mounted at one end of the bed 11.

 2 is a side view (b) and cross-sectional views (a, c) showing a CT-attached PET 33, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

 CT-attached PET 33 according to the present invention includes a PET detector 30 attached to the CT scanner 20. The position of the PET detector 30 may vary depending on the usage of the PET / CT system, but is located at a depth of 0 cm to 50 cm from one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner 20. The inner diameter 34 of the PET detector 30 may vary depending on the usage of the PET / CT system, but preferably 2 cm to 130 cm. The elliptical short radius 35 of one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner 20 may vary depending on the usage of the PET / CT system, but is preferably 0 cm to 200 cm. In addition, the CT-attached PET may further include a support 32 for maintaining the attachment. The support 32 is preferably inclined at 0 to 45 degrees with respect to the vertical plane so that the PET detector 30 is attached to the CT scanner 20 well.

 3 is a side view showing a CT attached PET 33 according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. One side opposite to the one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner 20 may be concave as shown in FIG.

 4 is a cross-sectional view showing that the CT attached PET 33, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is attached to the CT scanner 20. As shown in FIG.

 FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the CT attached PET 33 before (a, b) and after (c) being attached to the CT scanner 20.

 PET detector 30 is preferably detachably mounted on one side of the CT scanner 20 to enable additional installation to the existing CT scanner 20 equipment, PET detector 30 is fastened with a bolt Any structure that can be detachably mounted, such as a method or a fixed clamp or a socket structure to be inserted and fixed, can be used, and the CT imaging port 21 and the PET imaging port 31 can communicate with each other through the bed 11. Has a structure.

 6 is a perspective view schematically showing the marker 40.

 The marker 40 mounted on one end of the CT 11 of the bed 11 has a predetermined frame shape, and the X axis 41, the Y axis 42, and the Z axis 43 are formed in a wire shape. Pointers 41a, 42a, 43a are formed on the axis line, respectively.

 The method for providing CT-PET fusion images by attaching the CT-attached PET 33 of the present invention to the CT scanner 20 includes the following steps:

 (i) mounting the marker 40 at one end of the bed 11 carrying the patient;

 (ii) attaching the CT attached PET 33 to a CT scanner 20;

 (iii) the bed is inserted into the CT port 21 and the PET port 31 and photographed with the CT scanner 20 and the PET detector 33 to move the pointers 41a, 42a, 43a provided on the marker. Recognizing;

 (iv) adjusting a reference point of coordinates found through the pointer position photographed on the CT scanner and the pointer position photographed on the PET detector to a center point where the CT image and the PET image are fused;

 (v) CT and PET imaging; And

 (vi) fusing the CT image and the PET image through a fusion image processor;

 More specifically, the marker 40 is installed on the bed 11 prior to imaging the affected area, and then inserted into the CT imaging tool 21 and the PET imaging tool 31. At this time, the CT scanner 20 and the PET detector 30 take a picture to recognize the pointers 41a, 42a, and 43a provided in the marker 40. The reference point of coordinates is found through the positions of the pointers 41a, 42a and 43a captured by the CT scanner 20 and the pointers 41a, 42a and 43a captured by the PET detector 30, and the reference points are fused to two images. When adjusted to the center point. The marker 40 is used when the PET detector 30 is first attached to the CT scanner 20 and installed. The marker 40 is separated when the patient image is taken after installation. However, the marker 40 can be mounted and used as necessary for equipment defect check and quality control.

 After designating the center points of the two images to be fused as described above, the patient lies on the bed 11 and moves the bed 11 to allow the affected part to be taken into the CT scanner 20.

 The lesion to be taken passes the CT imaging port 21 and simultaneously captures the anatomical image of the affected part, and passes the PET port 31 and simultaneously captures the functional image of the affected part.

 The photographed output signal is transferred to CT image processor and PET image processor, respectively, and is converted into anatomical image and functional image, and each converted image is transferred to fusion image processor and fused into one image. That is, it is possible to obtain an image in which the anatomical image and the functional image are fused. At this time, the center point at which the anatomical image and the functional image are fused is already set in three dimensions through the pointers 41a, 42a, and 43a of the marker 40, and thus can be easily fused.

 While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments so far, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes can be made therein and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. You will know. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation and material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (7)

Including a PET detector 30 located at 0 cm to 150 cm depth 35 from one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner 20, a fusion image of the anatomical image of the CT scanner and the functional image of the PET detector CT attached PET 33 to provide.  The method of claim 1, CT attached PET, characterized in that the inner diameter 34 of the PET detector is 2 to 130 cm.  The method of claim 1, CT attached PET, characterized in that the elliptical short radius (35) of one side of the PET attached to the CT scanner is 0 to 200 cm.  The method of claim 1, CT-attached PET, characterized in that it further comprises a support (32) for maintaining the attachment.  The method of claim 4, wherein Support 32 is CT-attached PET, characterized in that inclined to 0 to 45 ° relative to the vertical plane.  (i) mounting the marker 40 at one end of the bed 11 carrying the patient;  (ii) attaching the CT attached PET 33 of any one of claims 1 to 5 to the CT scanner 20;  (iii) the bed is inserted into the CT port 21 and the PET port 31 and photographed with the CT scanner 20 and the PET detector 33 to move the pointers 41a, 42a, 43a provided on the marker. Recognizing;  (iv) adjusting a reference point of coordinates found through the pointer position photographed on the CT scanner and the pointer position photographed on the PET detector to a center point where the CT image and the PET image are fused;  (v) CT and PET imaging; And (vi) a method of providing a CT-PET fusion image, comprising fusing a CT image and a PET image through a fusion image processor.  The method of claim 6, The marker is composed of the X-axis 41, Y-axis 42 and Z-axis 43 and the pointers 41a, 42a, 43a provided on each axis as reference points on the coordinate, CT-PET fusion How to give a video.

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