Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting nuclear – electromagnetic – or ultrasonic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-03
2001-02-27
Casler, Brian L. (Department: 3737)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting nuclear, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic radiation
C324S318000, C324S322000, C005S601000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195578
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a magnetic resonance apparatus having a patient bearing table with an interchangeable-panel receiving mechanism. The table can be utilized as an operating table.
Magnetic resonance (MR) apparatuses render sectional images of the human body with high soft-tissue contrast. MR images are used for planning neurosurgical operations. However, the problem arises that the brain shifts in the surgical opening of the skull (brain shift), whereby the operation plan becomes inexact. Given tumors which are imaged in the brain (not metastases), the problem exists that the surgeon usually cannot visually discern the boundaries of the tumor. MR displays these boundaries, for example, based on the destruction of the blood-brain barrier in the case of tumors. This destruction permits the passage of the contrast agent Gd-DTPA. For this reason, magnetic resonance apparatuses are increasingly being employed during the operations in order to correct “brain shift” after the opening of the skull, or to determine if all malignant tissues have been removed following a tumor resection.
Due to their accessibility, for the most part only magnetic resonance apparatuses with relatively low field have been used. However, the achievable image quality is limited here, and the measuring times for a fully anesthetized patient are quite long. What are known as high field magnetic resonance apparatuses with fields above 1 Tesla offer a higher image quality and rather short measuring times, and additional information is available such as functional imaging, perfusion, diffusion and blood flow area. However, such high-field magnetic resonance apparatuses are based on superconductive magnets in which the patient is inserted into a poorly accessible tube. Operations can only be carried out at a face end of the tube under relatively crowded conditions. Working within the magnet system requires a specific expensive operating instrument, which cannot interact with either the magnetic field or with the high-frequency fields. The instrument also must not be influenced by these, and must not itself exert an influence on the magnet system which degrades the imaging.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic resonance apparatus that simplifies an operation, and is maximally independent of the magnetic field. It is thus possible to examine the patient in the magnetic resonance apparatus at any time.
To achieve this object, it is inventively provided that the patient bearing table is mounted on an operating column which is arranged before the insertion end of the magnetic resonance apparatus, so as to swivel about a vertical axis of rotation. The mounting preferably occurs such that the operating column is laterally offset relative to the z-axis of the magnet system. The patient bearing table is correspondingly laterally secured beside the operating column so as to be offset relative to the swivelling axis.
The inventive construction of the patient bearing table yields an operating table of high value which is arranged far outside the stray magnetic field of the MR apparatus in an outward position and which can be swivelled directly in front of the insertion opening of the MR apparatus by a simple swivelling of 180°, so that the tabletop, which is constructed as the bed board of the MR apparatus and which is arranged on the operating table in locking fashion, can be pushed into the tube of the MR apparatus for performing corresponding examinations.
The lateral displacement of the operating column relative to the z-axis of the MR system additionally creates the opportunity to use the MR apparatus another way during the operation of a patient in the outward operating position, since the insertion opening of the MR apparatus is then completely free, and another patient can be moved to the apparatus using a trolley or similar device.
The patient bearing table serving as operating table should therein be mounted at the operating column so that it is height-adjustable and/or so that it is tiltable about an axis situated perpendicular to the table's longitudinal axis. This enables an inclination of the operating table, which is frequently appropriate for the respective operating objectives, as well as a height adjustment, which can be freely selected independently of the height of the transport rails for the bed board of the MR apparatus.
According to an additional feature of the present invention, anesthesia equipment can be arranged over the operating column, including an anesthesia device and a monitor, as well as other groups of devices. This not only results in a rather compact operating space, but also has the additional advantage that rather short paths are required for the cable and tubes to the patient.
In order to be able to move the patient even further from the stray field of the MR apparatus and thus to be able to use an inexpensive, commercially available array of operating instruments, it can be provided according to another feature of the present Invention that the operating column can be moved on rails perpendicular to the z-axis of the magnet system in a stoppable manner. This makes it possible to construct an operating room next to the magnetic resonance recording room, separating the operating room by a door, so that during the operation, other patients can be diagnosed with the MR apparatus.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment of an inventive apparatus with an operating room that is separated from the MR recording room, the operating room can form a part of the frame or case of an HF-tight door in the wall between an operating room and a neighboring MR room.
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Distler Peter
Kuth Rainer
Oppelt Arnulf
Vetter Theodor
Weiler Herbert
Casler Brian L.
Schiff & Hardin & Waite
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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