Portable x-ray cassette holder for operating rooms

Abstract

A portable device for taking an X-ray of a human or animal patient comprising: a base for positioning an X-ray cassette holder adjacent to a patient, the patient being positioned on an operating table, and an X-ray cassette holder; the base comprising a first plate member having an upper surface and a bottom surface, the X-ray cassette holder being positioned on the upper surface and means positioned on the bottom surface for attaching the portable device to a surface adjacent to the operating table; the X-ray cassette holder comprising a second plate hingedly attached to the upper surface of the first plate so that the second plate can be positioned between a storage position and a functional position; the second plate defining channels at opposite sides thereof for positioning an X-ray film cassette adjacent to the patient to be X-rayed; means for locking the second plate in the functional position; and, a method for employing the device to X-ray a patient.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] This invention relates to a method of X-raying and a device for holding an X-ray film cassette while an X-ray of a part of the body of either a human being or of an animal is being taken in an operating room environment. [0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art [0004] In the operating theater it is frequently necessary to produce an X-ray or other medical image of a part of a human or animal patient that is about to undergo or is actually undergoing surgery. Such medical imaging allows for earlier diagnoses and more complete assessments as to the surgical site and the surgeon is better able to assess a favorable outcome for the surgical intervention. [0005] With current conventional procedures and equipment, X-raying or other medical imaging procedures performed, e.g., while a patient is still under surgical anesthesia, requires the transport of the patient to an imaging facility thereby compromising surgical field st...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

With current conventional procedures and equipment, X-raying or other medical imaging procedures performed, e.g., while a patient is still under surgical anesthesia, requires the transport of the patient to an imaging facility thereby compromising surgical field sterility and risking injury to the anesthetized patient.

The condition of the patients in the operating theater, however, renders it virtually impossible to move them once they have assumed the desired position on the operating table, either due to the fact that they require immediate surgery, they are anesthetized, or because they would experience severe pain if they were moved.

Usually, the X-ray film (or other medical imaging medium) is in a cassette and it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to position the part of the body of the patient that is to be X-rayed between the source of the X-rays and the cassette that holds the film.

Currently available systems such as those marketed by AliMed, Inc. of Dedham, Mass. do not provide satisfactory results in this regard.

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