1897results about "Artificial legs" patented technology

An ultrasound treatment system in accordance with the present invention comprises an ultrasonic transducer, a handpiece, a probe, a sheath, a clamping member, an operation unit, an operating member, a suction base, and a perfusion base. The ultrasonic transducer generates ultrasonic vibrations. The handpiece has the ultrasonic transducer incorporated therein and serves as an operation unit. The probe is connected to the ultrasonic transducer, and serves as a vibration transmitting member for transmitting ultrasonic vibrations to a distal member realizing a stationary portion that is a treatment portion for treating a living tissue. The sheath serves as a protecting member for shielding the probe. The clamping member is opposed to the distal member at the distal end of the sheath, and realizes a movable portion that is another treatment portion for clamping a living tissue in cooperation with the distal member. The operation unit is manipulated for clamping a living tissue with the clamping member and distal member or freeing the living tissue therefrom.

Artificial limbs and joints which behave like a biological limbs and joints employ a synthetic actuator which consume negligible power when exerting zero force, consume negligible power when outputting force at constant length (isometric) and while performing dissipative, nonconservative work, are capable of independently engaging flexion and extension tendon-like, series springs, are capable of independently varying joint position and stiffness, and exploit series elasticity for mechanical power amplification.

The present invention relates to a variable-torque magnetorheologically actuated prosthetic knee which utilizes a plurality of interspersed and alternating rotors and stators to shear magnetorheological fluid in gaps formed therebetween. Advantageously, by operating in the "shear mode" there is substantially no or negligible fluid pressure buildup or change. Moreover, the multiple MR fluid gaps or flux interfaces desirably allow for the production of a large torque at low speed-eliminating the need for a transmission-and also for a wide dynamic torque range. One embodiment of the invention allows the rotors and / or stators to close the gaps therebetween to create a frictional torque component, thereby forming a "hybrid" braking system which provides a total torque or damping which is a combination of viscous torque and frictional torque.

Systems, methods and devices for restoring or enhancing one or more motor functions of a patient are disclosed. The system comprises a biological interface apparatus and a joint movement device such as an exoskeleton device or FES device. The biological interface apparatus includes a sensor that detects the multicellular signals and a processing unit for producing a control signal based on the multicellular signals. Data from the joint movement device is transmitted to the processing unit for determining a value of a configuration parameter of the system. Also disclosed is a joint movement device including a flexible structure for applying force to one or more patient joints, and controlled cables that produce the forces required.

A prosthetic joint system for users comprising a housing having an interior cavity, a center axis in said interior cavity, and an attachment means for fixedly connecting said housing to said user; an inner cylinder disposed in said housing interior cavity wherein said inner cylinder rotates around said center axis of said housing; an appendage attached to said inner cylinder; a sensor system attached to said appendage; and a dampening system, having a power source, in communication with said sensor system, said inner cylinder, and said housing for controlling dampening of the rotation of said inner cylinder around said center axis of said housing.

A prosthesis system includes a reconfigurable socket. The socket changes configurations to adjust the socket fit. The socket includes a socket main body with a window and a panel positioned in the window. The panel and the socket main body cooperate to define a cavity for receiving a residual limb. A lacing system is coupled to both the socket main body and the panel and moves the panel with respect to the socket main body to adjust a volume of the cavity. A tensioning mechanism holds the lacing system to position the adjustment panel. The prosthesis system also allows for the escape of moisture from within the cavity.

A prosthetic joint system for users comprising a housing having an interior cavity, a center axis in said interior cavity, and an attachment means for fixedly connecting said housing to said user; an inner cylinder disposed in said housing interior cavity wherein said inner cylinder rotates around said center axis of said housing; an appendage attached to said inner cylinder; a sensor system attached to said appendage; and a dampening system, having a power source, in communication with said sensor system, said inner cylinder, and said housing for controlling dampening of the rotation of said inner cylinder around said center axis of said housing.

A prosthetic joint system for users comprising a housing having an interior cavity, a center axis in said interior cavity, and an attachment means for fixedly connecting said housing to said user; an inner cylinder disposed in said housing interior cavity wherein said inner cylinder rotates around said center axis of said housing; an appendage attached to said inner cylinder; a sensor system attached to said appendage; and a dampening system, having a power source, in communication with said sensor system, said inner cylinder, and said housing for controlling dampening of the rotation of said inner cylinder around said center axis of said housing.

An Active Ankle Foot Orthosis (AAFO) is provided where the impedance of an orthotic joint is modulated throughout the walking cycle to treat ankle foot gait pathology, such as drop foot gait. During controlled plantar flexion, a biomimetic torsional spring control is applied where orthotic joint stiffness is actively adjusted to minimize forefoot collisions with the ground. Throughout late stance, joint impedance is minimized so as not to impede powered plantar flexion movements, and during the swing phase, a torsional spring-damper (PD) control lifts the foot to provide toe clearance. To assess the clinical effects of variable-impedance control, kinetic and kinematic gait data were collected on two drop foot participants wearing the AAFO. It has been found that actively adjusting joint impedance reduces the occurrence of slap foot, allows greater powered plantar flexion, and provides for less kinematic difference during swing when compared to normals.

There is provided a joint device for an artificial leg, which makes it possible to dramatically achieve reduction of the weight of a power source and an increase in duration of the same, as well as facilitates knee bending / stretching motion, toe-up motion, and kicking motion. The joint device has an above-knee member and an under-knee member spaced from each other. Three expansible links are connected between the above-knee member and the under-knee member, for accumulating energy generated by the weight of a user's body acting on the artificial leg, and operating by releasing the accumulated energy to actuate the under-knee member into joint motion.

An implantable knee prosthesis includes a body having a substantially elliptical shape in plan and a pair of opposed faces. A first one of the faces has a first shape and a second one of the faces has a second shape different from the first shape. A peripheral edge extends at an incline between the first face and the second face.

A system and method associated with the movement of a limb. In one example, the system, such as a prosthetic or orthotic system, includes an actuator that actively controls, or adjusts, the angle between a foot unit and a lower limb member. A processing module may control movement of the actuator based on data obtained from a sensor module. For instance, sensing module data may include information relating to the gait of a user and may be used to adjust the foot unit to substantially mimic the movement of a natural, healthy ankle. The system may further accommodate, for example, level ground walking, traveling up / down stairs, traveling up / down sloped surfaces, and various other user movements. In addition, the processing module may receive user input or display output signals through an external interface. For example, the processing module may receive a heel height input from the user.

The present invention relates to a variable-torque magnetorheologically actuated prosthetic knee which utilizes a plurality of interspersed and alternating rotors and stators to shear magnetorheological fluid in gaps formed therebetween. Advantageously, by operating in the "shear mode" there is substantially no or negligible fluid pressure buildup or change. Moreover, the multiple MR fluid gaps or flux interfaces desirably allow for the production of a large torque at low speed-eliminating the need for a transmission-and also for a wide dynamic torque range. One embodiment of the invention allows the rotors and / or stators to close the gaps therebetween to create a frictional torque component, thereby forming a "hybrid" braking system which provides a total torque or damping which is a combination of viscous torque and frictional torque.

A medical foot implant (1) with a fastening section (2) for fixing the foot implant (1) to two adjacent bones or bone segments and with a wedge section (3). The wedge section (3) has an end-side tip (12), in a plan view at least approximately punctiform, for easier introduction of the foot implant (1) into bone or into tarsometatarsal joint.

A prosthetic leg having an electronically controlled regenerative prosthetic knee. In certain embodiments of the present invention the knee may be passive, whereby it is used only to generate electrical energy. In other embodiments, the knee may be active, whereby it can be used to assist with or completely control gait, as well as to generate electrical energy. The knee makes use of an actuator motor / generator to control gait and / or to generate electrical energy. An electronic control system is provided to control overall operation of the prosthetic leg, to distribute generated electrical energy, and to transfer excess electrical energy to one or more storage devices for later use. A prosthetic leg of the present invention having an active prosthetic knee may be especially helpful in assisting an amputee with activities that impart a high torque load to the knee joint.

A powered leg prosthesis includes powered knee joint comprising a knee joint and a knee motor unit for delivering power to the knee joint. The prosthesis also includes a prosthetic lower leg having a socket interface coupled to the knee joint and a powered ankle joint coupled to the lower leg opposite the knee joint comprising an ankle joint and an ankle motor unit to deliver power to the ankle joint. The prosthesis further includes a prosthetic foot coupled to the ankle joint, at least one sensor for measuring a real-time input, and at least one controller for controlling movement of the prosthesis based on the real-time input.

A device in a leg prosthesis which via a pivot axle is connected to the leg prosthesis, wherein first means are arranged to permit a limited rotation of the foot with respect to the leg prosthesis from an initial position, in which the leg prosthesis and the foot have a certain angle with respect to each other and second means are arranged to permit a stepless adjustment of the angle between the prosthesis and the foot in the initial position.

An intramedullary fixation assembly for bone fusion includes a first member positioned at a proximal end of the intramedullary fixation assembly, and a second member positioned at a distal end of the, intramedullary fixation assembly. The first member is slideably coupled to the second member and provides for an interference fit with the second member. The intramedullary fixation assembly includes an optional cannulated threaded screw member having a plurality of threads on an external surface of the threaded screw member.

An artificial knee joint including a femoral component and a tibial component which are in relation of making relative rotation, in which the tibial component has a post that has an outwardly curving posterior surface and is disposed approximately in the longitudinal center between the articular surfaces so that the post is inside an intercondylar groove that is between the medial and lateral condyles and extends from the posterior end to the anterior end of the femoral component; and the femoral component has a cam that is disposed at the posterior portion of the intercondylar groove and comes into contact with the posterior surface of the post when the above-described rotation proceeds; and the post and the cam are shaped so that the femoral component is turned outwardly when the cam comes into contact with the post as a result of the rotation and as the rotation proceeds.

A prosthetic foot comprises a foot member, a rocker member connected in cantilever fashion to the foot member, and an ankle module movably connected to the rocker member about an axis, wherein an anterior section of the rocker member is configured to roll-up onto the foot member an amount corresponding to the load applied on the foot, and wherein the foot member is configured to facilitate the initial roll-up of the rocker member.

System and method for adjusting the angle of a prosthetic ankle are disclosed. In one example, the system, such as an actuated prosthetic ankle joint, detects the surface angle and actively adjusts the members of the ankle to a preferred angle according to the respective slope of the incline / decline.

A closed loop brain-machine interface is disclosed. The closed loop brain-machine interface translates one or more neural signals into a movement, or a series of movements, performed by a machine. The close-loop brain-machine interface also provides sensory feedback to the subject. Methods of employing the closed loop brain-machine interface are also disclosed.

A system and method associated with the movement of a limb. In one example, the system, such as a prosthetic or orthotic system, includes an actuator that actively controls, or adjusts, the angle between a foot unit and a lower limb member. A processing module may control movement of the actuator based on data obtained from a sensor module. For instance, sensing module data may include information relating to the gait of a user and may be used to adjust the foot unit to substantially mimic the movement of a natural, healthy ankle. The system may further accommodate, for example, level ground walking, traveling up / down stairs, traveling up / down sloped surfaces, and various other user movements. In addition, the processing module may receive user input or display output signals through an external interface. For example, the processing module may receive a heel height input from the user.

An ankle joint and a subtalar joint provided in a hindfoot permit closed kinetic chain motion of the foot. The ankle and subtalar joints are preferably formed integrally with the hindfoot by respective struts of resilient material of the hindfoot. An arch in the midfoot creates frontal and sagittal plane motion capabilities. The forefoot includes at least one expansion joint hole extending therethrough between dorsal and plantar surfaces. An expansion joint extends forward from the hole to the anterior edge of the forefoot to form plural expansion struts that create improved biplanar motion capability of the forefoot. Concavities and convexities on the surface of the hindfoot, midfoot and forefoot encourage desired motions and motion directions so that the foot functions and feels like a normal foot to the amputee.

In one embodiment, an impact and torque-absorbing module for a low profile lower limb prosthesis comprises two support members telescopingly engaged to permit axial and rotational motion therebetween. A resilient element resists axial displacement of the two support members, and a torque resisting cuff resists rotational displacement of the two support members. Precompression of the resilient element can reduce the size of the shock module making it more compact. The resilient element can also be replaced allowing adjustment of the shock absorption.

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to increasing the functionality of a transfemoral prosthetic device. In one embodiment, the transfemoral prosthetic device is configured such that the prosthetic knee maintains a load consistent with a healthy knee walking on level ground, while the prosthetic ankle adjusts for the incline or decline. In certain embodiments, adjustments, such as a toe lift function, are automatically performed after about three strides of the transfemoral prosthetic device user and / or when each of the strides has a stride speed of at least about 0.55 meters / second.

A system and method for sensing movement of a device associated with a limb. In one example, a prosthetic or orthotic system includes a sensor assembly configured to measure movement of a component of the system in a single direction while substantially isolating negative effects of forces and / or loads in other directions. For instance, the sensor assembly may be advantageously coupled to a pivot assembly configured to substantially mimic a natural ankle joint. The sensor assembly may monitor rotation of a foot unit about an axis of a pivot pin of the pivot assembly and disregard other movements and / or forces. For example, the sensor assembly may include a potentiometer that detects rotation of an associated elongated bellow portion about the axis, wherein the bellow portion includes a plurality of ridges configured to substantially eliminate effects of radial and / or axial forces.

An artificial knee joint including a femoral component and a tibial component which are in relation of making relative rotation, in which the tibial component has a post that has an outwardly curving posterior surface and is disposed approximately in the longitudinal center between the articular surfaces so that the post is inside an intercondylar groove that is between the medial and lateral condyles and extends from the posterior end to the anterior end of the femoral component; and the femoral component has a cam that is disposed at the posterior portion of the intercondylar groove and comes into contact with the posterior surface of the post when the above-described rotation proceeds; and the post and the cam are shaped so that the femoral component is turned outwardly when the cam comes into contact with the post as a result of the rotation and as the rotation proceeds.

Percutaneous skin access devices include a plurality of locked connecting units mounted to the exterior surface of an implantable medical object which, in position, is configured to penetrate the skin of a subject. The locked connecting units may be mounted directly onto the desired surface of the exterior of the device or may be held on a substrate sheet, which is mounted to the exterior surface of the device. In position, the locked connecting units engage with soft tissue which can include the skin to form a bio-junction layer which includes mechanical and bio-sealing connection between the device body and the soft tissue. The configuration at the bio-junction layer secures the medical object in location in the subject even for long-term indwelling applications in a manner, which inhibits soft tissue infection.The locked connecting units may be rigid or semi-rigid for longer-term indwelling applications, and semi-rigid and / or resilient for shorter term indwelling applications. The locked connecting units may take on the form of rings, hooks, or loops having aperture or gap width / length sizes of from about 0.2–4 mm. The rings, loops, or hooks may connect with any soft tissue including skin as well subcutaneous tissue. The rings, hooks, or loops may be released from the skin / tissue without requiring surgical cutting procedures.The locked connecting units may be configured as a semi-rigid mesh collar arranged about the primary body providing access to the subject such that it resides in the subject and engages with the skin (epidermal / dermal layer). The mesh collar can be described as a particular type of ring or loop structure as the mesh defines the gap provided in individual loop configurations. The mesh collar may be used alone, or in combination with the loops, rings, or hooks. A skin stop collar having increased rigidity may be disposed under the mesh collar.