Hand Therapy System with Adjustable Resistance and Modular Tool Openings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hand therapy devices are often expensive, immobile, and lack versatility, failing to provide a wide range of therapeutic options for patients and therapists, particularly for diverse injuries and varying patient sizes and shapes, and do not effectively retrain complex hand movements like wrist and finger functions.
Innovation Solution
A hand therapy system featuring a vertically-extending post with a base that can be secured to a surface, a hand exercise housing with adjustable resistance levels and tool openings, and a variety of hand tools that can be easily positioned and adjusted for different exercises, allowing for bilateral therapy and progressive resistance training.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hand therapy devices are used, then therapy function is provided, but the devices are expensive and immobile
Solution Approach 1:
The therapy device is divided into separate modular components including a base unit, a post assembly, and multiple hand tool openings that can be independently configured. This segmentation allows the device to be compact for portability while maintaining complete therapy functionality when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The device incorporates multiple hand tool openings (first through fourth openings) that can accommodate various hand tools for different therapy exercises. The progressive resistance system can be adjusted to provide multiple resistance levels, making the single device capable of performing multiple therapy functions for different patient needs.
2Reliability
If conventional hand therapy devices are used, then therapy function is provided, but they lack versatility for diverse injuries and patient sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The device features adjustable components including the progressive resistance system that can be modified to provide varying resistance levels, and the hand tool openings that can be reconfigured to accommodate different hand tool sizes and types. This dynamic adjustability allows the device to adapt to diverse injury types and patient anatomies.
Solution Approach 2:
Each hand tool opening is equipped with its own progressive resistance system and adjustment mechanism, allowing independent customization of resistance and positioning for each tool. This local quality control enables precise adaptation to specific patient needs and injury patterns.
3Device complexity
If fixed resistance levels are used, then device simplicity is maintained, but progressive resistance training is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The progressive resistance system is pre-configured with multiple resistance levels that can be selectively engaged. The system includes pre-arranged adjustment mechanisms that allow patients to progress through predetermined resistance stages without requiring complex real-time adjustments, maintaining simplicity while enabling progressive training.
Data Source
AI summary
A hand therapy system including a post having an upper end and a lower end, a support base secured to the lower end of the post for supporting the post atop a surface, and a hand exercise housing mounted on the post for moving between the upper and lower ends of the post. The hand exercise housing includes a plurality of first hand tool openings provided on a first side of the hand exercise housing, a plurality of second hand tool openings provided on a second side of the hand exercise housing, a progressive resistance system in communication with each of the first and second hand tool openings, and a plurality of resistance level adjustment elements coupled with the progressive resistance system. Each of the resistance level adjustment elements is associated with one of the first and second hand tool openings for selectively adjusting the resistance level of each of the first and second hand tool openings.