All VA medical centers receive a lifetime 20% discount on all products. If a VAMC wants to use our products but cannot afford them, I send them free of charge. It’s one of my ways of supporting the men and women who have proudly served for all of us, granting us the freedoms and liberties we enjoy today. –Jeffrey Kostich, President, Smithers Medical Products, Inc.
The ONLY Safe, Non-Toxic Repositioning System on the Market
These are NOT your usual soft positioning aids. Alpha Cradle® forms are fully customized anatomical forms that allow you to reposition your patient in the exact set-up position continually, on a daily basis. The patient does NOT have to hold their position as the form secures and immobilizes them. Superior immobilization allows for tighter margins and leads to more lethal radiation to the tumor, with less potential collateral damage.
Smithers Medical Products, Inc. is proud of it’s multi-faceted approach to patient immobilization and repositioning. Our goal is your goal — to provide each of your patients the latest, most innovative treatment available with better therapeutic options. Each and every Alpha Cradle® brand product we sell guarantees the highest quality repositioning solution available. Durable enough to stand on, these forms are climate friendly and recyclable.
The Patient Experience
Patients tell our staff they feel like they’re being held while undergoing treatment.
–Pat
STAFF: Why do we use Alpha Cradle® forms? They save lives, and the foam doesn’t contain hazardous gases.
PATIENT: I was pretty nervous about getting radiation treatment. I didn’t know what was going to happen. But the Alpha Cradle form they made on me felt warm and very comfortable, and I was actually able to relax! –Kate
STAFF: The actual creation of the cast can be turned into a “game” by watching the Alpha Cradle® bag of material foam up around the body, and feelings of a warm sensation.
PATIENT: My son’s anxiety was relieved as he and the therapist pretended the form was his new “Superpower Cloud”. The whole process went better than we expected. THANK YOU. –Sandi
STAFF: On our elderly patients, and those who have had surgery, the Alpha Cradle® form actually HOLDS them, so we don’t have to worry about them moving or going out of the set-up position.
PATIENT: After my surgery I wasn’t able to hold my arm up where they said I had to hold it. When they made my form, I could relax in it. It actually holds my arm up where it needs to be! –Patricia
The Therapist Experience
… the heart dose was reduced by 25% without compromising the dose to the lung tumor. It is our intention to use ALPHA CRADLE® immobilization devices on all patient procedures when a positioning variation is used. –Gary
With the use of immobilization devices such as ALPHA CRADLE® brand Patient Repositioning Systems, positioning alternatives and treatments can be personalized under any circumstances. In this particular case the heart dose was reduced by 25% without compromising the dose to the lung tumor. –John
A customized and angled immobilizer can be made by modifying the ALPHA CRADLE® brand device . . it reproduces head position, neck extension and arm position. It has also proven to reduce set up times on the treatment machine. –Max
The reduced number of repeat port films also saves the technologists’ time . . and it reduces the physicians’ time because there are less port films to review. –Gunilla
This form retains its exact shape for the duration of the treatment course—there is no settling, no reshaping, no repositioning guesswork. Daily setup is as simple as having the patient recline into the exact same form. –Mary
We’ve spent over 40 years refining our foam to be soft for the patient, yet durable enough to support them as they get into and out of their body mold. CFC free, environmentally friendly Alpha Cradle foam is the only safe foam in the medical field designed exclusively for cancer patients. Use it to make any form you want, on any piece of equipment.
Our product line is designed for patients who need maximum security, stability and safety. Creating custom repositioning molds for your patient is quick and easy. Our forms not only hold your patient securely in the exact position for each treatment session, but are designed to increase their sense of comfort and security.
Beginning with the creation process, the foam warms to a comfortable temperature and creates a safe environment for the patient, alleviating many fears and tensions. After the form has been created, the patient can slip back and forth into the identical treatment position for each session, and lay comfortably without worry of movement.
Kits are available for every treatment modality, and come pre-measured. These durable, completed forms are fully customizable using a simple serrated knife to cut ports, and are designed to be used throughout the entire course of treatment.
