Articulated Cable Guide for Mobile CT Gantry Repositioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cable guidance systems for mobile computed tomography (CT) systems are costly, not universally adaptable, and do not meet hygiene requirements, limiting their flexibility and service life, especially when used in multiple treatment rooms with opposing operating directions.
Innovation Solution
A cable guidance system featuring a vertical column, articulated arms, and deflection rollers that allow for repositionable guidance of supply lines, decoupling the gantry movement from the ceiling, enabling greater flexibility and reducing the footprint of the CT system while maintaining structural integrity and hygiene standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If cable guidance systems are arranged in the floor to provide stable support, then structural stability is improved, but collision risk with patients and personnel increases, and adaptability to different treatment rooms decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable guidance system transitions from a floor-level arrangement to a ceiling-mounted configuration, utilizing the vertical dimension to elevate cables above the gantry movement path. This dimensional change eliminates collision risks while maintaining cable support functionality, and allows the system to be universally installed in different treatment rooms without floor modifications.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If ceiling box with energy guide chains is used to guide supply lines, then collision risk is reduced, but movement flexibility is limited by ceiling box length, and construction costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cable guidance system is divided into multiple independent segments: ceiling mounting structure, articulated arms with multiple joints, and individual cable routing paths. This segmentation allows each component to move independently, enabling the gantry to traverse the entire treatment room distance while cables are managed in flexible sections rather than a fixed-length ceiling box.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic articulated arms with multiple joints that can bend and extend, allowing the cable guidance structure to adapt its configuration as the gantry moves. This dynamic structure provides movement flexibility comparable to or exceeding fixed ceiling box solutions, while reducing construction costs by using modular components.
3Reliability
If wired supply is provided for rail-guided CT systems, then energy supply reliability is improved, but cable guidance system service life is impaired by mechanical loads, and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces intermediary elements including articulated arm structures that act as flexible mediators between the fixed ceiling mounting and the moving gantry, and cable management components that serve as intermediaries to protect supply lines from direct mechanical stress. These intermediaries absorb and distribute mechanical loads, protecting the cable guidance system from damage while maintaining reliable energy supply.
Data Source
AI summary
A cable guidance system for a computed tomography system, wherein a gantry of the computed tomography system is repositionable in a direction of movement perpendicular to the gantry, the cable guidance system comprising: a vertical column arranged on the gantry and running vertically upward from a base of the computed tomography system; and a first articulated arm and a second articulated arm. The first articulated arm is rotatably connected to an upper end of the vertical column above the gantry via a first point of articulation, and rotatably connected, via a second point of articulation, to the second articulated arm which is likewise arranged above the gantry. At least one supply line runs in a repositionably guided manner along longitudinal axes of the first and second articulated arms.