X-ray stand with laterally inclined rotation axis

Claim 1

An X-ray stand for installation on the ceiling surface, floor surface or side wall surface of a hospital room of finite dimensions for examination of a patient comprising: a fixture for attachment to one of the surfaces; a support connected to the fixture holding a bearing with a rotational axis; a circular track mounted on the bearing for rotation on the axis; an arcuate carriage received in the track so as to slide on a circular path between end positions on the track; and a primary set of a radiation source and a radiation receptor disposed at the ends of the carriage and aligned on a primary radiation axis through a fixed isocenter at the patient position; wherein the rotational axis of the bearing is fixed at an inclination significantly more than zero and less than ninety degree to the fixture and surface to which the fixture is attached, so that the arcuate carriage in its end positions can be rotated with the track to substantially different angles of the radiation axis through the fixed isocenter at the patient position, while maximizing the radius of the arcuate carriage with respect to the finite dimensions of the room between the ceiling and floor walls and providing substantial change in the radiation angle through the patient by rotation about the bearing axis with one carriage end adjacent the bearing axis.