Garment-Based Splint System for Rapid Limb Immobilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current injury support systems for warfighters are bulky, heavy, require complex adjustments, and often necessitate advanced skills and tools, making them unsuitable for austere environments and inadequate for severe injuries, particularly in immobilizing injured limbs effectively.
Innovation Solution
A garment-based splint system comprising multiple fabric layers with integrated pockets and channels for filler materials, such as expanding foam, which provides quick and effective immobilization without the need for additional hardware or specialized training, allowing for easy application and adjustment to fit various body sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If powered exoskeletons are used to support injured limbs, then immobilization capability is improved, but device weight and bulk increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential immobilization function from complex powered exoskeletons and implements it through a simple garment-based system with inflatable pockets. The garment removes unnecessary components (motors, batteries, complex control systems) while retaining the core function of limb stabilization through fabric pockets that inflate to conform to the injured body part.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses flexible fabric pockets instead of rigid exoskeleton structures. The pockets are made of flexible material that can conform to various body shapes and injury locations, providing immobilization through inflation rather than rigid mechanical support. This approach maintains reliability while dramatically reducing weight and bulk.
2Reliability
If vacuum splints are used to immobilize injured limbs, then immobilization effectiveness is improved, but device weight increases and mobility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pneumatic inflation through channels to fill pockets with air or gas, creating a lightweight alternative to vacuum splints. The inflatable pockets expand to conform to the injured area and provide immobilization pressure, achieving similar effectiveness to vacuum splints without the heavy rigid structure and non-ambulatory limitations.
3Stability of the object's composition
If plaster or fiberglass casts are used to immobilize injuries, then immobilization stability is improved, but application time and skill requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The garment pockets are pre-formed and positioned on the garment before application. The practitioner simply needs to inflate the pockets through channels, which automatically expands them to the correct shape and position around the injury. This eliminates the time-consuming processes of mixing, molding, and setting required for plaster or fiberglass casts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical setting process of plaster and fiberglass with a simple mechanical inflation process. The pockets are filled with air or gas through channels, providing immediate structural support without requiring chemical reactions or extended setting times. This substitution dramatically reduces application time while maintaining immobilization stability.
4Manufacturing precision
If pinned fixators are used to stabilize severe injuries, then immobilization precision is improved, but device complexity and skill requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the pockets from deflated (flexible) to inflated (rigid), transforming the garment from a soft fabric structure to a rigid immobilizing device. This parameter change allows the pockets to provide precise immobilization pressure and structural support comparable to pinned fixators, but without the complexity of pins, screws, or advanced adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system offers improved immobilization of injured limbs, reduces application time and skill requirements, is compact and lightweight, and can be adapted for various injuries, enhancing warfighter resilience and medic effectiveness while promoting self-care in austere environments.
Implementation Method 1
a foam (e.g., a fast-curing rigid polyurethane foam) that provides near-instant immobilization
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a splint system for protecting and immobilizing an injured body segment and/or associated joint. The splint system is a garment-based splint system including a garment including an inner fabric layer having a skin-facing surface layer and an interior surface layer, and an outer fabric layer, wherein the inner fabric layer and the outer fabric layer define one or more pockets and one or more channels connecting a filler source to the one or more pockets.