Abstract: A patient support system for irradiation therapy or treatment simulation comprises a main arm 1 on a sub-floor mounted pivot 10 about a first vertical axis 17, which supports a further arm 49 rotatable about a second vertical axis 16. At the other end of the arm 49 a vertical pillar 4, pivotable about a third vertical axis 15, supports a vertically displaceable carriage 3 on which a patient support table top 2 is directly mounted. A control system is described which enables x, y coordinate command values to control respective drives associated with the three vertical axes to position a patient quickly and accurately relative to the treatment isocenter. The system requires only a shallow well while providing a large range of vertical lift. Furthermore, no sub-table x-y carriage is required increasing patient accessability.

Abstract: Disclosed is a record carrier for storage of digital data which is provided with a first periodic track variation having a period corresponding to a frequency at which the power spectrum of the digital signals is at a zero level. The first track variation produces a corresponding modulation of the radiation when scanned by a beam so that a clock signal can be derived from the detected radiation for synchronizing readout or recording of the data. The record carrier is further provided with a second periodic track variation in a direction transverse to the track direction having a period of the same order of magnitude, and preferably equal to the period of the first periodic track modulation. The second track variation produces a corresponding modulation of the beam which is detected and is used to generate to a tracking signal, the clock signal being used as phase reference signal for demodulation of the tracking signal.