First place 1989 Alpha Cradle Award winner. Positioning and immobilization device for patients receiving radiation therapy for carcinoma of the breast.

Careful treatment planning and dose calculation, combined with effective positioning and immobilization, may improve the probability of tumor control. Modern radiation therapy equipment has had a significant impact on the accuracy of dose calculation and delivery. However, the problems of patient repositioning and immobilization, which may represent the area of the greatest variance in precise treatment delivery, still need much improvement. On this premise, many site specific repositioning and immobilizing devices have been developed in our institution for radiation therapy. Alpha Cradles have been used for positioning of patients undergoing irradiation for carcinoma of the breast at our institution for several years but did not provide adequate support for the arm. A modification of an Alpha Cradle was developed specifically for breast treatments and is described in this report. The modification, which is easily made, consists of a mold which conforms tightly to the arm and allows minimal variation in repositioning of the arm. A handle, built into the device, offers the patient a comfortable resting place for the hand and also fixes the orientation of the hand during the treatments. This device offers a very comfortable support for the elevated arm and greatly improves the accuracy of repositioning the patient.