Bio-sensor

Abstract

A bio-sensor strip adapted to be located between an object and a body part. The bio-sensor strip comprises one or more of bio-sensors (819, 919) disposed on at least one first polymer film (825), wherein the bio-sensors (819, 919) measure parameters at a location between the object (216, 316, 916) and the body part (932).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to and benefit of Luxembourg Patent Application No. LU 100021 filed on 13 Jan. 2017.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to improvements in relations to systems, apparatus and methods of measuring and adapting objects for a comfortable engagement with an engaging member, and more particularly to a bio-sensor strip attached an object, a body part or a liner over the body part, to measure parameters between the object and the body part and thus aid in achieving a comfortable and functional fit between the object and the body part. Examples of the objects include prostheses and orthoses, for example the fitting of a prostheses to a stump of the residual limb of a wearer.Brief Description of the Related Art[0003]The fitting and shaping of the socket of an artificial limb (prosthesis) to ensure that the artificial limb is an accurate fit with the stump of the resi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is a method and device for fitting prosthetic sockets to a patient's stump. It uses a mapping system to accurately identify areas of the stump that need adjusting, reducing the time and effort required for a good fit. The device also includes temperature and pressure sensors to monitor the engagement between the stump and the socket, providing valuable information about sensitive spots and improving the accuracy of the sensor readings. This technology is cost-effective and efficient, providing quicker and more comfortable prosthetic fitting.

Problems solved by technology

The fitting and shaping of the socket of an artificial limb (prosthesis) to ensure that the artificial limb is an accurate fit with the stump of the residual limb with which the artificial limb engages is one of the most important parts of or in the formation of a prosthesis, and also one of the most difficult.

Pain and discomfort may occur from pressure, friction, temperature, or any other physical situation caused by an improperly fitted socket or a misaligned prosthesis.

However, prior art methods of fine-tuning of the shape of the socket to create a comfortable fit to a stump are laborious, empirical and time consuming.

Such communication is, however, often imprecise and very simple, with the patient simply indicating generally where discomfort or pain is occurring on the stump.

This is made more difficult by the fact that firstly, the nature of the pain or discomfort is that the pain or discomfort usually does not just occur at the point of contact but in an area around the point of contact, so that locating the issue point precisely is very difficult.

Secondly, the patient may have to remove the stump from the socket in order to identify the pain point, and once so removed, the pain will tend to soften, again making it more difficult to accurately identify the actual contact point.

Moreover, the trauma or the pathology that led to limb loss may itself have caused nerve displacement, so that the place where pain is felt (pain point) and the actual friction or pressure spot may be in two different locations, or have caused reduced sensitivity, so that the patient is unable to give precise information.

Furthermore, the psychological trauma or indeed general reluctance of the patient to provide detailed feedback may lead to incorrect or imprecise information.

However, this approach does not provide any information on the comfort of the fit between the stump and the socket once the socket has been formed, and really only provides an alternative to taking a mould of the stump for the rough forming of the socket.

There is no teaching provided as to how to better fine tune to the fit between the stump and the socket.

Similarly, WO 2014 / 036029 discloses a viewfinder based system for acquiring data on the stump for which a prosthetics socket needs to be built, but again this does not provide any teaching regarding the fine tuning of the socket to ensure a comfortable fit.

However, this solution does not provide any teaching as to how the technician can use the collected data to improve the shape of the socket as the pressure sensors does not provide any precise spatial information which can be used to correlate the pressure data with the shape of the socket.

This is made worse by the fact that the liner is fitted to the stump, so at least the liner could only provide information on the shape of the stump rather than the socket, and in any event, due to the nature of the liner and its imprecise fitting, the exact location of the sensors on the stump cannot be ascertained in that system.

Finally, in the absence of any adhesive layer or securing mechanism, the liner cannot be prevented from continuously moving, thereby providing incorrect data.

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