SUPPORT UNIT FOR POSITIONING A PATIENT

A support unit is disclosed for positioning a patient within a medical imaging apparatus with at least one magnetic resonance device; along with a patient positioning apparatus and a medical imaging apparatus including such a support unit. In an embodiment, the support unit includes at least one bearing element for movable positioning relative to a patient positioning apparatus and a coil unit for receiving magnetic resonance raw data. The coil unit includes a flat supporting surface for positioning the patient.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be further described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the particular embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate the present invention but not to limit the present invention.

An embodiment of the invention is based on the knowledge that, through suitable design engineering of a support unit with at least one bearing unit and one coil unit, the distance between the coil unit and a patient can be optimized such that the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased and thereby the image quality of the recording with the magnetic resonance device or medical imaging apparatus with at least one magnetic resonance device can be improved. Furthermore additional cushions or towels intended to level out any unevenness of a conventional coil unit can be dispensed with. Thus the support unit also facilitates or at least supports faster diagnosis and a smoother workflow.

In an embodiment, a support unit is provided for positioning a patient within a medical imaging apparatus with at least one magnetic resonance device. The support unit includes at least one bearing element for movable positioning relative to a patient positioning apparatus and a coil unit that in turn comprises a flat supporting surface for positioning the patient. The coil unit here serves as a radio-frequency antenna unit for receiving magnetic resonance raw data. A roller bearing, a journal bearing or another element embodied for movable positioning, for example, can be deployed as a bearing element.

The medical imaging apparatus can be formed by a magnetic resonance device, but also e.g. by a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device, a magnetic resonance device with linear accelerator, a magnetic resonance device with cobalt radiotherapy, or other hybrid systems.

In a particularly suitable application the coil unit includes a housing that comprises the supporting surface. Thus in a simple manner a complete system is realized that incorporates traditionally separate components in a combination. A complete system of this type not only saves space but is furthermore also economical to implement.

A further embodiment variant provides for the bearing element to be arranged on the housing of the coil unit. This ensures movable positioning of a patient within a magnetic resonance device or a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device.

An inventive embodiment includes the support unit being provided at least with one encoding element. By this, the support unit can be identified automatically by an identification unit of a magnetic resonance device or of a medical imaging apparatus with at least one magnetic resonance device. In the case of identification by a magnetic resonance device the encoding can be effected via a plug of an integral coil of the magnetic resonance device. In the case of identification by a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device, the automatic generation of an attenuation chart for the magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device can be triggered furthermore, and account can accordingly be taken of the individual hardware components in the support unit used, such as e.g. masks, padding or other positioning aids.

A further inventive embodiment provides for the encoding element to be arranged on the coil unit. In this way the encoding element cannot be covered by a patient's body.

In an advantageous embodiment variant the encoding element is provided with an RFID transponder. By reading out an identifying code of the RFID transponder, the support unit used can also be recognized and identified.

A further advantageous embodiment variant includes an identification unit with which the aforementioned identifying code of the RFID transponder can be read out. Through this direct capture and thus direct registration of the support unit used, further workflows, in which the type and properties of the support unit are of importance, can also be simplified.

A medical imaging apparatus that comprises at least one magnetic resonance device is also disclosed within the scope of an embodiment of the invention. According to the embodiment variant this includes a support unit and/or a patient positioning apparatus and/or an encoding element and/or an identification unit with the advantages already referred to above. Owing to the optimized distance between the coil unit and the patient, furthermore, the signal of the medical imaging apparatus is less strongly attenuated than would be the case if a conventional unit and a tabletop platform were deployed.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment variant, the identification unit of the medical imaging apparatus is embodied for the provision of automatic attenuation correction for the recording of positron emission tomography image data sets as a function of the support unit used. This results in an additional time saving as the steps required to obtain an instruction for calculating an attenuation correction specific to the support unit are eliminated.

FIG. 1shows a schematic representation of a conventional coil unit7with a tabletop platform6. In this case a distance remains between the conventional coil unit7and the outside of the tabletop platform6. Here the conventional coil unit7and the tabletop platform6are each provided with two bearing elements2.

FIG. 2shows a schematic representation of a support unit1according to an embodiment of the invention. The support unit1has two bearing elements2for movable positioning relative to a patient positioning apparatus16and a coil unit3for receiving magnetic resonance raw data. The coil unit3comprises a flat supporting surface4for the patient15. The coil unit3furthermore has a housing5that comprises the supporting surface4. The figure shows a section through the support unit1perpendicularly with respect to its longitudinal axis. In this view the bearing elements2are arranged on the side of the support unit1.

The bearing elements2are additionally located on the housing5of the coil unit3. The support unit1serves to position a patient15within a magnetic resonance device10or a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device. Movable positioning relative to a patient positioning apparatus16is achieved by way of the bearing elements2. In this case the bearing elements2can be arranged on the side of the support unit1, as shown inFIG. 2, but they can also be arranged on the underside of the support unit1for instance in the form of a guide rail. A roller bearing, a journal bearing or another element embodied for movable positioning, for example, can also be deployed as a bearing element. In this case the patient positioning apparatus16can be embodied for example in the form of a table on which are arranged rails into which the bearing elements2can in turn be inserted.

Through such design engineering the distance between the coil unit3and a patient15can be optimized such that the signal-to-noise ratio is increased and thereby the image quality of the recording with the magnetic resonance device10or combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device is improved.

The support unit1can additionally be provided with an encoding element8that facilitates identification by a magnetic resonance device10or a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device. The encoding element8can be provided for example with an RFID transponder. By reading out the identifying code of the RFID transponder, the support unit1used can also be recognized and identified.

In this way an automatic attenuation correction can also be implemented for a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device. The identification unit9of the combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device can read out the identifying code of the RFID transponder, identify the support unit1used, and thus with the aid of the hardware components present in the support unit1used generate an attenuation chart for automatic attenuation correction.

FIG. 3shows a medical imaging apparatus10with a patient positioning apparatus16according to the invention and a support unit1. The medical imaging apparatus10is formed here by a magnetic resonance device, but can also be formed e.g. by a combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography device, a magnetic resonance device with linear accelerator, a magnetic resonance device with cobalt radiotherapy, or other hybrid systems.

The magnetic resonance device10comprises a detector unit formed by a magnet unit11having a main magnet12for generating a strong and in particular constant main magnetic field13. The magnetic resonance device10also has a cylinder-shaped patient examination area14for accommodating a patient15, the patient examination area14being enclosed by the magnet unit11in a circumferential direction. The patient15can be introduced into the patient examination area14via a patient positioning apparatus16of the magnetic resonance device10. For this purpose the patient positioning apparatus16has a support unit1that is movably arranged within the magnetic resonance device10, in particular within the patient receiving area15.

The magnet unit11additionally has a gradient coil unit18for generating magnetic field gradients which is used for spatial encoding during an imaging session. The gradient coil unit18is controlled by means of a gradient control unit19. The magnet unit11also has a radio-frequency antenna unit20and a radio-frequency antenna control unit21for stimulating a polarization which becomes established in the main magnetic field13generated by the main magnet12. The radio-frequency antenna unit20is controlled by the radio-frequency antenna control unit21and radiates radio-frequency magnetic resonance sequences into an examination space which is formed substantially by the patient examination area14.

For the purpose of controlling the main magnet12, the gradient control unit19and the radio-frequency antenna control unit21, the magnetic resonance device10has a control unit22formed by a computing unit (including, e.g., a microprocessor or computer). The control unit22is used for central control of the magnetic resonance device10, such as performing a predetermined imaging gradient echo sequence for example. Control information such as imaging parameters, for example, as well as reconstructed magnetic resonance images can be displayed on a display unit23, for example on at least one monitor, of the magnetic resonance device10for viewing by an operator. Furthermore, the magnetic resonance device10has an input unit24by means of which information and/or parameters can be entered by an operator during a measurement procedure. Evaluation and/or processing of the magnetic resonance measurement data obtained are performed by way of a data evaluation unit17.

The magnetic resonance device10shown can obviously comprise further components that magnetic resonance devices10typically include. Furthermore, the general mode of operation of a magnetic resonance device10is known to the person skilled in the art, so a detailed description of the general components will be dispensed with.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greater detail on the basis of the preferred example embodiments, the invention is nevertheless not limited by the disclosed examples and other variations can be derived herefrom by the person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

In summary, at least one embodiment of the invention relates to a support unit for positioning a patient within a medical imaging apparatus with at least one magnetic resonance device, a patient positioning apparatus, and a medical imaging apparatus having such a support unit. In this case the support unit has at least one bearing element for movable positioning relative to a patient positioning apparatus and a coil unit for receiving magnetic resonance raw data. The coil unit comprises a flat supporting surface for positioning the patient.