Pediatric CT Support Cradle With CFRP Sidewalls for Precise Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Precise alignment and safety concerns in pediatric CT scans, particularly regarding patient positioning and protection from scattered radiation, are challenges in computed tomography (CT) scanners.
Innovation Solution
A storage structure with carbon fiber reinforced plastic side walls and a back wall, designed for pediatric CT examinations, featuring a depression and handles for easy transport, and a hook-and-loop connection system, which ensures stability and easy alignment of the patient relative to the gantry, while minimizing material thickness and preventing contamination spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the support structure uses thicker material to ensure structural integrity and stability, then strength and rigidity are improved, but weight and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure uses carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) as a composite material. This allows achieving high strength and rigidity with thin walls (3-6 mm thickness) while keeping the overall weight low. The CFRP combines the strength of carbon fibers with the structural properties of plastic, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
2Weight of moving object
If the side walls are made thinner to reduce weight and material usage, then weight and material consumption are reduced, but structural stability and bending resistance worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Carbon fiber reinforced plastic provides high strength-to-weight ratio, enabling thin walls (3-6 mm) to maintain sufficient bending resistance while minimizing weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The side walls are designed with vertical extension (rising from the support surface) to increase the area moment of inertia about transverse axes. This dimensional approach counteracts bending without increasing material thickness, resolving the contradiction between thin walls and bending resistance.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the support structure is designed with enclosed contours and sealed surfaces, then protection from contamination and cleanability are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure uses a shell-like design where the support surface and side walls form an enclosed contour. This sealed structure prevents contamination from reaching internal components while maintaining ease of cleaning by providing smooth, continuous surfaces without hard-to-reach corners or joints.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a storage structure for storing an object of examination in a pediatric computed tomography examination, - wherein the storage structure has a support surface for the object of examination, a first side wall and a second side wall, - wherein the support surface, the first side wall and the second side wall each extend planarly along a longitudinal axis of the storage structure, - wherein the first side wall and the second side wall project relative to the support surface in such a way that the object of examination can be placed on the support surface between the first side wall and the second side wall.