Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to the field of medical science, and more particularly, the present invention relates to the radioprotection handcart for radiographic examinations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

BACKGROUND FOR THE INVENTION:
[002] The following discussion of the background of the invention is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. However, it should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known, or part of the common general knowledge in any jurisdiction as of the priority date of the application. The details provided herein the background if belongs to any publication is taken only as a reference for describing the problems, in general terminologies or principles or both of science and technology in the associated prior art.
[003] Portable radiography is one of the most frequently performed examinations in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) for diagnostic investigations in newborns. During neonatal radiography, radiation protection to other newborns in the ward is a major concern because infants are more sensitive to radiation-induced harmful effects than grown-ups. In a large setup having a high frequency of neonatal radiographic examinations, the concern of radiation exposure to other newborns as well as to the NICU staff is even higher. Although, radiographers wear protective lead apparel for personal protection, their other body parts, like hands, eyes, and head remain unprotected.
[004] A number of investigators have estimated radiation exposure in neonates and pediatric patients during various radiological investigations and studied their long- and short-term effects as well.
[005] Priyantha Edison et al. have shown that by adopting certain quality improvement initiatives, like the mandatory use of lead apparel for the radiographer, the use of a gonadal shield on the newborn, and the application of optimal collimation, it is possible to optimize radiation exposure to neonates and the operator during bedside neonatal radiography. These methods are effective but highly operator-dependent and prone to mistakes. Xinhong Wang et al. made a protective trolley for neonatal radiography, which mainly aimed to create a non-contact radiation protection device to protect the operator from scattered X-rays and also to avoid Covid-19 infection, which the operator might get by wearing personnel protective lead apparel. The trolley had certain limitations with respect to positioning and monitoring the newborn during radiographic exposure.
[006] Therefore, there is a prolonged need to make a radioprotection handcart for radiographic examinations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that overcomes the problems prevalent in the prior art.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[007] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows.
[008] The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing the radioprotection handcart for protection of neighboring newborns, the operator and other healthcare providers present during radiographic examinations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
[009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a radioprotection handcart for radiographic examinations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) which is user-friendly as well as compatible with clinical applications.
[010] Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[011] The present invention provides a radioprotection handcart for radiographic examinations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The handcart includes a stainless-steel frame mounted on four universal wheels, that comprises four vertical sides, a top, and a bottom side.
[012] In another aspect of the present invention, the first vertical side is made open and during radiography, it comes in contact with the wall of NICU which acts as a shielding material for the scattered X-rays.
[013] In another aspect of the present invention, a second vertical side has a lead glass with lead sheets embedded inside, which allows the radiographer to monitor the newborn during radiographic projection.
[014] In another aspect of the present invention, the third and fourth vertical sides include partially overlapping lead flaps that allow an attendant to insert hands through the lead flaps for positioning the newborn during radiographic projections.
[015] In another aspect of the present invention, the top and bottom sides of the handcart are kept open for X-ray beam to expose the collimated part of the newborn.
[016] In another aspect of the present invention, the dimensions (length x width x height) of the handcart are 90 cm x 80 cm x 135 cm.
[017] In another aspect of the present invention, the first side is along the width of the handcart.
[018] In another aspect of the present invention, the second side is along the length of the handcart.
[019] In another aspect of the present invention, the lead glass is 2.0 mm Pb equivalent.
[020] In another aspect of the present invention, the lead flaps are about 2.0 mm Pb equivalent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:
[021] Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in the context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.
[022] Figure 1 shows a schematic design of the radioprotection handcart, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:
[023] While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described and is not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.
[024] As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one” and the word “plurality” means “one or more” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein are solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers, or steps. Likewise, the term "comprising" is considered synonymous with the terms "including" or "containing" for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles, and the like are included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.
[025] In this disclosure, whenever a composition or an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase “comprising”, it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element, or group of elements with transitional phrases “consisting of”, “consisting”, “selected from the group of consisting of, “including”, or “is” preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.
[026] The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, several materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
[027] Referring now to Figure 1, the present invention provides a radioprotection handcart for radiographic examinations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
[028] The skeleton of the hand cart is made up of stainless steel, which is mounted on four universal wheels for easy transportation within the NICU. As shown in the image, the dimensions (length x width x height) of the handcart are 90 cm x 80 cm x 135 cm. In NICUs, newborns are usually kept in radiation warmers to maintain their body temperatures. Radiant warmers are generally placed in the NICU ward against its walls. One of the four vertical sides of the handcart (along its width) is made open so that it can easily envelop the radiant warmer. During radiographic projection, the handcart would move about the radiant warmer in such a way that this open side comes in contact with the wall which acts as a shielding material for the scattered X-rays. One vertical side (along the length of the handcart) contains a lead glass (2.0 mm Pb) with lead sheets embedded inside. This site allows the radiographer to monitor the newborn during radiographic projection. The remaining two vertical sides contain partially overlapping lead flaps (~ 2.0 mm Pb), which allow an attendant to insert his/her hands through the lead flaps for positioning the newborn during radiographic projection. The top and bottom sides of the handcart are open to allow an X-ray beam to expose the collimated part of the newborn. After the exposure, the handcart can be removed and parked at its designated location in the NICU ward.
[029] The disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein.
[030] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully revealed the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the scope of the embodiments as described herein.
, Claims:We Claim:
1) A radioprotection handcart for radiographic examinations in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the handcart comprises a stainless-steel frame mounted on four universal wheels with locks. The handcard is comprised of four vertical sides, a top, and a bottom side;
- wherein a first vertical side is made open and comes in contact with a wall of NICU ward which acts as a shielding material for the scattered X-rays;
- wherein a second vertical side has a lead glass with lead sheets embedded inside which allows the radiographer to monitor the newborn during radiographic projection;
- wherein third and fourth vertical sides include partially overlapping lead flaps that allow an attendant to insert hands through the lead flaps for positioning the newborn during radiographic projection;
- wherein the top and bottom sides of the handcart are made open to allow the X-ray beam to expose the collimated part of the newborn.
2) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dimensions (length x width x height) of the handcart are 90 cm x 80 cm x 135 cm.
3) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first side is along the width of the handcart.
4) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second side is along the length of the handcart.
5) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lead glass is 2.0 mm Pb equivalent.
6) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lead flaps are about 2.0 mm Pb equivalent.
7) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the skeleton is made up of stainless steel.
8) The handcart as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handcart comprises a stand.