Patent Application
20240350091
The invention relates to the field of mattresses, and in particular to mattresses for supporting patients under examination, especially in a magnetic resonance (MR) apparatus.
For MR examination, persons under examination are usually positioned on an examination table.
During a respective MR scan, there are usually many cables on the examination table such as coil cables, interface cables, headset cables and nurse call cables. On many coil and interface cables, there is an additional thermal part called balun which becomes hot during the MR scan. Managing the cables, especially those with balun, on such an examination table of a MR system is difficult and annoying, especially for the following problems. Due to the lack of proper cable management method, the coil cables with balun have to be placed on the body of the person who is under examination. This leads to a risk of balun burning of the person. To mitigate the risk of burning, typically, an additional spacer is required to be placed between the balun and the person. Further, the coil setup gets even more complicated when more coils are necessary for examination. In addition, there is a risk that the cables and baluns fall off from the examination table. Furthermore, the person's comfort is highly restricted due to the many items, including baluns, cables, and the spacer, which are arranged on the person's body.
From US 2013/176029 A1 a bed apparatus for a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus is known which includes a table, a table driving mechanism, a bed supporting part, and a cable guide. The table provides a connection port for a reception coil of magnetic resonance signals. The table driving mechanism is configured to shift the table. The bed supporting part is configured to support the table. The cable guide is configured to protect a signal cable between the table and the bed supporting part and to bend a portion of the signal cable along with a move of the table. The signal cable is connected to the connection port. The portion of the signal cable corresponds to a position of the table.
It is an object of the invention to provide a possibility for efficient cable management which also promotes the comfort of the patient.
According to the invention, this object is addressed by the subject matter of the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.
Therefore, according to the invention, an arrangement with a mattress for an examination table of a magnetic resonance apparatus and a cable duct which is arranged along a side of the mattress is provided, wherein
In this way, an efficient cable management is provided which avoids annoying cables and baluns which could bother or even burn the patient.
In general, the cable duct could be arranged on any side of the mattress. The side of the mattress where the cable duct is arranged may be one of the two long sides of the mattress. Usually, this is the side from which a medical doctor or a nurse would prepare the patient for examination.
According to an embodiment of the invention, at least in a region of the outer wall which is adjacent to the longitudinal slit, the outer wall is made from a flexible material such that the outer wall is deformable for achieving an access opening via which a cable may be inserted into and/or a cable may be removed from the cable reception volume. In this way, the slit may be opened up sufficiently in order to insert or remove cables and baluns of different types and sizes. In this respect, according to an embodiment of the invention, in a natural state in which no access opening is formed by deforming the flexible material of the outer wall by an external force, the two slit-confining outer wall areas between which the longitudinal slit is formed are in contact with each other such that the cable reception volume is completely surrounded by the outer wall. This has the advantage that a cable or balun which has been inserted into the cable reception volume of the cable duct cannot be accessed and touched accidentally from outside of the cable duct. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, in a natural state in which no access opening is formed by deforming the flexible material of the outer wall by an external force, the two slit-confining outer wall areas between which the longitudinal slit is formed are at a distance from each other such that the longitudinal slit forms a permanent longitudinal opening. According to this alternative, the cable duct may be arranged relative to the mattress in such a way that in the natural state the longitudinal opening of the outer wall faces a side portion of the mattress on a side of the mattress such that the cable reception volume is closed by the outer wall and the side portion of the mattress which is faced by the permanent longitudinal opening, and in a deformed state in which the access opening is formed by deforming the flexible material of the outer wall the cable reception volume is accessible via the access opening between of the outer wall and the side portion of the mattress which is faced by the longitudinal opening. In this way, a cable or balun which has been inserted into the cable reception volume of the cable duct cannot be accessed and touched accidentally from outside of the cable duct, either, since the cable reception volume is completely confined by the outer walls and the side of the mattress.
The invention allows for many different ways of combining the cable duct and the mattress. According to an embodiment of the invention, the cable duct is formed by a mattress accessory which comprises a middle section and a side section, wherein the middle section is arranged below the mattress and the side section protrudes over a side edge on a side of the mattress and forms the cable duct. While in this way, a cable duct could also be provided on just one side of the mattress, it is easy to provide a cable duct on two opposite sides of the mattress. Further, the mattress accessory with the cable duct(s) is held in place by the weight of the mattress and also by the weight of the patient in case of an examination situation. In this respect, according to an embodiment of the invention, the mattress accessory comprises two side sections which are arranged on opposite sides of the middle part and which protrude over the side edges on the long sides of the mattress and form a respective cable duct on both long sides of the mattress.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the cable duct is formed by a mattress accessory which comprises a side section and a fastening section wherein the mattress accessory is attached to the mattress via the fastening section such that the side section protrudes over a side edge on a side of the mattress and forms the cable duct. The mattress accessory may be attached to the mattress by hook-and-loop fastener or push buttons. Two such mattress accessories may be arranged on both long sides of the mattress, respectively.
Further, it is another option of the invention, that the mattress and the cable duct together form an integral part. In this respect, a second cable duct may be arranged on the other longs side of the mattress and is also integral with the mattress.
In general, the shape of the outer wall of the cable duct may follow different designs. However, according to an embodiment of the invention, the outer wall of the cable duct which surrounds the cable reception volume is C-shaped in a cross section which is perpendicular to the long side direction of the mattress. Further, the outer wall of the cable duct may be made from a foam material, e.g. from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam which is wrapped with a PU (polyurethane) layer on the outside. As for conventional mattresses, also the mattress according to the present invention may be made from a foam material. The foam material of the cable duct may be more flexible than the foam material of the mattress. Further, according to an embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal slit of the outer wall extends along the complete length of the cable duct. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the invention, the outer wall of the cable duct and/or the mattress is/are pierced, e.g. for getting access to alignment grooves for some dedicated coils of a patient table on which the mattress with the cable duct is used, in case the alignment grooves are covered by the cable duct.
The invention also relates to an examination table for supporting a person under examination in a magnetic resonance apparatus with an arrangement as described above. The examination table may comprise a handle for manipulating the examination table, wherein the handle comprises a gripping area for gripping the handle with a human hand, and wherein the gripping area comprises a bore for the reception of a cable. This helps further avoiding that such a cable annoys the patient or a nurse or medical doctor which prepares the patient for examination.
The invention also relates to a magnetic resonance system with an examination table as described above.
Further, the invention relates to a cable management assembly for a magnetic resonance apparatus, comprising a mattress accessory including a side section and a fastening section, wherein
According to an embodiment of the invention, the mattress accessory comprises a middle section next to the side section, wherein the middle section is configured for being arranged below the mattress and the side section is configured for protruding over a side edge on a side of the mattress and forms the cable duct. According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the mattress accessory is configured for being attached to the mattress via the fastening section such that the side section which forms the cable duct protrudes over a side edge on a side of the mattress.
Finally, the invention also relates to a method of use of a cable duct for a mattress of a magnetic resonance apparatus, wherein
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. Such an embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims and herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
In the drawings:
Reverting back to
In a region of the outer wall 4 which is adjacent to the longitudinal slit 7 the outer wall 4 is made from a flexible material such that the outer wall 4 is deformable for achieving an access opening via which a cable may be inserted into and/or a cable may be removed from the cable reception volume 5. According to the embodiment shown in
As depicted in
As mentioned above and as also depicted in
As can be seen from
As already mentioned above,
Finally,
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope. Further, for the sake of clearness, not all elements in the drawings may have been supplied with reference signs.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/113712 | Aug 2021 | WO | international |
| 21198791.2 | Sep 2021 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/071211 | 7/28/2022 | WO |
