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EP-4115947-B1 - MEDICAL FIXING TOOL

EP4115947B1EP 4115947 B1EP4115947 B1EP 4115947B1EP-4115947-B1

Inventors

  • KIMURA, SHUJI
  • OGURA, Shinichiro
  • MIYAWAKI, DAISUKE
  • MUKUMOTO, Naritoshi
  • SASAKI, RYOHEI
  • MIYAZAKI, SATORU

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210304

Claims (6)

  1. A medical immobilization device (10) for immobilizing a specific site (1) of a body of a patient (1A) with the patient (1A) lying on his or her back, the medical immobilization device (10) comprising a block (3) made of a material that allows radiation to pass through, the block (3) comprising a holder portion (2, 2a - 2c, 20b - 20i) in which a region including a lower surface and both sides continuous with the lower surface of the specific site (1) tightly fits, the block (3) having all or a part of an upper side thereof open, wherein the block (3) comprises a plurality of parts (3A, 3B, 30A - 30G) that are connected to each other, the block (3) comprises a head immobilization part (30A) for immobilizing a head, a shoulder immobilization part (30C) for immobilizing shoulders, and characterized in that it further comprises at least either a jaw immobilization part (30B) for immobilizing a jaw or a forehead immobilization part (30G) for immobilizing a forehead, or both, the head immobilization part (30A), the shoulder immobilization part (30C), and at least either the jaw immobilization part (30B) for immobilizing a jaw or the forehead immobilization part (30G) for immobilizing a forehead, or both are connected to each other, the head immobilization part (30A) comprises at least a right-side head immobilization part (3A) for immobilizing a right-side of the head and a left-side head immobilization part (3B) for immobilizing a left-side of the head, and at least either the jaw immobilization part (30B) or the forehead immobilization part (30G), or both are connected at each end to the right-side head immobilization part (3A) and the left-side head immobilization part (3B) across an upper open portion between the right-side head immobilization part (3A) and the left-side head immobilization part (3B).
  2. The medical immobilization device (10) according to claim 1, wherein an upper edge (2d) of a portion of the holder portion (2, 2a - 2c, 20b - 20i) that comes into contact with the sides of the specific site (1) is located above the center of the specific site (1) in an up-and-down direction.
  3. The medical immobilization device (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the region from the lower surface to both sides of the specific site (1) fits in the holder portion (20b - 20i) with the entire surface of the region being tightly in contact.
  4. The medical immobilization device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holder portion (20b - 20i) comprises a ventilation portion (5) with which the specific site (1) does not come into contact, and the region from the lower surface to both sides of the specific site (1) tightly fits in the holder portion (20b - 20i) excluding the ventilation portion (5).
  5. The medical immobilization device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the block (3) comprises the head immobilization part (30A), the shoulder immobilization part (30C), and the jaw immobilization part (30B), the head immobilization part (30A), the shoulder immobilization part (30C), and the jaw immobilization part (30B) being connected to each other, the head immobilization part (30A) comprises a right temporal region immobilization part (30D) for immobilizing a right temporal region, a left temporal region immobilization part (30D) for immobilizing a left temporal region, and an occipital region immobilization part (30F) for immobilizing an occipital region, the occipital region immobilization part (30F) and the shoulder immobilization part (30C) are connected in a longitudinal direction, the left temporal region immobilization part (30D) and the right temporal region immobilization part (30D) are respectively connected to a left side and a right side of the occipital region immobilization part (30F), and the jaw immobilization part (30B) is connected at each end to the left temporal region immobilization part (30E) and the right temporal region immobilization part (30D) across an upper open portion between the left temporal region immobilization part (30E) and the right temporal region immobilization part (30D).
  6. The medical immobilization device (10) according to claim 1, wherein the block (3) comprises the head immobilization part (30A), the shoulder immobilization part (30C), the jaw immobilization part (30B), and the forehead immobilization part (30G), the head immobilization part (30A), the shoulder immobilization part (30C), the jaw immobilization part (30B), and the forehead immobilization part (30G) being connected to each other, the head immobilization part (30A) and the shoulder immobilization part (30C) are connected in a longitudinal direction, and the jaw immobilization part and the forehead immobilization part (30G) are connected at each end to the left-side head immobilization part (3B) and the right head immobilization part (30A) across the upper open portion between the right-side head immobilization part (3A) and the left-side head immobilization part (3B).

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a medical immobilization device suitable for immobilizing a patient or subject (collectively referred to as a "patient" below) when performing, for example, radiotherapy or diagnostic imaging such as MRI. In this specification, the term "up and down" for a patient lying on their back has a different meaning from up and down for a standing patient. The term "up and down" used here means that the side facing the patient's abdomen is "up" and the side facing the patient's back is "down." Background Art IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) is one of the radiotherapies for cancer. IMRT divides the radiation applied to a patient from multiple directions into small beams and appropriately changes the irradiation shape of each beam to increase the irradiation dose to the tumor area, thereby improving the tumor control rate. IMRT also divides the irradiation time into several days (repeated irradiation) to minimize exposure to normal tissue and reduce complications. IMRT uses a computer-controlled device that can adjust the spot of radiation irradiation with high precision. However, the treatment effect may be impaired or the risk of complications may be heightened, for example, if the patient under irradiation moves and the irradiation position shifts, or if the position of the patient under re-irradiation shifts. Thus, the patient under irradiation must be firmly immobilized. Conventionally, a patient under irradiation is immobilized by using a top fixture and a bottom fixture that sandwich the patient lying on their back from the upper and lower directions. As shown in PTL 1, the top fixture is shaped by covering a patient lying on their back with a perforated resin mask that is softened beforehand by heating, by pressing it from above, and cooling to solidify it for conformity to the shape of the patient. For the bottom fixture, as shown in PTL 2, a suction mat is often used in the following manner. A patient is laid on their back on an airtight mat that contains beads and that is fixed to a treatment table, and air in the mat is removed to allow the mat to conform to the shape of the patient. To immobilize a patient, the two fixtures are connected so that the patient's body is tightly sandwiched from above and below. Additionally, as shown in PTL 3, a fixture that does not use the above resin mask and suction mat is also proposed, which is produced by embedding a patient in frothed polyurethane foam before it softens. Citation List Patent Literature PTL 1: Patent No. 6563737PTL 2: Patent No. 6619609PTL 3: JPH03-74592A US 2005/0284490 A1 discloses a method and device for immobilization and registration. The device comprises a cantilevered support shell, a pod liner, a foam insert, a face mask and a facemask-to-shell attachment system. Another device for immobilization is known from US5782244A. Technical Problem Although a certain degree of reproducibility of the shape can be achieved when a patient lying on their back is immobilized from the upper side by using the method disclosed in PTL 1, the patient must bear a great mental and physical burden during production and treatment by the method. Immobilizing the body from the lower side as disclosed in PTL 2 is more likely to reduce such burdens. However, the method using a suction mat is unsatisfactory in immobilization performance due to its difficulty in reproducing the shape of the patient because of the complexity of the shape formation procedure coupled with the mat material. As noted above, conventional immobilization methods impose a great burden on the patient because the patient is immobilized mainly by being covered from above with a top fixture that reproduces the shape of the patient. Conventional immobilization methods also have a decreased overall immobilization precision due to the lack of shape reproducibility precision by the bottom fixture. Additionally, in the series of the fixtures proposed by PTL 3, the following problems arise: the fixtures impose a great burden on the patient because it is necessary to restrain the movement of the patient until the foam solidifies; production of the fixtures is very complicated and places a heavy burden on the person who produces them; and the strength of the completed foam fixture is weak (brittle), and breaks during a series of treatments. Summary of the Invention An object of the invention is to provide a medical immobilization device that is capable of firmly and precisely immobilizing a patient and is easy to use. Solution to Problem The above object is accomplished by the features of claim 1. A medical immobilization device has the features of claim 1. It is configured to immobilize a specific site of a patient with the patient lying on their back. The medical immobilization device comprises a block made of a material that allows radiation to pass through. The block comprises a holder portion in which at least a region from the lower surface to