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US-12622655-B2 - Positron emission tomography (PET)-scanning device

US12622655B2US 12622655 B2US12622655 B2US 12622655B2US-12622655-B2

Abstract

A positron emission tomography (PET)-scanning device is provided, having a detector ring for detecting emitted PET-radiation and a main supporting structure which has or to which is attached a U-shaped portion with two arms for holding the detector ring between the arms. The detector ring is held by the two arms in such a way that the detector ring can be rotated about an axis of rotation that extends through the U-shaped portion, in particular through the two arms of the U-shaped portion.

Inventors

  • Max Ludwig AHNEN
  • Jannis Nikolaus Rudolf FISCHER
  • Ekaterina MIKHAYLOVA

Assignees

  • POSITRIGO AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20211011
Priority Date
20201013

Claims (18)

  1. 1 . A positron emission tomography (PET)-scanning device comprising: a detector ring for detecting emitted PET-radiation; and a main supporting structure which has or to which is attached a U-shaped portion with two arms configured to hold the detector ring between the two arms, wherein the detector ring is held by the two arms in such a way that the detector ring can be rotated about an axis of rotation that extends through the U-shaped portion and the detector ring can be displaced relative to the two arms, wherein guide rails are on the two arms, respectively, or on the detector ring, and the guide rails are configured to hold the detector ring such that the detector ring is configured to be displaced along the two arms, and wherein the PET-scanning device further comprises lugs that are engaged into the guide rails, and are attached to an outer surface of the detector ring or to the two arms.
  2. 2 . The PET-scanning device of claim 1 , further comprising wheels, that are attached to the main supporting structure, in order to make it easier to move the PET-scanning device.
  3. 3 . The PET-scanning device of claim 2 , further comprising a wheel locking mechanism for locking the wheels.
  4. 4 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the two arms of the U-shaped portion extend obliquely upwards in relation to the direction of gravity.
  5. 5 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the detector ring is configured to be positioned such that the two arms of the U-shaped portion form an uppermost part of the PET-scanning device.
  6. 6 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the main supporting structure is height-adjustable, in order to position the detector ring at a desired height.
  7. 7 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 6 , wherein the main supporting structure comprises an inner structure and an outer structure, wherein the inner structure and the outer structure are configured to be telescoped into each other such as to adjust a height of the main supporting structure.
  8. 8 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the PET-scanning device has an overall outer shape which narrows from the U-shaped portion downwards along the direction of gravity.
  9. 9 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the PET-scanning device has overall dimensions that allow the PET-scanning device to be moved in its normal upright position through a door opening having a width of not more than 98.5 cm.
  10. 10 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , further comprising a computing device configured to carry out an acquisition of PET-related data by the detector ring, the computing device being integrated in the main supporting structure.
  11. 11 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the main supporting structure together with the detector ring forms a through-opening, if the detector ring is rotated accordingly, which through-opening extends horizontally at least through the detector ring and the main supporting structure.
  12. 12 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the axis of rotation, about which the detector ring can be rotated, extends through a center of mass of the detector ring.
  13. 13 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the axis of rotation extends through each of the guide rails.
  14. 14 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the guide rails are rotatably attached on the two arms, such that a displacement direction, along which the detector ring can be displaced, is adjustable.
  15. 15 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , additionally comprising an adjustable seating unit, which allows a human patient to sit during a PET-scanning procedure.
  16. 16 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the axis of rotation extends through the two arms of the U-shaped portion.
  17. 17 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 1 , wherein the axis of rotation extends through the lugs, and the lugs are configured to change a position of the axis of rotation by relative movement of the lugs with respect to the guide rails in an extending direction of the guide rails.
  18. 18 . The PET-scanning device according to claim 17 , wherein the two arms comprise rotation plates that are configured to change the extending direction of the guide rails by rotating the guide rails; or the U-shaped portion is connected to the main supporting structure by a holding base, and the U-shaped portion is configured to change the extending direction of the guide rails by the U-shaped portion rotating, via the holding base, with respect to the main supporting structure.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2021/077986 filed Oct. 11, 2021, claiming priority based on European Patent Application No. 20201569.9 filed Oct. 13, 2020. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention concerns a positron emission tomography (PET)-scanning device, which is particularly well adaptable to the needs of the subject to be scanned. The PET-scanning device can particularly be a movable device on wheels. PRIOR ART Positron emission tomography (PET)-scanning devices are usually big and bulky and only available at hospitals or at dedicated radiology facilities. As a consequence, patients have to travel to the place of the PET-scanning device, in order to be scanned, if required. The patients, however, are often elderly or sick people who live in a nursing home, cannot move well or are confined to bed. As a result, the travel to the PET-scanning location is cumbersome for the patients and often involves a not inconsiderable risk that the patient may have a complication while traveling or becomes infected, for example. The PET-scanning device also requires the patient to assume a certain position, usually a position lying on the back, on a bed during the scanning procedure. Depending on his state of health, this position can be quite a burden for the patient, which can even impair the scanning result, if the patient e.g. moves during the scanning. Furthermore, hospitals, researchers, material scientists and veterinarians have no good access to PET-machines, not only because they are too big, but also because they often do not fit their needs in particular with regard to applications outside of the standard oncology applications in the hospital clinic. Thus, most state of the art PET-scanning machines have the drawback that they cannot be brought to subjects and are not versatile for different purposes. US 2013/0218010 A1 discloses a compact and lightweight PET-scanner which is portable and can be affixed to a patient bed. In WO 2020/015384 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 9,226,717 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 7,884,331 B2 and CN 109864751 A, a PET-detector is disclosed that is integrated in a helmet-like brain imager. The PET brain imager is suspended from a mobile gantry. U.S. Pat. No. 9,833,208 B2 discloses a PET-imaging device with an adjustable support table, which allows the patient to either sit, lie or stand during the imaging procedure. The PET-scanning device as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 10,307,120 B1 comprises a horizontally positioned and vertically movable detector ring which enables the patient to sit upright in a wheel chair during the scanning process. JP 3244776 B2 shows a computer tomography (CT)-machine with a gantry body that can be inclined by rotating it about an upper, horizontally extending axis, in order to enable a scanning of patients in both sitting and lying positions. U.S. Pat. No. 10,531,843 B2 proposes to combine a CT apparatus having a horizontally rotatable gantry device with an adjustable scanning support that allows the patient to adopt any of a variety of different positions during the imaging process. U.S. Pat. No. 9,414,789 B2 shows a PET-imaging device with reduced dimensions. The device comprises a plurality of measuring rings with different diameters, which are slidably mounted on a support structure. US 2011/0315884 A1 discloses a mobile PET-scanner on wheels for imaging the human head. Another mobile PET-scanner on wheels is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,735,834 B2. JP 4642143 B2 discloses a PET-scanning device with a detector ring that is held between two arms which are suspended via a pulley on a ceiling or via linked rods on a wall or on a wheel chair. US 2016/0166219 A1 is directed to a device that combines a virtual reality system with PET-brain imaging. A mobile brain imager is suspended on a mobile support which can be carried in the form of a backpack or which can be arranged on a carriage having wheels. JP 3793320 B2 shows a CT-machine having a U-shaped support structure to which two vertically movable holding arms are attached. A rotatable imaging unit is held between the two arms. WO 2014/058772 A1 discloses an apparatus for cone beam computed tomography having a gimballed scanner device that houses source and detector. The scanner device is movable along a vertical support column. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a versatile positron emission tomography (PET)-scanning device which can be easily adapted to the needs of the subject to be scanned. For the purposes of this document, height and directional information, such as “top”, “bottom”, “up”, “down”, “upwards”, “downwards”, etc., shall be understood to refer to a PET-scanning device which, in its normal and intended use, stands upright in relation to the direction of gravity, ready to scan a human or animal subject or a plant. In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a positron em