Abstract: A customized positioning fixture is fabricated specifically for a patient the purpose of positioning a portion, or all, of the patient's body relative to a medical apparatus. The customized positioning fixture is fabricated such that the relative position of the patent to the medical apparatus is predetermined before a procedure is performed on the patient using the apparatus. The positioning fixture is fabricated using a computer-aided or an automated computer-controlled process according to data determined for that patient, for example, using a rapid prototyping and tooling (RPT) technique. In some embodiments, the positioning fixture is designed to be repeatedly removed and reattached to the patient, thereby allowing the patient to be repeatedly precisely re-positioned in the medical device is separated sessions.
Type:
Application
Filed:
October 1, 2002
Publication date:
June 26, 2003
Applicant:
Neutar, LLC, a Maine corporation
Inventors:
Ronald J. Franklin, Joel I. Franck, Frederick C. Haer