MRI Patient Fixture with Adjustable Support Segments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems face challenges in immobilizing patients, particularly in upright or weight-bearing positions, leading to movement artifacts and reduced image quality due to patient anxiety and discomfort within the confined MRI environment.
Innovation Solution
A fixture system is attached to the patient support apparatus, allowing patients to insert their arm and rotate to a non-upright position, with adjustable components to support the head and feet, reducing movement and enhancing patient comfort during imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a patient is positioned in an upright or weight-bearing position for MRI imaging, then imaging of certain symptoms and injuries can be achieved, but patient movement increases leading to motion artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patient support system is divided into multiple independently adjustable segments: a base support, an adjustable patient support surface that can be positioned at various angles, and separate fixtures for immobilizing specific body parts. This segmentation allows the patient to be positioned upright for imaging while specific regions are stabilized to reduce motion artifacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patient support apparatus incorporates dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing the support surface to be tilted to various angles between horizontal and vertical positions. The fixtures also include adjustable components that can be customized to fit different patient anatomies and imaging requirements, enabling the system to adapt to different imaging scenarios while maintaining stability.
2Reliability
If a patient lies on a horizontal bed during MRI imaging, then patient stability is improved, but imaging of weight-bearing symptoms and injuries is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patient support surface is designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing it to be adjusted from a horizontal position to various angled positions up to vertical. This enables the same apparatus to provide stable horizontal imaging when needed while also supporting upright weight-bearing imaging positions, thus resolving the contradiction between stability and positional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging apparatus is designed as a universal system that can accommodate multiple imaging positions and patient configurations. The adjustable support surface and modular fixtures allow the same equipment to perform both horizontal stable imaging and upright weight-bearing imaging, eliminating the need for separate specialized equipment.
3Device complexity
If the patient support is fixed in a horizontal orientation, then device simplicity is maintained, but patient comfort and anxiety reduction in upright positions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The support system incorporates adjustable positioning mechanisms that allow the patient support surface to be tilted to various angles. This dynamic capability enables the system to provide upright positioning for patient comfort and anxiety reduction while maintaining relatively simple mechanical structures through the use of adjustable rather than permanently complex configurations.
Data Source
AI summary
Fixtures for immobilizing a patient during magnetic resonance imaging.