Sterile C-arm Cover With Segmented Enclosure For Patient Access
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing C-arm covers for medical imaging equipment expand along the medical table when the C-arm is inserted, preventing medical professionals from accessing patients during procedures, while failing to maintain sterility.
Innovation Solution
A sterile X-ray imaging C-arm cover with an enclosure that secures to the medical table, featuring widening sidewalls and a front wall wider than the C-arm, allowing access and incorporating securing mechanisms like clamps, hook and loop fasteners, adhesive strips, or snap fasteners to accommodate the C-arm's rotation and maintain sterility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the C-arm cover is secured along the length of the medical table to maintain sterility, then the sterility of the C-arm is maintained, but the medical professionals cannot adequately access the patient
Solution Approach 1:
The C-arm cover is divided into multiple segments: a first portion that expands when the C-arm is inserted, a second portion that remains collapsed, and a third portion that provides access. This segmentation allows different sections to serve different functions - maintaining sterility where needed while providing access where required.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the C-arm cover have different properties. The first portion is configured to expand for sterility maintenance, the second portion remains collapsed for minimal interference, and the third portion provides access. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by applying sterility maintenance only where necessary while preserving access elsewhere.
2Reliability
If the C-arm cover expands at all points along the side of the medical table to cover the C-arm, then the sterility is maintained, but the medical professionals are prevented from accessing the patient
Solution Approach 1:
The C-arm cover applies the expansion action only partially - specifically to the first portion that contacts the C-arm - rather than expanding at all points along the medical table. This partial action is sufficient to maintain sterility where needed while avoiding the harmful effect of blocking access.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is segmented into functional zones: an expanded first portion for sterility, a collapsed second portion for minimal interference, and a third portion for access. This segmentation allows the cover to provide sterility coverage only where the C-arm is present while leaving other areas open for professional access.
3Reliability
If the C-arm cover is designed to rotate around the medical table to follow the C-arm movement, then the sterility is maintained during rotation, but the cover structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The C-arm cover is designed to be rotatable around the medical table, allowing it to dynamically follow the movement of the C-arm. This dynamic capability maintains sterility throughout the rotation process while the segmented design keeps the overall structure manageable through modular simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A sterile X-ray imaging C-arm cover is provided. The sterile X-ray imaging C-arm cover includes an enclosure configured to be secured to a medical table and to cover a portion of a C-arm, two sidewalls extending from a rotation end to a bottom end. The enclosure may include a front wall extending between the two sidewalls, enabling a medical professional to move around the enclosure to access a patient on the medical table. The enclosure may include a bottom wall coupled to the front wall and the two sidewalls, wherein the two sidewalls, the front wall, and the bottom wall form an envelope configured to receive the portion of the C-arm. The sterile X-ray imaging C-arm cover may include one or more securing mechanisms configured to secure the C-arm cover to the medical table, wherein the one or more securing mechanisms are positioned at the rotation end of the enclosure.