Hippotherapy Device Posture Monitoring and Safety Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hippotherapy devices lack safety features to ensure the secure and safe operation of patients during therapy sessions, particularly in the absence of a therapist, as they do not effectively monitor and respond to deviations in patient posture or unsafe conditions.
Innovation Solution
A hippotherapy device equipped with a programmable movement control, automatic movement device, and a person securing system that includes sensors to detect physical variables of the patient's posture and trigger safety functions such as stopping the movement or alerting a therapist if deviations exceed predetermined thresholds, ensuring the patient's safety through a combination of mechanical and sensory feedback mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automatic movement device is used to move the saddle according to predetermined movement pattern, then productivity and automation are improved, but reliability and safety deteriorate due to lack of real-time monitoring and response to patient posture deviations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensors continuously detect the patient's actual body posture and compare it with expected posture values derived from the movement pattern program. When deviations exceed a predetermined tolerance threshold, the auxiliary control device triggers safety functions to stop the movement device or alert the therapist, thereby maintaining reliability while preserving automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-monitoring and self-correction by automatically detecting posture deviations and triggering safety responses without requiring continuous therapist intervention. The auxiliary control device autonomously compares actual versus expected posture values and activates safety functions when necessary, enabling the system to safeguard itself during automatic operation.
2Reliability
If continuous therapist presence is required to ensure patient safety, then reliability is improved, but productivity and ease of operation deteriorate due to increased operational complexity and reduced autonomy
Solution Approach 1:
The hippotherapy device performs self-monitoring and self-protection through integrated sensors and an auxiliary control device that automatically detects posture deviations and triggers safety functions. This eliminates the need for continuous therapist presence while maintaining patient safety, thereby improving productivity and operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors patient posture through sensors and provides real-time feedback to the control system. When deviations are detected, the feedback loop triggers automated safety responses, replacing the need for constant therapist oversight and enabling unsupervised automatic operation.
3Reliability
If sensors and auxiliary control device are added to monitor patient posture, then reliability and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary control device serves multiple functions: it receives sensor data, compares actual versus expected posture values, determines deviations, and triggers safety functions. This multi-functionality consolidates complex monitoring and control tasks into a single integrated device, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the control device with sensing, comparison, and safety response functions into an integrated auxiliary control system. By merging these functions into a single device rather than separate components, the system achieves reliable patient monitoring without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A hippotherapy device includes a saddle for receiving a person thereon, a programmable movement control, and an automatic movement device for automatically moving the saddle according to a movement pattern program. The program specifies a sequence of target values of positions and orientations of the saddle in the locality of the movement device in order to execute the movement pattern. The hippotherapy device further includes a person securing device having a main support on which a body strap is mounted, at least one sensor for detecting at least one physical variable characterizing the body posture of the person on the saddle, and an auxiliary control device configured to compare expected values of the physical variable with current values of the physical variable detected by the sensor, and to trigger an associated safety function, if a deviation of the current values from the expected values exceeds a predetermined tolerance threshold.