ROBOT

The invention relates in general to X-ray equipment used notably in the field, of medical imaging.

It relates more specifically to X-ray equipment mounted on a mobile device.

X-ray equipment conventionally comprises an X-ray tube and an. X-ray detector positioned opposite the X-ray tube in a direction in which the X-rays are emitted. The tube and the detector are generally positioned at two opposite ends of an ari .

Such equipment is used for angiographic examinations for diagnostic or interventional, purposes.

During these examinations, it is necessary to use X-- rays to produce radiographs of a relevant part of a patient's body. To do this, once the patient has laid down on an examination couch, the X-ray tube and the detector are brought to face the region that is to bs x-rayed .

In the prior art there are several types of X-ray equipment that can he used to take radiographs.

First of all, there is X-ray equipment fixed to the ground, and in which the arm supporting the X-ray tube and the detector has several degrees of freedom allowing the X-ray beaia to be positioned facing the relevant region .

Equipment of this type does, however, have a major disadvantage connected with the fact that the need to take x-rays occurs only at the beginning and the end of the intervention. In-between times, it is access to the patient that takes highest priority. Because the equipment is fixed to the ground, it cannot be moved. away from the examination couch when not being used. In particular, transferrins] and installing the patient onto the examination couch are impeded by the presence of this bulky system.

There is also such a thing as "mobile, surgical" X-ray equipment that can be moved around by hand. This equipment then is mounted on a. trolley which carries a certain, number of batteries that power the X-ray tube. This type of equipment is therefore not suited to angiographic examinations because the power delivered by the X-ray tube is no longer sufficient to obtain an image of sufficient quality and, in particular, con rast .

Furthermore , this type of mobile X-ray equipment does not allow complex angular orientation because the diameter of the arm supporting the tube and the detector is not large enough. Likewise, this mobile X-- ray equipment is unable to achieve sufficient rotational speeds to allow good cruaXity three- dimensional image reconstructions. Finally, even though the weight of such equipment is half that of X-ray equipment intended for angiography, it is still very difficult to move around because of its relatively large dimensions and because of its weight , which may be as much as 30Q kg.

It has also been proposed for X-ray equipment to be mounted on a mobile device fitted with wheels driven by drive motors controlled automatically by a navigation system. For such equipment reference may be made to document PR 2 945 724.

It has been found that such a system, is particularly effective at positioning the X-ray tube and the detector around the relevant region and at moving it away when it is no longer in use, in order to free up space around the examination couch.

However, in the event of a electrical power failure or a problem with the power supply to the equipment, the wheels driven by the drive motors can no longer be set in motion, thus immobilizing the equipment. in the event of a breakdown, particularly of the mobile device, the equi ment is then likely to become stuck near the examination couch and unable to be taken away when no longer in use. This bulky system then becomes a hindrance by impeding access to the examination couch.

In the light of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to propose a. device that allows motorized X- ray equipment to be withdrawn and moved around manually.

A first subject of the invention is therefore a device for manually withdrawing mobile X-ray imaging equipment comprising driven wheels coupled to drive means capable of automatically moving the X-ray imaging equipment along .

According to one overall feature, the device comprises a set of at least one free wheel and lifting means acting on the X-ray imaging equipment to withdraw the driven wheels so that the X-ray imaging equipment rests on the free wheel or wheels following action of the lifting means.

By withdrawing the driven wheels it is thus possible to remove any resistance they could create and thus move the X-ray imaging equipment around on the free wheels on which the equipment rests. The lifting means may foe independent of the free wheels or coupled to them so that the bringing of the free wheels down to rest on the ground advantageously leads to the raising of the driven wheels .

For example , the lifting means comprise a. jack capable of lifting the X-ray imaging equipment. The jack may for example be a screw jack, a hydraulic jack, a worm-- and-wheel jack, a jack with a moving metal shaft and a fixed rack.

For example, the jack comprises a pantograph system intended to be interposed between the X-ray equipment and a chassis bearing the free wheels and a cranking handle that can be turned by hand to actuate the pantograph system.

The device may advantageously comprise a raised- position sensor capable of detecting that the driven wheels are in the withdrawn position, and a lowered- position, sensor capable of detecting that the driven wheels are resting on. the ground .

The position sensors may thus advantageousiy indicate whether the X-ray imaging equipment can be moved around manually or automatically. They may also make it possible to prevent any attempt at automatic movement via the driven wheels unless the lowered position has been, detected.

According to another aspect _s the invention proposes , in one embodiment, X-ray imaging equipment comprising an image-taking device and a mobile device on which the image -taking device is mounted, and which is provided with at least one driven wheel and with at least one motor for driving the driven wheels, and. comprising means for freeing the driven wheels if the X-ray imaging equipment malfunctions. The equipment may thus be provided wit a system of driven wheels that are disengagafale so that, they become free to turn in the event of a malfunction.

However, advantageously, the means for freeing the driven wheels comprise a manual withdrawal device comprising a set of at least one free wheel and lifting means ac i.ng on the X-ray imaging equipment to withdraw the driven wheels so that the X-ra imaging equipment rests on the free wheel or wheels following action of the lifting means .

For preference, the manual withdrawal device is mounted at. an opposite end of the X-ray imaging equipment to the image-taking device.

By thus mounting the manual withdrawal device at the opposite end to the image-taking device, particularly at the rear end of the equipment, the equipment becomes easier to handle in an emergency to move the equipmen out of the operating field. This is because the X-ray equipmen , when brought into the operating field to take an image of a patient, may be arranged in such a way that the front end of the equipment on which the image-taking device is provided faces toward the operating field. In the event of a malfunction that prevents the mobile imaging equipment frost being moved automatically out of the operating field, the rear part remains accessible so that the equipment can be withdrawn without impeding access to the patient and without impeding the medical personnel working in and around the operating field.

Advantageously, the X-ray imaging equipment may comprise a first position in which the driven wheels rest on the ground and the free wheels are retracted, and a second position in which the free wheels are resting on the ground and. the driven wheels are raised. Another aspect of the invention provides a method of manually withdrawing mobile X-ray equipment comprising driven wheels coupled to drive means capable of automaticall moving the X-ray imaging equipment around ,

This method involves withdrawing the driven wheels, making the X-ray imaging equipment rest on free wheels resting on the ground, and moving the X-ray imaging equipment manu 1ly .

For preference, the raised status of the driven wheels is detected before the X-ray imaging equipment is moved .

Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from studying the following description, given solely by way of entirel nonli iting example, and given with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic view of mobile X-ray imaging equipment equipped with a manual withdrawal device according to the invention;

-· Figure 2 is an exploded view of the manual withdrawal device,

- Figures 3 and 4 depict the X-ray imaging equipment in a normal position of use and in a position in which the manual withdrawal device has been activated, respectively.

Figure 1 illustrates mobile X-ray imaging equipment 1 according to the invention. As can. be seen, this equipment 1 essentially comprises an X-ray tube 2, capable of emitting a beam. 3 of X-rays in an emission direction, and an X-ra detector 4, these two items being arranged at the two opposite ends of an a m 5, here a bow-shaped arm, so that the X-rays emitted by the tube 2 are incident upon the detector 4.

As may be seen, the arm 5 is mounted so that it can slide on a second arm 6 itself mounted to rotate on a fixed support 7 which is itself mounted on a mobile device 8.

Thus, the support 7, the rotary arm 6 and the arm 5 are all three articulated relative to one another so that the X-ray equipment can be moved in three dimensions and thus take images from a member that is to be examined, from different angles.

When taking an X-ray, the tube 2 and the detector 4 are brought to face a relevant region of the body 9 of a patient lying outstretched on an examination couch 10 so that when the relevant region, is inserted between the X-ray tube 2 and the detector 4 it is irradiated by the X-rays and the detector 4 produces data representative of characteristics of the relevant region in the path of the X-rays ,

The mobile device 8 in the embodiment example depicted comprises a casing C supported by a running system comprising, for example, two driven and steering lateral wheels R positioned at the rear, two free front wheels (visible in Figures and 4), and means of driving the driven wheels which means are positioned in the casing C and comprise a. steering motor coupled to a drive motor. The mobile device 8 is a programmable device and is associated with a navigation system capable for example of communicating over a radioelectric link with identi ication devices 11 positioned in the operating theatre so as to allow the equipment 1 to locate itself accurately in the theatre and, in particular, in relation to the examination couch 10,

Thus, depending on the phases of programming or under the control of a control desk that an operator can operate _; the X-ray equipment can move around in the operating theatre automatically.

This is particularly the case when the X-ray equipment is being positioned facing the examination couch so as to position the tube 2 and the detector 4 facing a relevant region that is to be X-rayed or when the X-ray equipment is being moved into a physically removed standby position when no longer in use.

In order to avoid the X-ray imaging equipment 1 becoming immobilized in the event of a malfunction, for example in the event of an electrical power failure, and particularly to prevent the equipment 1 from becoming immobilized in the operating field, that is to say with the tube 2 and the detector facing the body of a patient lying outstretched on the examination couch 10, the equipment 1 comprises a manual withdrawal device 12 ,

Figures 2 to 4 illustrate the structure and operation of the manual withdrawal device 12 incorporated into the mobile X-ray imaging equipment 1.

The manual withdrawal device 12 comprises a lifting jack 13, for example a screw jack, and one or more free wheels 14, The free wheels 14 are fixed on each side of a chassis C mounted to pivot with respect to the casing C of the mobile device and comprising a transverse support bar 15 fixed to two coupling bars 16. The two coupling bars 16 project out from the ... ... transverse support bar 15 as far as an axis of rotation A-A of the chassis C ^f . The two coupling bars 16 and the transverse support bar can be made as one single same component .

As may be seen from these figures, the jack 13 here essentially conprises a pantograph system 17 mounted on a mounting plate 18 intended to be secured to the casing C of the mobile equipment 8 and a cranking handle 19 connected, to the pantograph system 17 by a universal joint 20,

The pantograph system in the embodiment example depicted comprises two pairs of link rods each comprising two arss 21a and 21b on the one hand and 22a and 22b on the other.

The link rods of each pair each comprise a first end 21c. 22c via which they are articulated to a support 23, 24 and a second end 21d _t 22d via which they are articulated to the link rods of the other pair.

The supports 23 and 24 are provided with coaxial threaded holes 25 and 26 in which there is engaged a threaded shank 27 coupled by the universal joint 20 to the cranking handle.

The pantograph system 17 is also mounted on the chassis C and, in particular, on the transverse support bar 15 via a fixing piece 28. It is therefore interposed between the casing of the X-ray equipment and the chassis supporting the free wheels 14 ,

Finally, Figures 2 to 4 show that the cranking handle 19, which is connected to the pantograph system by means of the universal joint 20, can be moved between a. folded position, visible in the figures, in which it can. be held against the X-ray eqiripment, for example by clip-fastening, and a deployed position, (not depicted) in which it can foe operated manually by a user.

In this position, thanks to the arrangement that has just been described, cranking of the handle 19 causes the threaded shank 27 to turn and accordingly causes the supports 23 and 24 either to move apart or closer together which has the tendency to move the fixing piece 28 and the mounting plate 18 apart or, on the other hand, closer together. hus, depending on the direction in which the crank handle is turned, the free wheels 14 of the manual withdrawal device 12 are either deployed or retracted in relation to the driven wheels R of the mobile device ..

In Figure 3, the free wheels 14 of the manual withdrawal device 12 are in a retracted position in relation to the driven wheels R of the mobile device. In this position, the driven wheels R are therefore resting on the ground so that, in this normal use position, the X-ray equipment can be moved around automatically by the mobile device according to the stage of the examination.

In the event of a mal unction, in order to move the X- ray ecpiipinent around, all that is required is for the cranking handle 19 to be deployed and actuated so as to deploy the free wheels 14.

In this position, which is visible in Figure 4, the X~ ray equipment rests front and rear on free wheels so that the driven wheels R of the mobile device are no longer in contact with the ground. In this con iguration, the X-ray equipment 1 can foe moved around manually and in particular can be withdrawn from - l ithe operating field in the event of breakdown or malfunction.

It will be noted that the withdrawal device 12 may also comprise a raised-position sensor detecting that the equipment 1 is in a first positio in which the free wheels 14 are resting on the ground and the driven wheels R are raised, and a iowered-position sensor capable of detecting that the equipment i is in a second position in which the driven wheels R are resting on the ground and the free wheels 14 are retracted.

Such sensors are notably intended to prevent any action on the driven wheels when, the equipment is not in the raised first position and prevent an manual moving- around of the equipment unless the lowered positio has been, reached ,

It will be noted that the invention relates in general and according to a first aspect to a device for manually withdrawing mobile X-ray imaging equipment which comprises driven wheels coupled to a motor capable of allowing the X-ray imaging eciuipment to be moved around, automatically, comprising a set of at least one free wheel and a jack acting on the X-ray imaging equ.ipi5.ent to withdraw the driven wheels so that the X-ray imaging equipment rests on the free wheel or wheels following action of the jack.

In a second aspect, the invention relates to X-ray imaging equipment comprising an image-taking device and a mobile device on which the image-taking device is mounted and which is provided with at least one driven wheel and with at least one motor for driving the driven wheels and comprising a set. of at least one free wheel and a lifting jack acting on the X-ray imaging equipment to withdraw the driven, wheels so that the X- ray imaging equipment rests on the free w eel or wheels following action of the lifting jack.