Mammography Armrest Curved Surface Reduces Muscle Tension

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional mammography apparatuses cause excessive tension in the patient's arm and pectoral muscles, leading to inadequate breast spreading and discomfort during imaging, as patients must grip handles tightly to maintain body and breast fixation.

Innovation Solution

A mammography apparatus featuring a rotatably supported arm with an X-ray tube and detector, and an armrest with a convexly curved surface and continuous base to allow patients to hook their fingers instead of gripping, reducing muscle tension and improving breast spreading.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If the patient grips the handles tightly to fix the body and breast, then the body and breast fixation is improved, but the arm and pectoral muscles become excessively tensed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebody and breast fixationVSAvoidmuscle tension

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The handle is designed with a convexly curved surface that conforms to the natural contour of the patient's arm. This curvature allows the patient to hook their fingers onto the handle without gripping tightly, thereby maintaining body and breast fixation while reducing arm and pectoral muscle tension. The curved surface distributes the support force more evenly across the finger pads rather than requiring concentrated gripping force.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of designing a traditional cylindrical handle that requires gripping action, the invention inverts the approach by creating a convexly curved surface that invites hooking action. This inversion of the gripping mechanism fundamentally changes how the patient interacts with the handle, transforming the force application from muscular gripping to passive hooking, thus reducing muscle tension while maintaining stability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Stability of the object's composition

If the patient grips the handles tightly to fix the body, then the body fixation is improved, but the breast cannot be properly spread out

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebody fixationVSAvoidbreast spreading

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

The convexly curved handle surface allows the patient to hook their fingers without exerting strong gripping force. This reduced muscle tension enables the breast to be properly spread out by the compression paddle while maintaining adequate body fixation through the hooking action on the curved surface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the geometric parameter of the handle from a cylindrical shape requiring gripping to a convexly curved surface allowing hooking. This parameter change fundamentally alters the interaction mode, reducing the force required for fixation and thereby enabling proper breast spreading.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Stability of the object's composition

If the patient grips the handles tightly to fix the body, then the body fixation is improved, but the patient feels pain during compression

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebody fixationVSAvoidpatient pain

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The convexly curved handle surface enables the patient to hook their fingers without tight gripping, significantly reducing arm and pectoral muscle tension. This reduction in muscle tension minimizes the transmission of compression forces to the patient, thereby reducing pain during the compression process while maintaining adequate body fixation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #14Spheroidality (Curvature)

Solution Approach 2:

By inverting the gripping mechanism to a hooking mechanism on the convexly curved surface, the invention fundamentally changes how the patient interacts with the apparatus. This inversion reduces the muscular effort required, thereby reducing the pain perceived during compression while maintaining fixation stability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

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 design enables suitable fixation of the breast and body without excessive muscle tension, allowing for proper breast spreading and alleviating patient discomfort during imaging.

Implementation Method 1

an X-ray tube to generate X-rays, which is held on one end of the arm

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectX-ray generation: X-Ray

Data Source

PatentUS7756245B2Mammography apparatus

Publication Date: 2010.07.13 TOSHIBA MEDICAL SYST CORP

AI summary

A mammography apparatus includes a rotatably supported arm, an X-ray tube to generate X-rays, which is held on one end of the arm, an imaging stage which is held on the other end of the arm, an X-ray detector which detects the X-rays having passed through patient's breast and is contained in the imaging stage, and an armrest which has an armrest main body portion having a convexly curved surface, and a continuous base portion to fix the armrest main body on the arm.