Development of an open source ultra-low cost "desktop CT scan" is in progress

mobile phoneYaRobot artificial hand,FurthermorefurnitureYou can make yourselfFrench military unit introduced ubuntuAlthough it is an open source that continues to spread throughout the world, development is now under way to create "CT scanner" which is a medical device at desktop size and very inexpensively.

Towards an inexpensive open-source desktop CT scanner | the Tricorder project
http://www.tricorderproject.org/blog/towards-an-inexpensive-open-source-desktop-ct-scanner/


"The best favorite among the lectures I received at the graduate school was lecture on imaging (imaging) of the brain," said Peter, the creator of this project. I arrived at the graduate school where I got new knowledge like weeklyMRI(Magnetic Resonance Imager: magnetic resonance tomography device). after that,Diffusion tensor methodYaSpin labeling methodAfter learning various methodologies and techniques including "MRI is the most wonderful device that human beings have produced," we came to have the opinion that.

BySatoshi KAYA

Just around this time, Mr. Peter lost her physical condition and had the opportunity to undergo the examination at the clinic. It was Peter who thought that he was in a state of excessive exercise due to excessive exercise, but the doctor told me, "The problem was found in the stomach and it is necessary to go to a big hospital soon," it was content. Peter who rushed to the hospital in a hurry was able to get a story by starting examination of the CT scan immediately after getting into the hospital and starting treatment. Peter, who realized the importance of medical care because of this, came to resolve to make an open source CT scanner by taking advantage of MRI's knowledge that he learned.

Mr. Peter emphasized the spirit of open source and started work to make the body of the CT scanner with a 3D printer, but it is very expensive to process parts details with precision cuttingLaser CutterIt turned out that it was necessary. Because this was not very uniform oneself, the plan will be stagnant for a while.
However, two years after the interruption, tool tools and workspaces are available for rentRental factory(Hacker space) will lend us a laser cutter, and Peter was able to resume the project.

The prototype made by Mr. Peter is this. Donut shaped like a diameter of about 30 cmGantryVarious sensors are mounted, and it is possible to move in the direction of rotation and back and forth (from the lower left to the upper right of the image).


For gantry driving, we sell electronic parts onlineAdafruitI bought at 14 dollars (about 1400 yen)Stepping motorIt is used.


Move the gantry back and forth is a nylon ball screw that appears white in the center of the screen. The same stepping motor rotates this stick.


Here is a picture of a gantry that mounts various equipment. The white part sandwiched between two donut-like plates is the X-ray detector. The mount on which the detector is installed can be moved along an aluminum rail that shines in silver, and it is driven by a belt connected to a stepping motor that is visible in front of the screen.


The detectors used here are nonprofit projects that sell radiation sensors cheaplyRadiation-watch.orgHandled byType 5(6933 yen) I am using a model called. By finding this sensor, it seems that there is no need to purchase units such as photomultiplier tubes and scintillation detectors removed from very expensive PET inspection equipment.


The following shows the amount of radiation exposed to people, the total radiation total of the blue box on the left is the maximum radiation dose that can be taken in a day's life. Mr. Peter is paying close attention to safety, and we are trying to keep the dose to be bathed when we receive an examination with this device to "equivalent to what you take in the day you spent without doing anything." Because the dose is kept down, the time required for the examination will be long, but it can be said that Peter's policy of emphasizing safety is an expression of policy.


In order to control the entire device, it is an open source microcomputer boardArduinoIn the ShieldPololuThe stepping motor controller sold by the combination is used. Peter was expecting that the first test will fail, but it seems that everything worked properly.


Peter says he wants to test with a carrot first, then a hollow object like a green pepper, then an apple. Although it can not measure something that is too large in size, in the future we will grow plants on the equipment, create "time-lapse images of CT scans" from long-term stereoscopic scan data, and want to use for research on growth I will talk.

Also, it has significant merit in terms of cost. Although the equipment used in the medical field is very expensive, the cost of creating this prototype seems to be only about 200 dollars (about 19,000 yen) even if you estimate a lot.

This transparent acrylic scanner is one quarter size of the prototype, and it seems that the creation period is about 1 day. Peter said that this is thanks to a convenient machine like open source or laser cutters. In the future, equipment such as open source and 3D printer may make the world convenient.