Granted Patent B2

US 12,295,758 · App. 17/759,766 · Granted May 13, 2025

Inventor: Ke Sheng (Oakland, CA)

Assignee: The Regents of the University of California

A61B6/032A61B6/0435A61B6/4085A61B6/502A61B90/17A61B2034/2051A61B2034/2055A61B2034/2059A61B2090/3762

Abstract

Claims (34)

1. A cone beam CT scanner comprising:

a receiving section configured to receive a breast of the subject whilst in the supine position;

a radiation imaging section comprising an x-ray tube and a detector which face each other and have the receiving section interposed therebetween; and

a drive unit operable to move the receiving section to a position above the breast of the supine subject, suitable for imaging the breast of the subject,

wherein the receiving section comprises:

a lifting column securely attached to the ceiling at a proximal end and perpendicularly attached to top surface of a fixed base at a distal end and is provided with a telescopic mechanism, configured to extend a few inches or several feet;

a moving platform spaced apart from the fixed base in a downward direction by at least two cylinders and a fixed link, wherein each of the cylinders is hingedly connected to the moving platform and provided with a telescoping mechanism, capable of extending the length at least a few inches at a distal end and thereby capable to tilt the moving platform upward and downward; and

a mounting base spaced apart from the moving platform by a slew bearing in a downward direction, wherein rotation of the slew bearing via a driving gear, causes the mounting base to rotate around a vertical axis.

2. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 1 , wherein the CT scanner further comprises a cover configured to envelop the scanner.

3. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 2 , wherein the cover further comprises a head notch, configured for positioning a head of the subject.

4. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 1 , wherein the CT scanner further comprises a tracking system.

5. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 4 , wherein the tracking system is selected from the group consisting of: a stereoscopic optical tracker, a stereoscopic video-based tracker, an electromagnetic tracker, a mechanical link-based tracker, a structured-light or laser-based surface scanner, or combinations thereof.

6. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 4 , wherein the tracking system comprises at least one passive marker, a control unit and at least one camera.

7. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 1 , wherein the x-ray tube is a rotating anode pulsed x-ray source.

8. The cone beam CT scanner of claim 1 , wherein the detector is a flat panel detector.

9. A method for breast radiography using a cone beam CT (CBCT) scanner, comprising:

providing a patient table, configured for a subject in a supine position;

providing a breast fixation device to stabilize a subject's breast during imaging;

providing the cone beam CT scanner of claim 1 ;

operating the drive unit to position the scanner at a predetermined position and orientation; and

obtaining an image of the subject.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of extending a telescopic mechanism of the drive unit toward the subject.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the telescopic mechanism comprises a lifting column.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising changing the position or orientation of the scanner.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the angle of the scanner relative to the patient table is changed by at least 5 degrees.

14. The method of claim 9 , comprising collecting at least 3 images of the subject.

15. The method of claim 14 , comprising creating a three-dimensional representation of a tissue of the subject from the at least 3 images.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the at least 3 images are gathered at a frame rate of between 1 f/s and 50 f/s.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least 3 images are gathered at a frame rate of between 25 f/s and 35 f/s.

18. The method of claim 9 , wherein the scanner comprises a notch to accommodate a head of the subject, and further comprising positioning the notch about the head of the subject.

19. The method of claim 9 , further comprising calculating a position and orientation of the scanner relative to the patient table.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising obtaining laser sample data.

21. The method of claim 9 , further comprising calculating an absolute position of an area of interest within a tissue of the subject.

22. The method of claim 21 , further comprising applying a treatment to the area of interest using a separate instrument.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (154)