BelSU Student Tackles the Golden Hour Challenge with Smart Head Fixation

Aleksandr Krivetchenko, who has spent seven years working as an X-ray technician at St. Joasaph Regional Hospital, created CranioF-CT to solve a persistent clinical problem: movement artefacts. When stroke patients arrive at the emergency department, every minute counts. But patients in acute conditions often cannot remain still during spiral CT head scans, forcing doctors to either accept distorted images or use sedation, which delays diagnosis and treatment.

The problem extends beyond stroke patients to those with mental disorders, brain tumours, and children. When contrast agents are required, even slight movement can force a repeat scan and a second dose of nephrotoxic contrast material – wasteful and potentially harmful.

Krivetchenko’s solution is a universal head fixation device that mounts onto a standard CT scanner headrest. CranioF-CT holds the patient’s head securely at five anatomically correct points: frontal, two temporal, chin, and parietal. The design completely prevents displacement, rotation, and tilting, eliminating motion artefacts before they appear.

The device is fully radiolucent, leaving no marks on images and interfering with nothing. Its benefits are substantial: reduced radiation exposure by eliminating repeat scans, fewer contrast agent administrations, and faster diagnosis that helps neurologists adhere to the “Golden Hour” rule for stroke care.

The economic case is equally compelling. Each rescan shortens the lifespan of expensive X-ray tubes, which cost millions of roubles to replace. Repeated contrast vials add at least 2,500 roubles per examination, while sedation costs an additional 3,000 to 10,000 roubles. CranioF-CT eliminates all of these expenses.

“In the future, all medical facilities performing computed tomography should be equipped with such devices,” Krivetchenko believes. “This will speed up diagnosis and treatment while preventing serious complications.”

The project received grant support from the UMNIK program, allowing Krivetchenko to bring CranioF-CT to minimum viable product stage. Using the device during CT scans requires minimal time and no additional staff training.