A mobile traction device for MR and CT imaging

The development of a spinal traction device for use in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) imaging is described. Such a device has arisen from the need to apply continuous traction to patients having suffered acute cervical spine trauma. Previous traction techniques have proven unsuitable for use in the MRI scanner, particularly as they lack stability, are awkward to implement and prove quite cumbersome to manage. Traction may be applied to a patient for periods of time in excess of 1 hour with a minimum of discomfort. Materials are used which have a negligible proton density and a low atomic number, yielding no detectable magnetic resonance and very small x-ray cross sections respectively. Calibrated traction may be applied to patients via tongs or a head harness, the latter rendering the device suitable for general transport of injured patients with traction applied. The device is compact, light and strong and contains no ferrometallic parts. Thus far in excess of 40 patients have been scanned, most in a FONAR beta-3000M .3 Tesla electromagnetic MR imager and some also in a GE 9800 Quickscan CT scanner. No artefact has been demonstrated in any of the images to date for any of the MR pulse sequences or CT kVp. Modifications likely include refinement of the tensioning mechanism, inclusion of x-ray cassette facilities and improvement of aesthetic design.