A cranial alignment device for use in intracranial stereotactic radiotherapy includes a nosepiece that is custom shaped to mate with the dorsum and alae of the patient's nose.

A system and method are disclosed for a patient positioning device for beam radiation therapy and radiological imaging. The system includes a base and a patient support surface coupled to the base, and the patient support surface includes a lower patient support hingedly coupled to the base and an upper support hingedly coupled to the lower patient support. The system also includes a substantially flat hinge that forms a continuous upper surface with an upper support surface of the lower patient support and the lower patient support.

The presently described method is directed to determining a way of positioning a patient before execution of a medical procedure involving irradiating the patient with ionizing treatment radiation based on comparing medical images of the patient with a pre-acquired medical image. The planning computed tomography is searched for an image of the reference structure in order to determine the position of the patient relative to a patient support device. A retroreflective marker device, having a known and advantageously fixed position relative to the base plate, is detected by a navigation system operatively coupled to a motor of the support device. Based on the detected position of the marker device, the motor of the support device is activated to drive the patient into a desired position relative to beam direction along which the treatment radiation is to be issued towards the patient to execute the medical procedure.

An apparatus for providing at least one treatment to at least one tissue having a first structural arrangement configured to expand a first portion at a distal end of the apparatus, a second structural arrangement configured to expand a second portion at the distal end and at least one lumen associated with at least one of the first structural arrangement and/or the second structural arrangement. The first structural arrangement and/or the second structural arrangement can be configured to position the at least one lumen at a particular position with respect to the tissue. A tip is configured to aid in the insertion of the apparatus into the tissue(s).

Provided herein are methods and apparatuses for performing precise medical procedures. Provided are methods of providing unitary positioning interfaces for stereotactic devices or medical devices. The methods include implanting emitters in a patient, scanning the patient using any suitable scanning technique, determining orientation and location data of the emitters and any suitable anatomic structures, generating a digital image, and fabricating a solid physical model from the digital image. Also provided herein are methods of verifying medical treatments and systems for performing medical procedures.

The present disclosure provides a positioning assembly for a radiation irradiation system. The positioning assembly includes a shielding body made of polymer and radiation shielding material capable of shielding the radiation and a sealing bag for accommodating the shielding body, when the target to be irradiated is placed on the positioning assembly, the positioning assembly is recessed with a shape of the target at the position where the target is placed and forms a contour corresponding to the target to position the target to be irradiated.

A respiratory gating system is disclosed that varies the orientation of a radiation emitting device according to a patient's natural breathing. A breathing respirator is provided that allows the patient's respiration amount to be measured. External markers are adhered to triangulation points around a radiation target region, such as a heart, of the patient. An image diagnosis device images the target region. A computed tomography device reveals movements of the target region caused by the respiration. Triangulations and polynomial approximations are used to estimate the trajectory of the target region in real time. Position coordinates derived from the estimated trajectory are transmitted to the radiation emitting device. The system increases the accuracy and stability of the entire radiation therapy result.

An extravascular access system includes a tubular stent configured to be deployed in a blood vessel, the stent having a sidewall and a proximal end opening and an internal scaffolding comprising one or more structural members, and an elongate access catheter having a distal end portion configured to access the blood vessel wherein when the stent is deployed in the blood vessel, and the distal end portion of the catheter is inserted into the proximal end opening of the stent, the one or more internal structural members of the stent deflect the distal end portion of the catheter towards a wall of the blood vessel.

A method for forming a preform for a thermoplastic retention device is provided. The method includes providing a thermoplastic base material and blending the base material with one or more chemical agents to form a polymer blend. The chemical agents are configured to modify a polymer chain of the base material when the polymer blend is exposed to radiation. The method further includes forming the polymer blend into a filament sized for a three-dimensional printing platform and printing a preform shape from the filament using the three-dimensional printing platform. After the printed preform is hardened, the method includes exposing the printed preform shape to radiation sufficient to cause a reaction between the one or more chemical agents and the base material.

A device is disclosed to assist in making a customized intraoral positioning device IPD to be positioned within a mouth of a patient in accordance with a prescribed radiation therapy treatment plan for a head and/or neck of the patient, the prescribed radiation therapy treatment plan including an incisor separation and/or tongue position of the patient, the device comprising: a base unit configured to be positioned between upper and lower arches in the patient's mouth, wherein the base unit includes an arch section for incisor separation in a deployed configuration in the patient's mouth and first and second arms that extending from the arch unit; a handle extending from the base unit to enable a user to grasp the device so that the user may introduce and remove the device from the patient's mouth; and one or more bite blocks configured on the arch section of the base unit so as to increase the height of the arch section in accordance with the incisor separation of the prescribed radiation therapy treatment plan, to thereby enable a user to obtain records of the position for dental and oral structure within the patient's mouth including a relationship between the upper and lower arches at the prescribed incisor separation.