The Effectiveness of Suction Cups as Attachments on the Mayfield Clamp for Minimally-Invasive Procedures

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

11th Grade

Presentation Topic

Physiology and Health

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

Mayfield clamps are most often used in neurosurgery to provide rigid security to patients’ heads during surgery. The most pertinent issue regarding the Mayfield head clamp revolves around the rigidity and pressure of the pins that are used to secure the head during surgery (Cohen-Gadol, 2016). Alternative fixation methods are often inefficient and provide less security than the traditional pins that are on the Mayfield clamp, such as usage of rubber stoppers and rubber blocks that substitute the Mayfield clamp as a whole. In the research proceeding, suction cups were attached to the regular Mayfield clamp as an attachment. It was hypothesized that the suction cups would be able to withstand the simulated vertical and horizontal pull from 10 lbs to 25 lbs during the experiment while attached to the head using the Mayfield clamp. This was hypothesized because suction cups have a special capability of being able to retain pressure upon a surface area while also being able to stay in place. The methods consisted of using varying increments of weights on the Mayfield clamp attached to the apparatus while the suction cups kept the head secure using the Mayfield clamp, and subsequently recording the movement of the suction cups after a prolonged period of time. The results showed that the suction cups cannot capacitate more than 20-25 lbs when attached both horizontally and vertically to the Mayfield Clamp. It is concluded that the suction cups were not able to function properly at higher levels of pull applied to the clamp and most likely cannot be a viable alternative to the traditional pins on the Mayfield clamp unless other more robust suction cup attachments are designed.

Location

ECL 118

Start Date

3-25-2023 11:15 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 25th, 11:15 AM

The Effectiveness of Suction Cups as Attachments on the Mayfield Clamp for Minimally-Invasive Procedures

ECL 118

Mayfield clamps are most often used in neurosurgery to provide rigid security to patients’ heads during surgery. The most pertinent issue regarding the Mayfield head clamp revolves around the rigidity and pressure of the pins that are used to secure the head during surgery (Cohen-Gadol, 2016). Alternative fixation methods are often inefficient and provide less security than the traditional pins that are on the Mayfield clamp, such as usage of rubber stoppers and rubber blocks that substitute the Mayfield clamp as a whole. In the research proceeding, suction cups were attached to the regular Mayfield clamp as an attachment. It was hypothesized that the suction cups would be able to withstand the simulated vertical and horizontal pull from 10 lbs to 25 lbs during the experiment while attached to the head using the Mayfield clamp. This was hypothesized because suction cups have a special capability of being able to retain pressure upon a surface area while also being able to stay in place. The methods consisted of using varying increments of weights on the Mayfield clamp attached to the apparatus while the suction cups kept the head secure using the Mayfield clamp, and subsequently recording the movement of the suction cups after a prolonged period of time. The results showed that the suction cups cannot capacitate more than 20-25 lbs when attached both horizontally and vertically to the Mayfield Clamp. It is concluded that the suction cups were not able to function properly at higher levels of pull applied to the clamp and most likely cannot be a viable alternative to the traditional pins on the Mayfield clamp unless other more robust suction cup attachments are designed.