A recent picture going viral on the Internet has many wondering, why is that baby squished in a tube? Turns out, the answer isn’t as strange as you might think.
The Huffington Post reports that this photo posted to reddit actually shows a baby getting an X-ray. Nevertheless, the image left Internet users dumbfounded, confused, worried, and sometimes just amused.
The tube is designed to hold the baby in place during X-ray procedures to make sure there are no complications from fidgety toddlers. Even though it looks uncomfortable, it reduces the amount of radiation received by the baby by ensuring that X-ray photos can be taken right the first time.
As the photo shows, the tube appears to be working. The blank-faced infant doesn’t have a millimeter of room to move in.
The Daily Mail reports that the official name for the restraining tube is a “pigg-o-stat,” and it’s been in use in the medical field since the 1960s.
The device was invented by the U.S. company Modern Way Immobilisers and its manufacturers describe it as “an all-in-one pediatric immobilization device.”
The official pigg-o-stat website explains, “Since 1960, the Pigg-O-Stat has been and continues to be the first choice for pediatricians, doctors, and medical professionals around the globe.”
This video shows the pigg-o-stat in use.
Bretstar, who posted the photo, explained that the tube device was a mystery despite working in a hospital for years.
“I worked as a floor guy buffing and scrubbing at a hospital and every time I got to X-ray and radiology I always saw this machine sitting in the hallway and had to move it. I never once saw the X-ray tech grab it. I had no idea that is what this was. This pic answers a 3 year old question I never asked.”
Another user was a little more informed.
“As an X-ray tech, I have never used this. Also, if a kid is being that calm in the Pigg-o-stat, they don’t need to be in the pigg-o-stat…”
Safety devices come in all shapes and sizes, some are more unusual than others (see this story on Samsung’s safety trucks as an example.) And some bring new meaning to the term “test-tube baby.” Still, in the end, the baby-in-a-tube picture is just another example of medical technology at work.
[Image via Reddit]
