Adjustable Stretcher for Precise Spinal FUS Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing neurostimulation techniques, such as electric, magnetic, and light stimulation, fail to effectively penetrate and stimulate the spinal cord due to low spatial resolution and deep penetration limitations, while current FUS systems are cumbersome and inaccurate in positioning ultrasound transducers for spinal cord treatment.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable stretcher with a holder for a spinal region treatment device, allowing precise positioning of FUS transducers perpendicular to vertebral laminae, combined with a control unit for optimizing FUS delivery based on MRI/CT images, ensuring accurate and non-invasive spinal cord neurostimulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If FUS transducers are positioned for spinal cord treatment, then high spatial resolution and deep penetration are achieved, but positioning accuracy and precision are insufficient with current systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an adjustable stretcher as an intermediary device that provides a standardized reference framework for positioning FUS transducers. The stretcher includes adjustable support modules and positioning mechanisms that serve as a mediator between the complex FUS system and the patient's anatomy, simplifying the positioning process while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The stretcher is divided into multiple adjustable support modules that can be independently positioned. Each module can be adjusted to accommodate different patient anatomies and treatment requirements, allowing precise positioning of the FUS transducer array without requiring a completely complex integrated system.
2Reliability
If FUS transducers are positioned perpendicular to vertebral laminae for optimal spinal cord stimulation, then treatment efficacy is improved, but positioning difficulty increases due to anatomical variability
Solution Approach 1:
The stretcher employs dynamic adjustment mechanisms that allow the support modules and positioning fixtures to be adapted in real-time to match the patient's specific vertebral anatomy. This dynamic adaptability enables the system to maintain the optimal perpendicular orientation to vertebral laminae across different patients without requiring complex manual positioning procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows for parameter changes in the positioning geometry based on individual patient anatomy. The adjustable stretcher can modify angles, distances, and orientations of the FUS transducer array to ensure perpendicular alignment with the patient's specific vertebral laminae, thereby maintaining treatment efficacy while simplifying the positioning process through systematic adjustment rather than complex manual manipulation.
3Ease of operation
If anatomical landmarks are identified manually for FUS positioning, then treatment setup is simplified, but misidentification and variability occur reducing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical landmark identification with a standardized reference system based on the adjustable stretcher framework. The stretcher provides pre-defined geometric references and positioning guides that substitute for manual anatomical landmark identification, thereby eliminating human error while maintaining operational simplicity through the standardized setup procedure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides high spatial resolution and safety for non-invasive spinal cord neurostimulation, reducing variability and misidentification of anatomical landmarks, and enabling efficient treatment of spinal cord diseases like MS and ALS.
Implementation Method 1
Focused Ultrasound (FUS) is a non-invasive therapeutic technique that consists of delivering the mechanical energy of sound waves to a target tissue or body region with high spatial resolution
Implementation Method 2
LIFUS, i.e., FUS with intensities lower than 10 W/cm2, on the other hand, can modulate cell activity primarily by radiation force effects, which represent the nanoscale movement of cell membranes due to the sound waves
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses an adjustable stretcher (1) adapted to fit a subject lying in a supine position. The stretcher comprises a plurality of supporting modules (2), whose relative positions can be adjusted according to the dimensions of said subject. Furthermore, the stretcher (1) comprises an opening (8) in the craniocaudal direction of the subject so that the spinal region of the subject may be fitted within the opening (8), and which is adapted with a holder (9), in which a spinal region treatment device (10) can be mounted. A system (16) for non-invasive neurostimulation of the spinal cord comprising said stretcher (1) and wherein the spinal region treatment device (10) corresponds to one or more Focused Ultrasound (FUS) transducer arrays (17) composed by circular arrays of piezoelectric elements and adapted to be applied on the skin of a subject and arranged laterally to the posterior midline of the subject's back so that the FUS beam is steered through the vertebrae's lamina (19) is also disclosed. The system (16) further comprises a control unit (18) providing the power and software means for positioning the subject and for managing the stimulation parameters. Finally, a method for optimizing the configuration of said system (16) is disclosed.