The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 22, 2004
Filed:
Aug. 13, 2001
Ed San Mateo, Pittsburg, CA (US);
Rolando R. Tayag, Benicia, CA (US);
Salah Captain, Moraga, CA (US);
William Gibb, San Anselmo, CA (US);
John H. Hughes, Martinez, CA (US);
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Malvern, PA (US);
Abstract
A beamblock tray for use with multiple defining heads within a medical linear accelerator is disclosed. The beamblock tray comprises a tray portion, and a plurality of coded connectors coupled to the tray portion that make the tray “intelligent” enough to identify its orientation to a user. The tray portion can be inserted into the defining head in a plurality of directions based upon the plurality of coded connectors. A system and method in accordance with the present invention utilizes a plurality of coded connectors that can be used to identify a patient. In addition, the connectors and a mounting flange are such that they permit the tray to be inserted in a plurality of directions. Finally, a coding system is provided that prevents radiation from being delivered if the tray is oriented incorrectly. A dual axis beamblock tray in accordance with the present invention circumvents this problem by a counting for the two possible orientations of beamblock tray holders, thereby permitting the radiation therapist to use a single tray with a variety of linear accelerators.