Refractive Surgery Chair Stabilizer for Fast, Stable Eye Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laser eye surgery systems face challenges in accurately positioning patients and inhibiting unintended motion during procedures, particularly for accommodating a wide range of patient physiologies without increasing complexity or decreasing alignment speed.
Innovation Solution
A motorized patient positioning system with a three-degree-of-freedom linkage pedestal and a structural support member that maintains stability by positioning the patient's center of gravity between support points, allowing for precise alignment and minimizing cantilever effects, while a bearing surface engages a planar surface to maintain support during movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a motorized linkage pedestal is used to position the patient support, then alignment speed and ease of operation are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a motorized linkage pedestal that dynamically adjusts the position of the patient support structure, enabling quick and easy alignment between the patient's eye and the laser beam. The motorized system allows for real-time positioning adjustments without manual intervention, directly improving alignment speed while accepting increased system complexity as a necessary trade-off for enhanced operational efficiency.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the patient's head is positioned far from the support base to accommodate various physiologies, then adaptability is improved, but stability deteriorates due to cantilever effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a counterbalancing mechanism within the linkage pedestal system that compensates for the cantilever effects generated when the patient's head is positioned away from the support base. The motorized linkage provides active stabilization by dynamically adjusting support forces to counteract gravitational and positional imbalances, enabling the system to accommodate diverse patient physiologies while maintaining head stability during laser procedures.
3Stability of the object's composition
If additional support members are added to stabilize the patient support, then patient stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple support functions into a unified linkage pedestal structure that combines positioning, stabilization, and counterbalancing capabilities. Rather than adding separate support members, the design merges these functions into the motorized linkage system itself, which provides both positioning and stability through coordinated motor control and structural design, thereby improving patient stability while minimizing increases in overall device complexity.
4Measurement precision
If the bearing surface is kept stationary while the patient support moves, then measurement precision is improved, but the range of motion is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs the motorized linkage pedestal as an intermediary mechanism between the stationary bearing surface and the movable patient support. The linkage system translates the fixed reference provided by the bearing surface into precise patient positioning, maintaining alignment accuracy while enabling full range of motion through coordinated motor adjustments. The intermediary linkage decouples the stationary reference frame from the movable patient support, allowing both precision and versatility to coexist.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods for supporting and/or stabilizing a patient can help to position a patient relative to a therapeutic laser beam, for example, inhibiting motion or deflection during a refractive procedure on the eyes, and the like. A stabilizing structural member can support a chair or other patient support near shoulders of the patient, and the member may remain stationary while the chair is driven in a horizontal plane by a linkage. Often, a nominal patient center of gravity is located between the support member and a portion of the patient support which is supported by the linkage to reduce cantilever effects. The member may be rigidly attached to a vertical motion stage which moves the chair at an angle, for example at an angle normal to the horizontal plane.