Abstract:
Embodiments of the present invention include a radial arm board for use during a cardiac procedure with an upper arm board and a lower arm board. The radial arm board includes one or more motors to control the position of the arm with a control panel. The components of the radial arm board can be moved laterally, raised, and lowered, thus allowing multiple degrees of freedom for the device. The radial arm allows comfort for the patient, accessibility of the arm to the doctor, and eliminates the need for manual manipulation of the radial arm board.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/316,821 filed on Apr. 1, 2016, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to radial arm boards, and more particularly to a robotically controlled, radial arm board for use during cardiac procedure. 
         [0003]    Coronary diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Western societies and are treated using several approaches. R is often sufficient to treat the symptoms with pharmaceuticals and lifestyle modification to lessen the underlying causes of the disease. In more severe cases, however, it may be necessary to treat the coronary disease using interventional medical procedures such as cardiac catheterization. 
         [0004]    Current radial boards are maneuvered into position manually and generally move only on a single axis. They are not comfortable for the patient and do not allow movement suitable to the normal hand. Additionally, the doctor or assistant must struggle with manually finding a position that is both comfortable for the patient and allows access to the necessary veins or arteries. Further, the board include gel pads to raise the patient&#39;s hand and tape the patient&#39;s hand for stability. This is often uncomfortable for the patient. 
         [0005]    Thus, there exists a need for a more comfortable radial board that allows for more degrees of freedom in movement, comfort for the patient, and easier control by the physician or assistant. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a radial arm board, shown in a right arm support position; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is partial exploded view of the radial arm board; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a section view of the radial arm board taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a top view of a radial arm board; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a radial arm board; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a radial arm board, shown in a left arm support position. 
         SUMMARY 
         [0012]    In one embodiment, a radial arm board for use during a cardiac procedure includes a planar upper arm board to stabilize a patient&#39;s upper arm where a proximal end of the planar upper arm board is coupled to a clip. The radial arm further includes a planar lower arm board to stabilize a patient&#39;s lower arm, wherein the planar lower arm board is coupled to a distal end of the planar upper arm board. Further included is at least one motor operable to move the planar upper arm board with respect to the clip, and the planar lower arm board with respect to the upper arm. 
           [0013]    In one embodiment, the planar upper arm board comprises an upper clip, within which the lower planar arm board is positioned. In one embodiment, the arm board further comprised at least two sprockets, the sprockets comprising interlocking teeth, and the sprockets being rotated by an interlocking shaft. 
           [0014]    In one embodiment, the planar upper arm board moves at an angle of up to 180 degrees with respect to a horizontal axis created by the clip. In one embodiment, the planar upper arm board moves in a clockwise or counterclockwise movement. 
           [0015]    In one embodiment, the planar lower arm board moves up to 45 degrees with respect to a horizontal axis created by an upper clip of the planar upper arm board. 
           [0016]    In one embodiment, the planar upper arm board is raised or lowered by controlling the motor. In one embodiment, the planar lower arm board moves in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction with respect to a horizontal axis created by an upper arm clip of the planar upper arm board. 
           [0017]    In one embodiment, the arm board includes a remote control to control the motor. The arm board can include a locking mechanism to lock the planar upper arm board and planar lower arm board in place. 
           [0018]    In one embodiment, the planar upper arm board further comprises an upper adjustable arm strap to hold the patient&#39;s arm in place. In one embodiment, the planar lower arm board further comprises a lower adjustable arm strap to hold the patient&#39;s lower arm in place. In one embodiment, the arm board includes a tray to which the clip is attached, and the tray is attached to an operating table. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows. Current radial arm boards do not provide a range of movement and can generally only be moved on one axis. Additionally, they require manually maneuvering the board without any automated control. 
         [0020]    The current invention is a robotic radial arm board that can be moved laterally (with respect to an X and Y axis) and vertically (raised and lowered along a Z axis.) Advantageously, it can be locked into place. The board offers comfort and increased mobility of the arm. Further, the position of the board includes a motor component, such that the board can be controlled without manual manipulation and via an external control panel. 
         [0021]    In the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a radial arm board includes a tray  10  that can be coupled to an operating table using a hinge or any suitable means. Alternatively, the tray  10  can simply be stored under the operating table. The tray  10  is substantially planar and includes a right pin holes  12  and a left sided pin holes  14 . The tray further includes a pin  16 . A proximal and a distal end of the pin  16  are positioned in the pin holes  12 . A proximal and distal end of a second pin  16  can be positioned in pin holes  14 . The pin  16  includes a sleeve  18  at the proximal and distal end of the pin  16 . The tray  10  also includes a pin sleeve tab  20  coupled to each pin  16 . 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, the tray  10  can fit under a pad on the operating table, and the patient lays on top of the pad. In one embodiment, the tray  10  has electric panels for a lithium battery to power the radial arm. The pin  16  acts as the motorized shaft on the side of the tray  10 . The tray  10  can therefore have two motorized shafts; pins  16  on the left and ride side of the tray  10 . 
         [0023]    The radial arm board includes a clip  22  and a clip sleeve  24 . Further included is an upper arm board  26  to hold an upper arm of a patient. The upper arm board  26  is positioned within the clip  22 . An upper arm sprocket  28  is also within the clip  22  and can engage and allow movement of the upper arm board  26 . The upper arm board  26  can include an adjustable strap  56  for holding a patient&#39;s upper arm in place. The upper arm board  26  can further include an upper arm clip  38 . The upper arm portion  26  is substantially planar. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment, the clip  22  can slide onto the pin  16 . The upper arm board  26  is attached to the clip  22 . The pin  16  can includes a push button that opens a groove within the clip sleeve  24 , within which a component of the clip  22  fits. The groove secures the clip  22 , but allows up and down movement of the clip  22 . In one embodiment, the clip sleeve  24  includes a five-piece groove chain spindle so the clip  22  will not come off a track on the pin  16 . The push button can be operated manually or with a control panel  54 . A locking mechanism is further included on the clip  22  to lock the upper arm board  26  into place, either manually or with control panel  54 . 
         [0025]    The radial arm can include a lower arm board  40 , which is substantially planar. The lower arm board  40  is in communication with the upper arm board  26 . Upper arm board  26  further includes an upper arm clip  38 , within which the lower arm board  40  is positioned. The upper arm clip  38  includes a lower arm sprocket  42 , which engages the lower arm board  40 . The lower arm board  40  can include an adjustment strap  58  to hold the patients lower arm in place. The lower arm board  40  can further include a pad  52  for additional comfort for a patient&#39;s lower arm. The pad  52  can be made of foam, fabric, or any suitable soft material. 
         [0026]    The lower arm board  40  can also include a removable control panel  54  for a controller (a physician or assistant) to maneuver or control the position of the radial board with at least one motor. It is to be understood, however, that the removable control panel  54  can be placed or used anywhere on or outside of the device. 
         [0027]      FIG. 3  shows a section view, taken along line  3 - 3  in  FIG. 1 . Two embodiments of two potential motors are shown. In one embodiment, a motor  34  holds an upper arm small sprocket  30 . The motor  34  acts as a rotating shaft to rotate the sprocket  30 . The small sprocket  30  and a large sprocket  28  comprise interlocking teeth, and thus both sprockets  30  and  28  rotate due to motor  34 . 
         [0028]    In a second embodiment of a potential motor, the motor  34  engages a pulley  36 . As the motor  34  rotates, the pulley  36  rotates. 
         [0029]    The lower arm board  40  includes a lower arm motor  48 . Like the upper arm board  26 , two embodiments of two motors are shown. A rotatable motor  48  acts to rotate a lower arm small sprocket  44 . The lower arm small sprocket  44  and the lower arm large sprocket  42  comprise interlocking teeth, and thus both sprockets  44  and  42  rotate due to motor  48 . 
         [0030]    Alternatively, motor  48  can engage a lower arm pulley  50 . As the motor  48  rotates, the pulley  50  rotates. In an alternative embodiment, optional upper arm small sprocket  32  and lower arm small sprocket  46  show that the motors can be positioned on either side of the clips  22  and  38 . 
         [0031]    In one embodiment, upper motor  34  and lower motor  48  can be controlled by the removable control panel  54 . Advantageously, manual manipulation of the radial board is not needed. 
         [0032]    The embodiment of  FIG. 4  shows a top view of the radial arm. Upper arm board  26  can rotate up to a 180-degree angle with respect to a horizontal axis created by the clip  22 . The upper arm board  26  can move in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Lower arm board  40  can rotate up to a 45 angle clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to a horizontal axis created by the clip  38 , thus allowing it about a 90-degree range of movement. Advantageously, this allows the controller to position the patient&#39;s arm to a comfortable as well as accessible position for a procedure to be completed. The components of the radial arm board may be prepared using any suitable materials. 
         [0033]    The embodiment of  FIG. 5  shows a side view of the radial board with components between clip  22 . In one embodiment, the clip  22  with upper arm board  26  of the radial arm can be raised or lowered from a 0-degree angle to about a 45 degree angle up or down with respect to a horizontal axis created by pin  16 , thus raising or lowering the entire radial arm. The upper arm  26  rotates up or down on the pin  16 , which acts as a motorized shaft. The up and down angular movement can be controlled with control panel  54  with motors coupled to the radial arm. 
         [0034]    It is to be understood that the angles that the components of the radial arm are moved laterally, or the angle at which the radial arm is raised or lowered can be adjusted to be greater or less than those described. 
         [0035]    The embodiment of  FIG. 6  shows a radial board in a left arm support position. The components are all the same as for the previously described right sided radial board. In one embodiment, the clip  22  can be released from the right sided pin  16  by the push button on the clip  22  to open the groove on clip sleeve  24 . The clip  22  can be turned and then attached the left sided pin  16  on the tray  10  for left sided use just as it was attached to the right side. The position can be controlled with the control panel  54  as previously described, and locked into place with the locking mechanism. 
         [0036]    It is to be understood that though motors  34  and  48  are described to allow control of the radial board position, any suitable motors can be used. Motors can include alternating Current (AC) motors, direct-current (DC) motors, servo motors, or step motors. In an alternative embodiment, the radial board can be controlled through a mobile or computerized application. The motors of the radial board can be battery operated, or powered by alternative powering means. Advantageously, if the motors or other powering sources fail, the radial arm can still be maneuvered manually. 
         [0037]    In another embodiment, a method is provided for conducting a cardiac procedure on a patient. The method comprises supporting the arm of the patient lying in a supine position on an operating table. The radial board is coupled to and extends from the operating table. The patient places an arm on the radial board. Adjustment straps  58  and  26  can be used to hold the patients&#39; upper and lower arm in place. The position of the radial board can be adjusted using the remote  54  by the physician or other controller such that the patient is comfortable and the physician has access to the needed arteries for the procedure. 
         [0038]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.