Claims
- 1. A positioning arm for positioning and holding a device within a desired workspace, said arm comprising:
a free-end link having a centerline and a distal end face and an adjoining end face, said adjoining end face forming a specified angle with said link centerline, said distal end face adapted to allow for the connection of said device to said distal end face, a plurality of intermediate links, each link having a centerline and two end faces, each of said end faces forming a specified angle with said link centerline, each of said intermediate links having a channel connecting said end faces, a base link having a centerline and a base end face and an adjoining end face, said adjoining end face forming a specified angle with said link centerline, said base end face adapted to allow for the interfacing of said arm with a supporting surface, a cable having two ends, said cable being passed through said channels so that one end attaches to said free-end link and one end attaches at said base link, and a locking mechanism that attaches to said cable and applies tension to said cable so as to pull adjoining end faces into contact so as to lock by frictional contact said links into a desired orientation, said locking mechanism being attached to one of said links.
- 2. A positioning arm as recited in claim 1 wherein the materials of construction for said links, cable and locking mechanism are chosen from those materials that are compatible with a medical imaging environment.
- 3. A positioning arm as recited in claim 1 wherein the materials of construction for said links, cable and locking mechanism are chosen from those materials that are compatible with a MRI environment.
- 4. A positioning arm as recited in claim 1 wherein the materials of construction for said links, cable and locking mechanism are chosen from those materials that are compatible with a X-ray environment.
- 5. A positioning arm as recited in claim 1 wherein said specified face angles are set within the range of 15-45 degrees.
- 6. A positioning arm as recited in claim 2 wherein said specified face angles are set within the range of 15-45 degrees.
- 7. A positioning arm as recited in claim 3 wherein said specified face angles are set within the range of 15-45 degrees.
- 8. A positioning arm as recited in claim 4 wherein said specified face angles are set within the range of 15-45 degrees.
- 9. A positioning arm as recited in claim 1 wherein said specified face angles are set at approximately 30 degrees.
- 10. A positioning arm as recited in claim 1 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 11. A positioning arm as recited in claim 2 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 12. A positioning arm as recited in claim 3 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 13. A positioning arm as recited in claim 4 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 14. A positioning arm as recited in claim 5 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 15. A positioning arm as recited in claim 6 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 16. A positioning arm as recited in claim 7 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 17. A positioning arm as recited in claim 8 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
- 18. A positioning arm as recited in claim 9 wherein each of said intermediate links further having an auxiliary channel which allows for cabling connections to be made between said device and power or control means located proximate said base link.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/438,953, filed Jan. 9, 2003 by Dan Stoianovici, Keenan Wyrobek, Dumitru Mazilu and Louis L. Whitcomb.
STATEMENT AS TO FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] This invention was made with Government support under Grant No. 4 R33 CA88232-02 and entitled “Multi-Imager Compatible Robot For Precise Prostate Access,” which was awarded by the National Cancer Institute. The Government may have certain rights in this invention.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60438953 |
Jan 2003 |
US |