CA-3040736-C - CONTROLLER FOR IMAGING APPARATUS

Abstract

An apparatus has an upright gantry. A tube arm assembly and a compression arm assembly are rotatably coupled to the gantry. The tube arm assembly independently rotates relative to the compression arm assembly. A controller disposed on the gantry is operably connected to at least one of the tube arm assembly and the compression arm assembly.

Inventors

• Suzuko Hisata
• Mallory Anne BERKO
• Jonathan Paul GIRGENTI
• Timothy Wells

Assignees

• HOLOGIC, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20171122

Priority Date

20161125

Claims (8)

1. We Claim: 1. An apparatus comprising: an upright gantry having an outer housing and a substantially vertical gantry longitudinal axis; a tube arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry; a compression arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry, wherein the tube arm assembly is at least partially independently rotatable relative to the compression arm assembly; and a controller having a front face comprising a touch screen, wherein the touch screen is disposed at a fixed angle at a side of the outer housing, wherein the front face comprising the touch screen faces a direction that points away from a patient station such that the front face is out of view of a patient located at the patient station, and wherein the controller comprises a substantially vertical controller longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the gantry longitudinal axis, a first side, and a second side, and wherein a length of at least one of the first side. and the second side is short enough such that a portion of the front face is substantially located on the outer housing of the gantry, wherein the controller comprises a locating feature, the locating feature comprises at least one of a recess, a raised feature, and a button.
2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a first controller disposed on a first side of the upright gantry and a second controller disposed on a second side of the upright gantry.
3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises two controllers disposed on opposite sides of the gantry.
4. 4. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a length of one of the first side and the second side is short enough such that a portion of the front face is substantially located on the outer housing of the gantry, and the other of the first side and the second side of the controller projects a first distance from the outer housing of the gantry.
5. 5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the controller further comprises at least one of a button, a dial and a knob. 9
6. 6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the front face of the controller is disp0sed at an angle to the outer housing of the gantry.
7. 7. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the controller comprises a substantially D-shaped outline.
8. 8. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the controller is disposed a distance above a floor surface greater than one-half a total height of the gantry.

Description

CONTROLLER FOR IMAGING APPARATUS Cross-Reference to Related Applications [0001] This application is being filed on 22 November 2017, as a PCT International patent application, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/426,349, filed November 25, 2016. Background [0002] X-ray mammography has long been a screening modality for breast cancer and other lesions, and also has been relied on for diagnostic and other purposes. For mammograms, a cone-shaped or pyramid-shaped x-ray beam passes through the compressed breast and forms a two-dimensional projection image. Any one of a number of orientations can be used, such as cranial-caudal (CC) or mediolateral-oblique (MLO) orientation. Another imaging modality is breast x-ray tomosynthesis. The technology typically involves taking two-dimensional (2D) projection images of the immobilized breast at each of a number of angles of the x-ray beam relative to the breast and processing the resulting x-ray measurements to reconstruct images of breast slices that typically are in planes transverse to the x-ray beam axis, such as parallel to the image plane of a mammogram of the same breast. Summary [0003] In one aspect, the technology relates to an apparatus having: an upright gantry; a tube arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry; a compression arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry, wherein the tube arm assembly is at least partially independently rotatable relative to the compression arm assembly; and a controller disposed on the upright gantry and operably connected to at least one of the tube arm assembly and the compression arm assembly. In an example, the controller includes a first controller disposed on a first side of the upright gantry and a second controller disposed on a second side of the upright gantry. In another example, the controller includes two controllers disposed on opposite sides of the gantry. In yet another example, the controller is at least partially flush with an outer housing of the gantry. In still another example, the controller includes a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the upright gantry. [0004] In another example of the above aspect, a first side of the controller projects a first distance from an outer housing of the gantry and wherein a second side of the controller 1 projects a second distance from the outer housing of the gantry, wherein the first distance is less than the second distance. In an example, the controller includes at least one of a button, a dial, a knob, and a graphic user interface. In another example, a front face of the controller is disposed at an angle to an outer housing of the gantry. In yet another example, the controller includes a substantially D-shaped outline. In still another example, the controller is disposed a distance above a floor surface greater than one-half a total height of the gantry. [0005] In another example of the above aspect, the controller includes a locating feature. In an example, the locating feature includes at least one of a recess, a raised feature, and a button. In another example, the controller faces away from a patient station. [0005a] Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention resides in an apparatus comprising: an upright gantry; a tube arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry; a compression arm assembly rotatably coupled to the upright gantry, wherein the tube arm assembly is at least partially independently rotatable relative to the compression arm assembly; and a controller disposed on the upright gantry and operably connected to at least one of the tube arm assembly and the compression arm assembly, wherein the controller is configured to control rotation of the tube arm assembly and/or compression arm assembly. [0006] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Brief Description of the Drawings [0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gantry and an acquisition workstation in accordance with the prior art. [0008] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the system of FIG. 1, with a tube arm assembly in a rotated position. [0009] FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 2. [0010] FIG. 4 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 with an optional biopsy station. [0011] FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an imaging apparatus, with a tube arm assembly in a rotated position. [0012] FIGS. 6A and 6B depict partial top views of a controller of an imaging apparatus. [0013] FIG. 7 depicts a top view of an imaging apparatus. [0014] FIG. 8 depicts a front view of a controller. 2 Detailed Description [0015] The present technology relates to a breast imaging systems that are used to generate mammogr