Rotating Patient Support for Stroke Imaging and Intervention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current stroke management methods are hindered by time delays between diagnosis and therapy due to the need to transport patients from imaging equipment to an operating room, which can worsen brain damage by delaying blood vessel clearance or pressure reduction.
Innovation Solution
A medical method utilizing a mobile tomographic imaging system where the patient support unit is positioned relative to the imaging system, allowing for imaging and potential rotation to facilitate medical interventions without moving the patient, enabling immediate diagnosis and treatment within the same setup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the patient is transported from the tomograph to an operating room for therapy, then the medical intervention can be conducted, but time is lost during patient transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the diagnostic imaging function (tomograph) and therapeutic intervention capability (operating room) into a single integrated system. The patient support unit serves both imaging and surgical functions, eliminating the need to transfer the patient between separate facilities. This merging of functions directly resolves the time loss contradiction by allowing immediate therapy initiation at the diagnosis location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patient support unit is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as an imaging platform for tomography and as a surgical platform for medical interventions. This universal design allows the same device to perform multiple functions (diagnosis and therapy), thereby eliminating the time-consuming patient transfer process while maintaining both diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic capability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the patient support unit is fixed to the tomograph, then imaging stability is maintained, but patient mobility and access for intervention are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the fixed patient support unit into a dynamic, rotatable structure that can change its orientation relative to the tomograph. The support unit can rotate between an imaging position (where it is aligned with the tomograph for stable imaging) and an intervention position (where it is rotated to provide access for surgical procedures). This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to adapt its configuration based on the operational requirement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces rotational movement as an additional degree of freedom, allowing the patient support unit to move from a fixed linear position to a rotatable position. This dimensional change enables the support unit to access different spatial configurations - maintaining stability during imaging by aligning with the tomograph axis, and providing intervention access by rotating to a perpendicular or angled position, thus resolving the access restriction contradiction.
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
This approach reduces the time gap between diagnosis and therapy, allowing for quicker intervention and potentially minimizing brain damage by enabling immediate medical procedures without the need for patient transport, thus improving stroke management efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
If the imaging system is an x-ray-based computed tomography scanner, the imaging therefore encompasses generating a computed tomography image
Implementation Method 2
If the tomographic imaging apparatus is a magnetic resonance tomograph, the imaging therefore encompasses generating a magnetic resonance tomography image
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a medical method of managing a cerebrovascular insult, the method comprising the following steps in this order:a) placing a patient on a patient support unit;b) positioning a mobile tomographic imaging system in a predetermined position relative to the patient support unit with the patient placed on the patient support unit;c) imaging at least part of the patient's brain using an imaging unit of the tomographic imaging system, the imaging comprising in particular generating an image describing the functioning of the patient's blood vessel system;d) determining, in dependence on the result of the imaging,whether the patient support unit should be rotated relative to the tomographic imaging system with the patient placed on the patient support unit so that the patient is free of the imaging unit in order to conduct a medical intervention on the patient's blood vessel system, orwhether the patient support unit may remain in its position relative to the tomographic imaging system with the patient placed on the patient support unit.