Adjustable Brachytherapy Template Holder With Flexible Perineum Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current prostate brachytherapy templates are inflexible, causing discomfort and potential repeated procedures due to their rigid design, and have inadequate locking mechanisms, leading to catheter movement during treatment.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable brachytherapy template holder with a flexible perineum attachment component and a locking mechanism that uses a cam or gear system to secure catheters, allowing for off-axis insertion and reducing the need for sutures, along with a multilayered template featuring pivotable needle guides and a ball-and-socket joint for improved catheter placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid flat template is used to deliver catheters, then the template provides structural stability, but the template causes patient discomfort and skin irritation due to non-conformity with anatomy
Solution Approach 1:
The template transitions from a rigid flat structure to a dynamically adjustable form that can conform to the patient's perineal anatomy. The template includes adjustment mechanisms allowing it to be molded or shaped during the procedure to match the contours of the patient's body, thereby maintaining stability while eliminating discomfort and skin irritation caused by rigid non-conforming surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The template's physical parameters (shape, curvature, rigidity) are changed to adapt to different patient anatomies. The template can be adjusted in terms of its geometric parameters to conform to the specific contours of the perineal region, transforming from a fixed rigid structure to an adaptable form that maintains both stability and patient comfort.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the template is sutured into place to prevent shifting, then the template position is stabilized, but the sutures pull and irritate the patient's skin
Solution Approach 1:
The template incorporates adjustment mechanisms that allow it to be dynamically positioned and secured without sutures. The template can be molded to fit the patient's anatomy and locked into place using mechanical adjustment systems, eliminating the need for sutures that cause skin pulling and irritation while maintaining stable template positioning throughout the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The suturing mechanism is replaced with a mechanical adjustment and locking system. Instead of using threads to secure the template, the invention employs mechanical components such as adjustment screws, clamps, or interlocking features that secure the template to the patient's anatomy without penetrating the skin, thereby eliminating suture-related discomfort.
3Ease of operation
If a standard parallel catheter placement is used, then the catheters are easily inserted, but the placement is inadequate to optimally target all tumor regions in three dimensional space
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter placement system transitions from two-dimensional parallel insertion to three-dimensional angular positioning. The template includes apertures arranged in multiple planes and angles, allowing catheters to be inserted at various orientations to target tumor regions in three-dimensional space. This maintains ease of insertion through standardized aperture interfaces while achieving precise 3D tumor coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The template is segmented into multiple aperture layers or planes, each providing catheter access from different angles and orientations. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple individual catheter insertion procedures while achieving complex three-dimensional tumor targeting through the coordinated arrangement of multiple apertures at different spatial locations.
4Ease of operation
If thumbscrews are used to lock catheters in place, then the locking mechanism is simple to operate, but the mechanism loosens over time due to patient motion causing catheter movement
Solution Approach 1:
The thumbscrew locking mechanism is replaced with a more reliable mechanical locking system such as bayonet connectors, snap-fit mechanisms, or interlocking features with detent elements. These alternative mechanisms provide positive locking that resists loosening from patient motion while maintaining ease of operation through simple engagement and disengagement actions, ensuring catheter position stability throughout the treatment procedure.
Data Source
AI summary
Brachytherapy templates and template holders can be adjustable relative to a patient's anatomy. One template includes a disposable portion with an aperture layer that includes first apertures and a patient contact layer that includes an adhesive on a surface thereof. The patient contact layer is formed from a flexible material. The template also includes a reusable portion that includes aperture plates. A locking mechanism can lock catheters firmly in place. One template holder includes a template compartment retainer constructed to hold a brachytherapy template, and a perineum attachment component is connected to the template compartment retainer by a connecting portion. The perineum attachment component includes a perineum attachment portion formed from a flexible material.