Gas-Filled Bladder Patient Support for Prone Breast Radiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient positioning devices for radiation therapy, particularly for breast cancer treatment, are cumbersome to operate and install, and they can block radiation beams, leading to increased skin radiation exposure due to the use of rigid materials like cushioning foam.
Innovation Solution
A patient positioning device with a gas-filled bladder that supports the patient, allowing one breast to extend pendant and compressing the other breast away from the radiation path, eliminating the need for rigid structures and reducing skin radiation dose by minimizing the mass in the radiation beam path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If cushioning foam is used to support the patient, then patient comfort is improved, but skin radiation dose increases due to premature radiation build-up
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a gas-filled bladder (pneumatic element) to replace traditional cushioning foam. The bladder provides patient support and comfort through gas pressure while allowing radiation beams to pass through with minimal interaction, preventing premature radiation build-up and reducing skin dose. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining comfort through pneumatic support without the harmful radiation effects of solid foam materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state and density parameters of the support material from solid foam to gas-filled bladder. This parameter change reduces the density and atomic number of the support material, thereby reducing radiation interaction and premature build-up, while maintaining the supportive function through gas pressure. This resolves the contradiction between comfort and radiation dose reduction.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid table structures are used to support the patient, then structural stability is improved, but radiation beam blocking occurs leading to increased skin exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces rigid table structures with a gas-filled bladder that provides structural support through pneumatic pressure. The bladder maintains patient positioning stability while being radiolucent, allowing radiation beams to pass through without significant blocking or scatter. This resolves the contradiction by providing stability through gas pressure rather than rigid materials that block radiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a flexible bladder structure that can conform to the patient's body while maintaining support. The thin-walled bladder provides necessary structural integrity for patient positioning without the mass and density of rigid table structures, thereby reducing radiation beam blocking and scatter. This resolves the contradiction between stability and radiation exposure.
3Strength
If thick support structures are used, then patient support is improved, but radiation beam path is blocked increasing skin dose
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a gas-filled bladder that provides patient support through internal gas pressure rather than material thickness. The bladder can be inflated to provide necessary support strength while maintaining a thin profile that does not significantly block radiation beams. This resolves the contradiction by decoupling support strength from material thickness through pneumatic pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the density parameter of the support material from high-density solid foam to low-density gas. This parameter change allows the support structure to provide necessary strength through pressure rather than mass, reducing radiation beam blocking and premature build-up. This resolves the contradiction between support strength and radiation dose.
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 device provides a lightweight, easy-to-set-up support that reduces skin radiation exposure by using gas-filled bladders to maintain the desired radiation build-up distance, allowing for wider access angles and comfortable patient positioning without increasing pressure on one side.
Implementation Method 1
At least a portion of the elevating support beneath the second breast of the patient is a gas-filled bladder compressing the second breast upward toward the patient
Implementation Method 2
a portion of the support in the path of radiation is a gas-filled bladder, to prevent premature build-up of the radiation that increases skin dose
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a support for a patient undergoing radiation therapy that preserves radiation build-up, such as normally spares the skin from receiving high amounts of radiation dose. The support includes at least one gas-filled bladder that displaces some tissue from the path of the radiation and/or spaces the tissue being treated from foam or the like.