Segmented Surgical Head Cradle for Eye Pressure-Free Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current head cradles for spinal surgery are ineffective for patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios, leading to potential blindness and suboptimal surgical outcomes due to improper head positioning and pressure on the eyes during spine manipulation.
Innovation Solution
A head cradle with a structural member and support member designed to accommodate patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios, featuring a concave profile, apertures for eye alignment, and a strip to limit lateral movement, along with spacers for stability and a removable chin support, ensuring proper head alignment and reducing eye pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the head cradle is positioned abutting the shoulder buttress to accommodate patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios, then the patient's face can be positioned within the head cradle, but the head cradle cannot move with the patient's face during spine manipulation, causing incorrect repositioning and potential blindness
Solution Approach 1:
The head cradle is divided into multiple independent components: a head cradle portion, a chin support portion, and a shoulder buttress portion. These segments can move independently relative to each other, allowing the head cradle to maintain contact with the patient's face while the chin support and shoulder buttress can adjust independently during spine manipulation, preventing eye pressure and incorrect positioning
Solution Approach 2:
The head cradle transitions from a static, fixed-position device to a dynamic system where the head cradle portion, chin support portion, and shoulder buttress portion can move independently. This dynamic capability allows the device to adapt to patient movement during surgery while maintaining proper positioning and eye clearance
2Reliability
If adequate clearance is provided between the shoulder buttress and head cradle to allow head movement, then the head cradle can move with the patient's head during spine manipulation, but patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios cannot be properly positioned
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the head cradle into separate portions (head cradle portion, chin support portion, shoulder buttress portion) that can move independently, the system provides both adequate clearance for head movement and proper positioning capability for patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The chin support portion acts as an intermediary element between the head cradle portion and the shoulder buttress portion, allowing independent movement and adjustment that accommodates both eye protection requirements and proper head positioning for various patient anatomies
3Ease of operation
If the head cradle is positioned to support the patient's head with even pressure distribution on the face, then proper head support is achieved, but in patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios, the head cradle must abut the shoulder buttress, preventing movement and causing neck extension and eye pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The segmented design allows the head cradle portion to maintain even pressure distribution on the face while the chin support portion and shoulder buttress portion can move independently to prevent neck extension and eye pressure during spine manipulation in patients with short chin-to-shoulder ratios
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the head cradle have specialized functions: the head cradle portion provides even pressure distribution on the face, the chin support portion prevents neck extension, and the shoulder buttress portion provides stable base support. Each portion is optimized for its specific function to eliminate harmful effects
Data Source
AI summary
A head cradle for supporting a head of a patient during surgery when the patient is in a prone position. The head cradle includes a structural member with a body having a concave profile, a first end and a second end. The body has a forehead portion positioned at the first end for supporting a forehead of a patient and at least one cheek portion for supporting a cheek of the patient. The body includes an aperture defined through the structural member adjacent to the forehead portion between the first end and the second end. The structural member is sized to terminate at a position at or superior to a chin of the patient. A support member is provided to be received by the structural member and to interface with at least a portion of a face of the patient.