Patent Publication Number: US-2022226171-A1

Title: System for powering medical imaging systems

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/915,096 filed Jun. 29, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/611,376 filed Jun. 1, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,751,231, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties as if fully restated herein. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments generally relate to systems for powering medical imaging systems, including but not limited to mammography systems. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE ART 
     Mobile medical clinics have been seen as a way to provide medical care to underserved portions of the population or in rural areas where building a traditional medical office would be cost prohibitive. Generally speaking, these mobile medical clinics provide either a frame on wheels that is powered by a traditional commercial truck motor or a trailer with wheels that is pulled by a traditional semi or tractor-trailer. However, since traditional power from the grid is not always available, power must be generated on site. This can pose a significant problem for medical imaging systems, which require a power source that is both strong and clean (free of voltage dips, spikes, transients, etc.) in order to provide a regulated dose of radiation. 
     Similarly, hospitals and other medical care facilities often have backup or redundant power systems, such as generators, to provide power when traditional power from the grid is not available. Such systems may be used, for example without limitation, in the event of a natural disaster, power outage, or other emergency situation. This can likewise pose a significant problem for medical imaging systems, which require a power source that is both strong and clean (free of voltage dips, spikes, transients, etc.) in order to provide a regulated dose of radiation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Exemplary embodiments provide a system which generates clean power for use with medical imaging systems. The power can be generated by an engine for operating a truck on which the medical imaging system has been placed, or could be generated by a separate engine. No traditional UPS is necessary to clean the power sent to the medical imaging system. A bank of capacitors may be placed in series and in electrical connection with both a power supply and inverter. 
     The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the particular embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A better understanding of an exemplary embodiment will be obtained from a reading of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer to identical parts and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of one type of mobile medical clinic, where the structure is built upon a traditional industrial truck frame with an engine that is fixed relative to the frame. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective illustration of the interior of the mobile medical clinic shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an electrical block diagram for an exemplary embodiment of the power system. 
         FIG. 4  is a logic flow chart of one embodiment for operating the system shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the invention. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of one type of mobile medical clinic  500 , where the structure is built upon a vehicle with an engine  400  that is fixed relative to the chassis  450 . A set of wheels  300  allow the mobile medical clinic  500  to travel from location to location, similar to any normal recreational or passenger hauling vehicle. An enclosure  550  is provided atop the chassis  450 , in order to house most of the necessary equipment, including but not limited to desks/tables, computers, various types of medical imaging equipment, exam tables, and other medical/office related items for operating a mobile medical clinic  500 . 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective illustration of the interior of the enclosure  550  of the mobile medical clinic  500 . Here we see a medical imaging machine  250  placed within the enclosure  550 , along with a user workstation  310  for operating the medical imaging machine  250 . While the medical imaging machine  250  is often a mammography machine, any other medical image device could be used, including but not limited to general X-ray, CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasounds, endoscopy, elastography, tactile imaging, thermography, medical photography and nuclear medicine functional imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In exemplary embodiments, the medical imaging machine  250  is transportable, though such is not required. The illustrated interior is merely exemplary and is not intended to be limiting. 
       FIG. 3  is an electrical block diagram for an exemplary embodiment of the power system. The combustion engine  400  of the mobile medical clinic  500  may be used in combination with the generator  150  in order to create power for the system. In some embodiments, however, a different combustion engine may be used to create power for the system, for example a secondary combustion engine specifically for the generator  150 . Furthermore, while reference is made herein to the mobile medical clinic  500  and associated engine  400  and generator  150 , it is contemplated that any of the embodiments shown or described herein may be used in any application or context. For example, but not to serve as a limitation, the present invention may be utilized with backup or redundant generator power systems for a hospital or other medical care facility. 
     The generator  150  may supply power to a transfer switch  200 , which can optionally be in electrical connection with building power  240 , if available, so that the switch  200  would control whether power from the generator  150  or the building  240  would be sent through the system. The switch  200  is preferably in electrical connection with a main circuit panel  220  which is then placed in electrical connection with a first and second DC power supplies  170 A and  1708 . 
     A generator control  140  is preferably in electrical connection with the generator  150  in order to control operations of the generator  150 . The generator control  140  may be used to start the generator  150  if grid power is lost unexpectedly to protect the imaging equipment, though such is not required. 
     A control panel  130  for the mobile medical clinic  500  may be in electrical connection with the generator controls  140  as well as an outside communication portal  110 , which can receive outside electrical communications from either an Ethernet port or from a cellular router  100 , though any type of network connectivity device is contemplated. These communications are generally low voltage and provide electrical communication between the components, power would generally be provided in addition to the electrical communication instructions. As shown, CAT 5 cable is preferable for connecting these components, although this is not required. In this way, the control panel  130  may be in communication with a remote electronic device, such as but not limited to, a computer. This connection may enable remote access to the control panel  130  and components in connectivity therewith for diagnostic review of the system, notification of actual or potential errors, remote updates, remote changes to setting, and the like. 
     An inverter  175  is preferably placed in direct electrical connection with a bank of capacitors  180 A- 180 D which are arranged in series with one another. Thus, a first capacitor  180 A is connected in series to a second capacitor  180 B, which is in turn connected in series to a third capacitor  180 C, which is in turn connected to a fourth capacitor  180 D. It should be noted, that although four capacitors are shown, this is not a requirement of the invention, which could be practiced with any number of capacitors that is appropriate for the application. The bank of capacitors  180 A- 180 D may be wired to supply DC voltage to the input side of the inverter  175  so that the inverter  175  output is appropriately sized for the load of the medical imaging machine  250 . It should be appreciated that while a single inverter  175  may be discussed, it is contemplated that multiple inverters  175  may be utilized in the same location or at various location in the power system. 
     In this embodiment, a negative conduction line connects directly between the inverter  175  and the negative post on the first capacitor  180 A. Preferably, a positive conduction line connects directly between the inverter  175  and the positive terminal on the last capacitor  180 D. The first and second DC Power Supplies  170 A and  1708  each contain a positive and negative conduction line where both positive lines connect to the positive terminal on the inverter  175  and both negative lines connect to the negative terminal on the inverter  175 . These DC power supplies  170 A and  1708  keep the bank of capacitors  180 A- 180 D charged and provide extra power to handle spikes in voltage demand from the input side of the inverter  175  when medical imaging machine  250  is in use. Such consistent power is generally required to provide a proper dose of radiation from the medical imaging machine  250 . 
     The inverter  175  is preferably then placed in electrical connection with the inverter panel  160 , which preferably provides a first output at a first voltage to the imaging machine  250  and a second output at a second voltage to the workstation controls  310 . In this particular embodiment, the output to the imaging machine  250  is provided as 240V while the output for the workstation controls  310  is provided as 120V, but this is not required as other voltage combinations could be delivered as well. 
     An exemplary inverter  175  is a Conext XW 6848, though any type of inverter  175  is contemplated. An exemplary capacitor for use with the bank of capacitors  180 A- 180 D is a Maxwell BMOD0500 P016 B01 16V Ultracapacitor, though any type of capacitor is contemplated. The DC power supplies  170 A and  170 B may be multi stage battery chargers, though such is not required. An exemplary DC power supply for use with the first and second DC power supplies  170 A and  170 B is a PowerMax PM3-48V Series Battery Charger, though any type of DC power supply is contemplated. In exemplary embodiment where the PowerMax PM3-48V Series Battery Charger is used, it may be modified to produce a constant 62 VDC or to otherwise work with the devices, systems, and methods described herein. 
     As noted above, in a traditional system, the necessary power is generated by a generator and then sent to the imaging machine, however, it has been found that this power can be “dirty” or have voltage spikes, voltage sags, or general artifacts in the sine wave which can affect sensitive electronics in the imaging machine. Prior attempts to solve this issue have used uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) for the imaging machine. However, these UPS devices can be expensive, heavy, and require a large volume of space in the mobile medical clinic. 
     As shown in the embodiments above, after generating the power, the system can “clean” the power by using the capacitors  180 A- 180 D, without requiring the expense, weight, and space necessary for a traditional UPS device. It has been discovered, that this arrangement allows a much smaller generator  150  to be used, which further reduces the weight and space required for the power system. In one experiment, the generator size was reduced from a 40,000 Watt generator down to a 20,000 Watt generator. What was also discovered and was not anticipated, was that “wet-stacking” of the generator engine could also be reduced. Thus, when using a 40,000 Watt generator with a traditional UPS device, it was common to observe wet-stacking because the size of the generator was much larger than the amount of power that was actually necessary for the medical imaging machine. This caused the generator engine to run on a light load for an extended period of time, which can cause unburnt fuel to deposit within the engine or its exhaust system, i.e. wet-stacking. However, with the system disclosed herein, wet-stacking was effectively eliminated by using a smaller generator with an engine that is running for extended periods of time at a medium or high load, as opposed to the low loads which can cause wet-stacking. 
       FIG. 4  is a logic flow chart of one embodiment for operating the system shown in  FIG. 3 . Either the generator  150 , or a nearby building  240 , should preferably provide 208/240 VAC to the switch  200 . If the voltage applied to the switch  200  is outside of tolerance, the system is shut down. This power is then preferably transmitted to the main circuit panel  220 , which contains various circuit breakers, which will open in the case of a short circuit or overload of the circuit. If the current is within prescribed limits, this power would then be sent to the DC power supplies  170 A/ 170 B though the 110VAC branch circuit. If a current overload or short circuit were to occur at this position, the DC power supplies  170 A/ 170 B contain fuses, which would open similar to the circuit breakers on the main circuit panel  220  described above. 
     The DC power supplies  170 A/ 170 B preferably charge the capacitors  180 A-D, and supply DC voltage to the inverter  175 . If capacitors  180 A-D are undercharged, or discharged, or fail to operate, the system is shut down. The inverter  175  preferably supplies 220 VAC to the inverter panel  160 , which preferably supplies 220 VAC to the imaging device  250  while supplying 110 VAC to the workstation  310 . This power would then be used in each device  250 / 310  to generate the medical image. 
     Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention and still be within the scope of the claimed invention. Additionally, many of the elements indicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements which will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.