Gantry Drape With Collapsible Rim For Sterile CT Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Deploying sterile drapes on CT machine gantries is challenging and time-consuming, often requiring double draping to maintain sterility, which increases surgical time and cost.
Innovation Solution
A gantry patient channel drape with a collapsible, biasing outer rim and inner wall covering portions, secured by Velcro patches and spring members, allowing for quick and sterile deployment and removal, featuring a stay holder to prevent contamination during installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a drape is deployed on the gantry patient channel, then sterility is maintained, but deployment time increases and complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drape is divided into multiple functional segments: an outer drape portion covering the exterior gantry surface, an inner drape portion covering the patient channel interior, and multiple stays that can be independently positioned and attached. This segmentation allows each part to be deployed independently and efficiently, reducing overall deployment time while maintaining complete sterility coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer and inner drape portions are pre-assembled into a unified structure with attachment features (sleeves, Velcro patches) prepared in advance. The stays are pre-configured with attachment mechanisms. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for complex assembly during deployment, allowing the entire drape system to be installed quickly while ensuring sterility is maintained from the outset.
2Reliability
If a drape is deployed on the gantry patient channel, then sterility is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drape system is segmented into distinct functional components (outer drape, inner drape, stays) that can be manufactured separately using simple processes and then assembled. Each segment has a specific function and simple attachment mechanisms, reducing the complexity of manufacturing and assembly while ensuring complete sterility coverage through their coordinated arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The drape structure incorporates universal attachment mechanisms (sleeves, Velcro patches) that can be used across different gantry configurations. The outer and inner drape portions serve multiple functions: physical barrier, structural support, and easy attachment/detachment. This multi-functionality reduces the need for specialized complex components while maintaining sterility.
3Reliability
If double draping is used to maintain sterility, then sterility is ensured, but surgical time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The outer drape and inner drape are merged into a single integrated deployment unit with coordinated attachment mechanisms. The stays serve dual functions: structurally supporting both the outer and inner drape portions while providing attachment points for both. This merging eliminates the need for separate double-draping procedures, ensuring sterility through the integrated barrier while maintaining surgical efficiency.
4Ease of manufacture
If a simple drape design is used, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but deployment difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drape is segmented into outer and inner portions with distinct attachment features (sleeves, Velcro patches) that are simple to manufacture using standard textile and fastening technologies. These segments are designed to be assembled through straightforward operations: sliding stays into sleeves or attaching Velcro patches, making deployment easy despite the multi-component structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Sleeves and Velcro patches serve as intermediary elements that simplify the connection between drape components and the gantry. These intermediaries provide intuitive attachment mechanisms that are easy to operate (slide-in sleeves, press-on Velcro) while maintaining a secure connection, bridging the simplicity of the drape design with the ease of deployment requirement.
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 drape enables fast, easy, and sterile protection of the gantry, reducing deployment time to less than a minute and maintaining sterility during surgery, while being inexpensive to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
an outer rim biased into a deployed (e.g., circular) shape and collapsible
Implementation Method 2
these means includes Velcro patches on the gantry first outer sidewall covering portion and corresponding Velcro patches on the first outer gantry sidewall
Data Source
AI summary
An imaging system gantry patient channel drape includes a gantry first outer sidewall covering portion including an outer rim biased into a deployed (e.g., circular) shape and collapsible, and a gantry inner (e.g., circular) wall covering portion extending inward of the gantry first outer sidewall covering portion.