Portable medical imaging system
A medical imaging system includes a movable station and a gantry. The movable station includes a gantry mount rotatably attached to the gantry. The gantry includes an outer C-arm slidably mounted to and operable to slide relative to the gantry mount, an inner C-arm slidably coupled to the outer C-arm and, an imaging signal transmitter and sensor attached to the C-arms. The two C-arms work together to provide a full 360 degree rotation of the imaging signal transmitter.
1. A medical imaging system comprising:
a movable station;
a gantry mount attached to the movable station;
a gantry rotatably attached to the gantry mount and including:
a first C-arm slidably mounted to and operable to slide relative to the gantry mount;
a second C-arm slidably coupled to the first C-arm;
an imaging signal transmitter attached to one side of the second C-arm, the first and second C-arms together providing a 360 degree rotation of the imaging signal transmitter; and
an imaging sensor mounted to the other side of the second C-arm and facing the imaging signal transmitter,
a cable carrier containing a plurality of electrical cables; and
a first cable router having a through-hole and mounted to an outer surface of the first C-arm, wherein the cable carrier extends from the gantry mount over the outer surface of the first C-arm through the through-hole of the first cable router and over an outer surface of the second C-arm.
2. The medical imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller; and
at least three omni-directional wheels attached to the movable station and adapted to be controlled by the controller, the omni-directional wheels providing the movable station with three degrees of freedom (X,Y,Wag) about a horizontal plane.
3. The medical imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the cable carrier extends in a first circumferential direction and enters the first cable router in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction to create a 180 degree service loop over the outer surface of the first C-arm.
4. The medical imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising a second cable router having a through-hole and mounted to an outer surface of the second C-arm, the cable carrier extending through the through-hole of the second cable router.
5. The medical imaging system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second cable router having a through-hole and mounted to an outer surface of the second C-arm, the cable carrier extending through the through-hole of the second cable router;
wherein the cable carrier extends in a first circumferential direction and enters the first cable router in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction to create a 180 degree service loop over the outer surface of the first C-arm; and
wherein the cable carrier extends in the first circumferential direction and enters the second cable router in the second circumferential direction to create a second 180 degree service loop over the outer surface of the second C-arm.
6. The medical imaging system of claim 2 , further comprising strain gauges mounted to the movable station to allow a user to control movement of the omni-directional wheels under the control of the controller.
7. The medical imaging system of claim 2 , further comprising:
a first motor that provides a sliding movement of the first C-arm relative to the gantry mount; and
a second motor that provides a sliding movement of the first C-arm relative to the second C-arm.
8. The medical imaging system of claim 4 , wherein the cable carrier extends in a first circumferential direction and enters the second cable router in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction to create a service loop over the outer surface of the second C-arm.
9. A medical imaging system that provides a 6-degree of freedom movement comprising:
a movable station including at least four omni-directional wheels;
a gantry mount rotatably attached to the movable station;
a gantry rotatably attached to the gantry mount and including:
a first C-arm slidably mounted to and adapted to slide relative to the gantry mount in a circumferential direction;
a second C-arm slidably coupled to and adapted to slide relative to the first C-arm in a circumferential direction; and
an imaging signal transmitter attached to one side of the second C-arm, the first and second C-arms together providing a 360 degree rotation of the imaging signal transmitter;
an imaging sensor mounted to the other side of the second C-arm and positioned to be facing the imaging signal transmitter; and
a cabling system including a first cable router mounted to an outer surface of the first C-arm and a second cable router mounted to an outer surface of the second C-arm.
10. The medical imaging system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a controller coupled to the omni-directional wheels; and
a joystick mounted to the movable station to allow a user to control movement of the omni-directional wheels under the control of the controller.
11. The medical imaging system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a first motor that provides a sliding movement of the first C-arm relative to the gantry mount; and
a second motor that provides a sliding movement of the first C-arm relative to the second C-arm.
12. The medical imaging system of claim 9 , wherein the cabling system contains a plurality of electrical cables and a cable carrier, wherein the first cable router includes a through-hole, and wherein the cable carrier extends from the gantry mount over the outer surface of the first C-arm, through the through-hole of the first cable router and over an outer surface of the second C-arm.
13. The medical imaging system of claim 9 , further comprising:
a cable carrier extending in a first circumferential direction and entering the first cable router in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction to create a 180 degree service loop over the outer surface of the first C-arm, wherein the cable carrier extends in the first circumferential direction and enters the second cable router in the second circumferential direction to create a second 180 degree service loop over the outer surface of the second C-arm.
14. The medical imaging system of claim 12 , wherein the cable carrier extends in a first circumferential direction and enters the first cable router in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction to create a 180 degree service loop over the outer surface of the first C-arm.
15. The medical imaging system of claim 12 , wherein second cable router includes a through-hole, the cable carrier extending through the through-hole of the second cable router.
16. The medical imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the cable system extends in a first circumferential direction and enters the second cable router in a second circumferential direction opposite to the first circumferential direction to create a service loop over the outer surface of the second C-arm.