Decoupled Mammography C-Arm Console Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mammography devices limit access to the patient's breast, restricting the ability to perform procedures such as injecting contrasting liquids and biopsies due to fixed mechanical linkage between the X-ray source and detector components.
Innovation Solution
A mammography device with a C-arm and console that are mechanically decoupled, allowing for relative movement between them, enabling separation for improved access and adjustable positioning to accommodate different patient positions, including standing, sitting, and recumbent positions, through sliding, rotating, and tilting mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the C-arm and console are mechanically linked in a fixed configuration, then the device structure is simplified and easier to manufacture, but access to the patient's breast is restricted and operational flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two independently movable components: the C-arm supporting the X-ray source and the console integrating the detector. These components can move relative to each other along the arc-shaped support, allowing separation to improve access to the patient's breast while maintaining imaging functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The C-arm and console are designed with dynamic movement capabilities along the arc-shaped support structure. This allows the components to adjust their positions relative to each other, transitioning between closer configurations for imaging and separated configurations for better access during procedures like biopsies or contrast injection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the C-arm and console are separated for improved access, then practitioner accessibility and operational flexibility are enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arc-shaped support structure serves multiple functions: it guides the movement of both the C-arm and console, provides structural support, and enables the relative positioning adjustments needed for both imaging and procedural access. This multi-functional design reduces the need for additional separate mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If the C-arm and console are mechanically decoupled to enable relative movement, then access to the patient's breast is improved and procedural flexibility is enhanced, but the mechanical structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical linkage is segmented into independent movement paths for the C-arm and console along the arc-shaped support. This segmentation allows each component to move independently to improve access during procedures while the shared arc structure provides a common framework that simplifies the overall mechanical design.
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
Facilitates complete access to the breast for procedures like biopsy and contrast injection, enhancing operational flexibility and practitioner accessibility while maintaining imaging capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
at least one X-ray source
Data Source
AI summary
A mammography device comprising at least one X-ray source, a C-arm which supports said source, as well as a console which integrates an X-ray detector, wherein the C-arm and the console are movable relative to one another. The wherein C-arm and the console are mechanically decoupled from one another so that the C-arm and/or the console are movable relative to one another, between an exposure-taking position where the C-arm is in an immediate vicinity of the console, and a position wherein the C-arm and the console are separated from one another and wherein access to said C-arm and/or to said console is facilitated.