Abstract: A PET apparatus and a processing method according in this invention carry out arithmetic processes in parallel, in steps S4 (forward projection) and S5 (back projection), for every LOR, on list data (created from event data obtained by detecting gamma rays), and can therefore be applied to other arithmetic mechanisms and have versatility. Since parallel processing is carried out on the list data and the parallel processing is carried out in each of steps S4 (forward projection) and S5 (back projection), a competition for memory can be prevented to realize an improvement in speed. As a result, high versatility and an improvement in speed of the calculations can be attained.

Abstract: A blood collecting apparatus includes a cleaning solution piping. The cleaning solution piping feeds into a flow path a heparin solution which is a liquid other than blood to be measured, in order to return the blood present in the flow path to a catheter disposed upstream of a blood inlet of the flow path. Thus, the blood having flowed into the flow path in an amount more than is necessary for blood collection, which corresponds to a portion returned to the upstream catheter of the blood to be measured present in the flow path, can be used in a next blood collection. As a result, the amount of collected blood can be reduced. The liquid to be measured is separated apart by means of a gas, and the flow path is cleaned in a way to leave no impurities in the flow path, thereby preventing impurities from mixing into the liquid to be measured.

Abstract: Entrance restricting portions (30, 31, 32) project in a receptacle (100) and are arranged in a width direction at each of opposite sides of a plurality of tabs (20, 21) in a height direction. Drop-in spaces (3A-3E) are formed at an inner side of the entrance restricting portions (30, 31) and (32) adjacently arranged at the substantially opposite sides of the tabs (20, 21). When a spherical surface of a spherical body (201) inserted into the receptacle (10) contacts the front ends of a plurality of entrance restricting portions (30, 31, 32), a top (202) on a central axis of the spherical body (201) is offset from the tabs (20, 21).

Abstract: A connector assembly has first and second housings (10, 300). Ribs (305, 306) project from an inner surface of a receptacle (301) of the second housing (300). The first housing (10) has a main body (11) that can fit into the receptacle (301), a seal ring (50) is mounted externally on the housing main body (11) and a retaining member is mounted into the main body (11). The retaining member includes a pressing surface (67, 90) for preventing detachment of the seal ring (50) and grooves (68, 86) that receive the ribs (305, 306) when the housings are connected. Reverse tapered surfaces (74, 91) are formed on the back surfaces of the grooves (68, 86) at a side facing and opposite to the pressing surface (67, 90) of the retaining member and incline toward the housing main body (11) to approach the pressing surface (67, 90).

Abstract: A detector ring of radiation tomography apparatus according to this invention has a fracture portion having no scintillation counter crystal arranged therein. Moreover, the radiation tomography apparatus according to this invention includes a correlated data complementation section. The correlated data complementation section forms correlated data when assuming that a first scintillation counter crystal actually provided in the detector ring is in the fracture portion, and additionally stores it to a correlated data storing section, thereby complementing correlated data in the fracture portion. As noted above, the correlated data complementation section obtains positional information under assumption that the scintillation counter crystals are in the fracture portion and a corresponding number of coincident events. Consequently, this invention may realize acquisition of faithful detecting efficiencies in the scintillation counter crystals.

Abstract: A radiation detecting apparatus of this invention includes an arithmetic processing device which carries out arithmetic processes for drawing boundaries based on peaks of signal strengths and separating respective positions by the boundaries, and for determining, by using spatial periodicity of the peaks, the number of peaks having failed to be separated, with a plurality of peaks connecting to each other. If the separation fails with a plurality of peaks connecting to each other, the number of peaks in error is determined using spatial periodicity of the peaks. Thus, by using spatial periodicity of the peaks, the number of peaks in error can be determined and boundaries can be set easily. As a result, incident positions can also be discriminated easily, and detecting positions of radiation can be determined easily.

Abstract: The mammographic apparatus of this invention maintains peripheral portions of the breast area Ma of the sternal plate of a patient M in contact with a sternal plate contact box 3 during radiography for RI distribution images of the breast area Ma of the patient M. Since the body motion accompanying respiration of the patient M shifts from the breast side to the back side, the motion of the breast area Ma of the patient M accompanying respiration of the patient M is suppressed easily. In addition, since radiography for RI distribution images is carried out with the patient M in a seated position seated on a seating unit 2, the apparatus is compact and can installed in a limited area, compared with an apparatus that carries out radiography for RI distribution images with a patient in a sleeping position lying on her back or on a side on a top board.

Abstract: A blood collecting apparatus includes a main flow path and a pressure generator. The pressure generator is provided in an intermediate position of the main flow path to insert a gas as separators at designated predetermined intervals, thereby to take out blood to be measured, as separated in a time series. The blood can be taken out in minute volumes by inserting the separators consisting of the gas while feeding the blood continuously into the main flow path in this way. And consumption of the blood can be held down, and the amount of collected blood can be minimized. Since the operation to insert the separators is excellent in speed, repeated collection in a short time, i.e. frequency of blood collection, can be secured.

Abstract: A boundary calculating unit is provided for determining boundaries between separated plasma and blood cell or air and plasma whose image is picked up by an image pickup unit. With such boundary calculating unit provided, the boundaries between the separated plasma and blood cell or air and plasma can be determined, and areas of the separated air, plasma, and blood cell can be determined accurately. Particularly, a straight line drawing unit is provided for drawing, on the image picked up, a plurality of straight lines parallel to grooves in a disk which performs plasma separation. The boundary calculating unit can easily determine the boundaries by determining the boundaries based on a profile of the plurality of straight lines drawn by the straight line drawing unit.

Abstract: A radiation detecting apparatus of this invention includes an arithmetic processing device which has a first adding step for adding signal strengths in one portion of a two-dimensional position map, draws respective boundaries based on results of addition in the first adding step, and corrects the two-dimensional position map based on signal strengths enclosed by these boundaries. The signal strengths of one portion of the two-dimensional position map, and not all the areas of the two-dimensional position map, are added. As a result, incident positions can be discriminated efficiently, and radiation detecting positions can be determined efficiently.

Abstract: Upon detection of radiation by using a (three-dimensional) detector capable of distinguishing a detection position in a depth direction and energy, an energy window for distinguishing between a signal and noise is changed depending on the detection position in the depth direction, thus making it possible to obtain scattering components inside the detector. Alternatively, a weight is given to a detection event depending on the detection position in the depth direction and energy information to obtain scattering components inside the detector. Thereby, scattering components inside the detector can be obtained to increase the sensitivity of the detector. In this case, different detecting elements can be used depending on the detection position in the depth direction.

Abstract: A PET apparatus and a processing method according in this invention carry out arithmetic processes in parallel, in steps S4 (forward projection) and S5 (back projection), for every LOR, on list data (created from event data obtained by detecting gamma rays), and can therefore be applied to other arithmetic mechanisms and have versatility. Since parallel processing is carried out on the list data and the parallel processing is carried out in each of steps S4 (forward projection) and S5 (back projection), a competition for memory can be prevented to realize an improvement in speed. As a result, high versatility and an improvement in speed of the calculations can be attained.

Abstract: A blood collecting apparatus includes a cleaning solution piping. The cleaning solution piping feeds into a flow path a heparin solution which is a liquid other than blood to be measured, in order to return the blood present in the flow path to a catheter disposed upstream of a blood inlet of the flow path. Thus, the blood having flowed into the flow path in an amount more than is necessary for blood collection, which corresponds to a portion returned to the upstream catheter of the blood to be measured present in the flow path, can be used in a next blood collection. As a result, the amount of collected blood can be reduced. The liquid to be measured is separated apart by means of a gas, and the flow path is cleaned in a way to leave no impurities in the flow path, thereby preventing impurities from mixing into the liquid to be measured.

Abstract: In a state in which a subject is absent, blank data is collected by a self-radioactivity element typified by Lu-176 (S1). In a state in which the subject is present, transmission data is collected by the self-radioactivity element (S2). Emission data is collected by ? rays emitted from the subject injected with a radiopharmaceutical (S3). Absorption-corrected data is calculated based on the blank data and the transmission data (S4 to S7), and the emission data is absorption-corrected using the absorption-corrected data (S8). Although such background data obtained by the self-radioactivity is originally abandoned, the background data is rather used for the absorption-corrected data. Stable absorption correction can be thereby conducted.

Abstract: A detector unit for mammography of this invention includes a gamma-ray detector having a configuration with a cutout formed in part of a closed curve, a hollow portion thereof providing a field of view. The gamma-ray detector can easily be placed in a position where a breast and breast peripheries of a patient enter the field of view at the same time, by fitting sites of the patient not to be examined, such as a top of an arm and a shoulder, in the cutout. This allows breast tissues present in the breast and breast peripheries to be diagnosed at the same time.

Abstract: A detector ring of radiation tomography apparatus according to this invention has a fracture portion having no scintillation counter crystal arranged therein. Moreover, the radiation tomography apparatus according to this invention includes a correlated data complementation section. The correlated data complementation section forms correlated data when assuming that a first scintillation counter crystal actually provided in the detector ring is in the fracture portion, and additionally stores it to a correlated data storing section, thereby complementing correlated data in the fracture portion. As noted above, the correlated data complementation section obtains positional information under assumption that the scintillation counter crystals are in the fracture portion and a corresponding number of coincident events. Consequently, this invention may realize acquisition of faithful detecting efficiencies in the scintillation counter crystals.

Abstract: A cross-sectional area calculation section calculates a cross-sectional area of a subject as physical quantity with respect to a size of the subject, and an NEC calculation section calculates a noise equivalent count NEC as physical quantity for evaluating an image. The C-NEC calculation section calculates a noise equivalent count per unit area C-NEC as physical quantity for evaluating an image as per size of the subject in accordance with the cross-sectional area of the subject calculated in the cross-sectional area calculation section and the noise equivalent count NEC calculated in the NEC calculation section. Accordingly, the noise equivalent count per unit area C-NEC is calculated as noted above, whereby an index may be determined that is independent of the cross-sectional area of the subject in evaluating the image.

Abstract: A radiation detecting apparatus of this invention includes an arithmetic processing device which has a first adding step for adding signal strengths in one portion of a two-dimensional position map, draws respective boundaries based on results of addition in the first adding step, and corrects the two-dimensional position map based on signal strengths enclosed by these boundaries. The signal strengths of one portion of the two-dimensional position map, and not all the areas of the two-dimensional position map, are added. As a result, incident positions can be discriminated efficiently, and radiation detecting positions can be determined efficiently.

Abstract: A radiation detecting apparatus of this invention includes an arithmetic processing device which carries out arithmetic processes for drawing boundaries based on peaks of signal strengths and separating respective positions by the boundaries, and for determining, by using spatial periodicity of the peaks, the number of peaks having failed to be separated, with a plurality of peaks connecting to each other. If the separation fails with a plurality of peaks connecting to each other, the number of peaks in error is determined using spatial periodicity of the peaks. Thus, by using spatial periodicity of the peaks, the number of peaks in error can be determined and boundaries can be set easily. As a result, incident positions can also be discriminated easily, and detecting positions of radiation can be determined easily.

Abstract: A detector unit for mammography of this invention includes a gamma-ray detector having a configuration with a cutout formed in part of a closed curve, a hollow portion thereof providing a field of view. The gamma-ray detector can easily be placed in a position where a breast and breast peripheries of a patient enter the field of view at the same time, by fitting sites of the patient not to be examined, such as a top of an arm and a shoulder, in the cutout. This allows breast tissues present in the breast and breast peripheries to be diagnosed at the same time.