Diagnostic imaging tabletop
First Claim
1. A tabletop for 3-dimensional imaging and positional mapping of a body part to be subsequently treated by radiation therapy comprising:
- (a) a patient support having a flat upper patient support surface, a width less than the width of an aperture in an imaging device through which the tabletop must travel for imaging of a body part, and a length sufficient to support a patient thereon; and
(b) a section of said support surface which comprises a flexible support panel for the body part to be imaged;
(c) said flexible support panel comprising a radiolucent flexible fabric or mesh material, said material being tensioned to provide a predetermined amount of vertical deflection when a patient is positioned thereon, wherein the amount of said vertical deflection is substantially the same as the amount of vertical deflection under like conditions of a flexible patient support panel of a treatment simulator or linear accelerator table.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tabletop useful for accurate positioning of a patient for imaging and diagnosis, so that patient positioning in subsequent medical treatments, such as radiation therapy, accurately and precisely correlates with the imaging data. The tabletop of the present invention is a solid flat tabletop adapted to fit over or as an insert in a conventional CT imaging or scan table and provides a flexible support section in which the flexible support material is tensioned to provide a vertical deflection corresponding to the vertical deflection of a flexible patient support of a treatment simulator or linear accelerator. In a preferred embodiment, the flexible support section may be removed and inserted into the treatment table to provide an exact correlation in vertical deflection during treatment.
32 Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A tabletop for 3-dimensional imaging and positional mapping of a body part to be subsequently treated by radiation therapy comprising:
-
(a) a patient support having a flat upper patient support surface, a width less than the width of an aperture in an imaging device through which the tabletop must travel for imaging of a body part, and a length sufficient to support a patient thereon; and
(b) a section of said support surface which comprises a flexible support panel for the body part to be imaged;
(c) said flexible support panel comprising a radiolucent flexible fabric or mesh material, said material being tensioned to provide a predetermined amount of vertical deflection when a patient is positioned thereon, wherein the amount of said vertical deflection is substantially the same as the amount of vertical deflection under like conditions of a flexible patient support panel of a treatment simulator or linear accelerator table. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. An improved system for radiation treatment of a patent in need of such treatment, including
(A) An imaging table for positioning a patient for 3-dimensional imaging of a body part and wherein said imaging table comprises a patient support having an upper patient support surface which is concave, a width less than the width of an aperture in an imaging device through which the said patient support must travel for imaging of a body part, and a length sufficient to support a patient thereon; - and
(B) A separate treatment table for positioning a patient for radiation or simulated radiation treatments, wherein said treatment table comprises a mesh section for support of a body part to be treated, said mesh section having a vertical deflection under the weight of a patient placed thereon for treatment; and
in which the improvement comprises a tabletop for said imaging table, said tabletop comprising;
(a) a patient support having a flat upper patient support surface, a lower surface adapted to rest upon conventional imaging table (A), a width less than the width of an aperture in an imaging device through which the tabletop must travel for imaging of a body part, and a length sufficient to support a patient thereon; and
(b) a section of said patient support surface which comprises a flexible support panel for the body part to be imaged, said flexible support panel comprising a radiolucent flexible fabric or mesh material, said material being tensioned to provide a predetermined amount of vertical deflection when a patient is positioned thereon, wherein the amount of said vertical deflection is substantially the same as the amount of vertical deflection under like conditions of the mesh section of the simulator or treatment table. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
- and
Specification