Apparatus for positioning a patient's head for producing remote X-ray photographs

Claim 1

In an apparatus for positioning a patient's head for producing remote X-ray photographs of the skull of the patient, said apparatus including a carrier member having a first end and a second end; said first end forming a connection to a dental X-ray diagnostics apparatus which has a radiation source providing a beam of X-ray radiation and produces slice exposures of the jaw of a patient; said second end supporting position means for holding a skull and holder means for supporting a film cassette; said position means containing a part rotatable around a vertical axis, two ear button holders being adjustably mounted on said rotatable part to lie diametrically opposite one another relative to said vertical axis, and a nasion support being adjustably mounted for height and depth on said rotatable part for engaging a nasion of the patient; said holder means being adjustable along a direction of the beam of radiation from said radiation source to change a spacing of said film cassette from said radiation source, the improvements comprising a housing being secured to the second end of said carrier member, said housing supporting a first carrier part for said holder means and a vertically extending second carrier part for the position means, said second carrier part having an upper end fixedly mounted with the supporting part and a lower end having pivotal means for mounting the second carrier part in the housing for pivotal movement around a horizontal axis so that the patient's head is adjustable into various inclined positions with reference to the sagittal plane and the patient is positionable via said rotatable part around said vertical axis so that the temporomaxillary joints can be imaged in two planes, respectively, perpendicular to the condyle axis.