The College of Medicine at the University of Baghdad has registered a new patent titled “Design and Manufacture of a Patient Head Immobilization Mask for Stereotactic Radiosurgery using the Gamma Knife Icon,” by the inventor, Assist.Prof.Dr. Muneer Khamees Faraj, who teaches in the specialty of neurosurgery at the college.
The medical patent was granted to Dr. Faraj and his medical team by the Ministry of Planning – Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control on June 2, 2024. The innovative new method described by the invention is cost-effective for immobilizing the patient’s head during radiosurgery using the Gamma Knife device, serving as an alternative to the expensive imported mask currently used in this treatment. The invention utilizes readily available plastic materials and creates a 3D print of the patient’s face, taking appropriate measurements to position and secure this mask on the Gamma Knife device as a substitute for the imported mask, which costs up to five hundred dollars.
In contrast, the cost of the materials used for the locally made mask does not exceed four dollars. This new mask has proven its efficiency through motion testing during immobilization, a test also used to measure the efficiency of the original mask that comes with the device.