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Easy-c : development and verification of a retrofittable power-assisted base for a surgical c-arm

University of British Columbia

C-Arms, a mobile X-ray machine with emitter and detector on opposite ends of a ‘C’, are used in many surgeries conducted within hospitals, especially in orthopaedic applications such as trauma repairs. The C-Arm, a 350kg unit, must be manually moved between storage, operating rooms, and various positions around the operating table, often requiring considerable physical exertion from the radiology technologists (RTs), putting them at high risk of musculoskeletal injury (MSIs). A powered robotic base was developed to alleviate this high risk of injury as well as the potential to allow for more precise movement and lowering of radiation dosage. This base, named the Easy-C, is retrofittable underneath existing C-Arms so that they retain their certifications while allowing “easy” movement by the RTs. The Easy-C was designed with a rear set of wheels on a main structure and a nose wheel driven separately. Omni wheels were utilized to give holonomic motion; the Easy-C platform can move freely in the X-Y plane of the floor, unlike a shopping cart or other standard wheeled vehicle. This Easy-C system was verified on a C-Arm through open loop movement along the three major axes available: X, Y, and in-plane rotation ω, all which replicate clinically relevant movements. Low relative error was seen in X and Y movements with both only at 1.7% relative error on the main movement axis, and 7.7% or less in the off axes. In-plane rotation had a larger relative error of 6.2%, with 7.1% or less in the off axes. For open loop control, the Easy-C performed as expected across these movements, allowing for minimal effort from the operator to move the C-Arm and greatly reducing the MSI risk. While several limitations were realized, with future development the Easy-C could provide a new and effective tool to the healthcare industry.

Text

2020-01-03

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/73095

Biomedical Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/