Surgical positioning system
AssigneeAllen Medical Systems, Inc.
InventorEugene Lloyd Hiebert
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surgical positioning system includes a flexible air-impermeable shell filled with beads that is wrapped against the patient and subjected to a vacuum to hold the patient in place. The shell includes rounded shoulder portions, on either side of a separately inflatable pillow, to envelop portions of the patient's neck and shoulders, tapered waist portion to provide easy access to a patient's forearms and lower lateral abdomen, and expanded wrist hand portion to cradle the patient's hands and thighs.
Claims15
A surgical positioning device for positioning the body of a patient, the device comprising:
- a flexible, air-impermeable shell having a top wall and bottom wall jointed at an outer periphery, the outer periphery having an upper edge, lower edge and opposing lateral edges extending between the upper and lower edges;
- a plurality of beads positioned within the shell;
- the shell having opposed shoulder portion adjacent to the lateral edges and the upper edge, the shoulder portions having dimensions sufficient to be wrapped over and at least partially engage a patient's shoulders, the upper edge adjacent each shoulder portion being at least partially arcuate;
- the shell having opposed, laterally projecting, lower protuberances along the lateral edges proximate to the lower edge, and opposed waist portions located between the lower protuberances and shoulder portions, the waist portions together defining a transverse width between the lateral edges that is less than a transverse width between the lateral edges at the shoulder portions and less than a transverse width between the lateral edges at the lower protuberances.
A surgical positioning device for positioning a body of a patient, the device comprising:
- a flexible, air-impermeable shell having a top wall and bottom wall joined at an outer periphery, the outer periphery having an upper edge, lower edge and opposing lateral edges extending between the upper and lower edges;
- a plurality of beads positioned within the shell;
- the shell having a lower wrist engaging portion, an upper shoulder and arm engaging portions, and a waist portion therebetween;
- the waist portion having a variable waist width including a minimum waist width, the lower wrist engaging portion including opposed protuberances proximate to the lower edge and having a wrist engaging portion width greater than the minimum waist width and extending lengthwise beyond where a patient's shoulders would be positioned;
- whereby when a patient is positioned on the device with the patient's arms against the patient's torso, the upper shoulder and arm engaging portion can be wrapped upwardly against and over the patient's upper arms and over the top of the patient's shoulders, and the wrist engaging portion can be wrapped up against and over the patient's wrists or hands, with the patient's forearms in the area of the waist portion being uncovered and accessible to medical personnel.
A method of positioning the body of a patient in a selected position with a surgical positioning device, the method comprising:
- positioning a flexible, air-impermeable, and bead-filled shell between a patient and a support, wherein the shell has an upper edge and a lower edge and opposing first and second lateral edges extending between the upper edge and the lower edge, wherein the shell further defines first and second shoulder support regions positioned along the upper edge, a recessed perineal access region along the lower edge, and first and second recessed waist portions along the lateral edges;
- causing the first and the second shoulder support regions to be positioned at least partially around the patient's shoulders;
- and
- evacuating air from within the shell such that the first and the second shoulder support regions engage each of the patient's respective shoulders.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.