Hip Off-Loading Assembly With Adjustable Distraction and Rotation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for relieving hip joint weight during treatment are intrusive, painful, and reduce or eliminate joint mobility, necessitating less invasive, less painful, and less maintenance-intensive solutions that preserve joint mobility.
Innovation Solution
A hip-off-loading device comprising a pelvic assembly with a distraction adjustment mechanism, a rotation mechanism, and a femoral assembly that allows for adjustable distraction, rotation, and movement of the hip joint, using materials like titanium, stainless steel, and carbon fiber to accommodate patient-specific anatomies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If intrusive methods are used to relieve hip joint weight, then hip joint off-loading is achieved, but joint mobility is reduced or eliminated and the procedure becomes painful
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external off-loading device that acts as an intermediary between the patient's body weight and the hip joint. This device includes a pelvic support component that attaches to the pelvis and a femoral component that attaches to the femur, with a linkage mechanism between them. The device redistributes weight forces through this external structure, reducing the load on the hip joint while preserving natural joint motion and avoiding direct intrusion into the joint space.
2Force
If intrusive methods are used to relieve hip joint weight, then hip joint off-loading is achieved, but the procedure becomes painful
Solution Approach 1:
The external off-loading device serves as a mediator that transfers weight-bearing forces away from the hip joint through external attachment points on the pelvis and femur. By using an external structure with linkage mechanisms rather than direct joint intervention, the device eliminates painful intrusion into the joint space while still achieving effective weight off-loading.
3Device complexity
If fixed distraction is used in off-loading devices, then structural simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to patient-specific anatomies is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates adjustable and adaptable features into the off-loading device, including adjustable linkage lengths and configurable attachment point positions. These dynamic elements allow the device to be customized to match various patient-specific anatomies while maintaining reasonable structural complexity through modular design principles.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention includes a hip-off-loading device including a pelvic assembly including a pelvic base plate configured for attachment to a human pelvis; a distraction adjustment mechanism coupled to the pelvic base plate, wherein the distraction adjustment mechanism is lockable, to provide for adjusting the distal distraction of the hip-off-loading device; and at least a portion of a rotation mechanism to provide for internal or external rotation or both, and to provide for non-dynamic interoperative adjustment of abduction, adduction, or both; a link movably coupled to the pelvic assembly to provide for internal or external rotation or both; and a femoral assembly coupled to the link and including a femoral attachment mechanism for attachment to a femur to provide for flexion, extension, or both.