Modular Leg Support System for Total Knee Replacement Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current devices for supporting patients recovering from total knee replacement or other medical procedures fail to prevent leg rotation outward, leading to discomfort and hindered recovery, and are not adjustable to accommodate different leg sizes or ensure proper leg alignment.
Innovation Solution
A foot support system with tapered leg grooves and heel cups, combined with hip wedges, designed to maintain proper leg alignment and prevent outward rotation, accommodating various leg sizes through modular components and adjustable dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If prior art devices are used to support patients' legs, then leg support is provided, but leg rotation outward is not prevented and proper alignment is not maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into multiple functional components: a foot support unit with heel cups and leg grooves, and separate hip wedges. This segmentation allows each component to address specific alignment requirements independently, ensuring both comfort and proper leg alignment without the limitations of single-unit prior art devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The hip wedges act as intermediary elements positioned between the patient's hips and the foot support. These wedges mediate the alignment by preventing outward rotation of the legs while maintaining comfort, bridging the gap between simple support and precise alignment requirements.
2Ease of manufacture
If fixed-size devices are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but patients with different leg sizes cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates adjustable components including可变 width leg grooves and reconfigurable hip wedge positions. This dynamic design allows the device to adapt to different patient sizes and body types while maintaining the simplicity of a modular construction approach that does not require complex custom manufacturing for each patient.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design with interchangeable components creates a universal device that can accommodate various leg sizes and patient types. The same basic structure with adjusted components serves multiple patients differently, eliminating the need for custom-made devices for each patient size while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Device complexity
If non-adjustable devices are used, then device complexity is reduced, but proper leg alignment for different patients cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the device into modular components (foot support unit, hip wedges, leg grooves), the design achieves precise alignment capabilities through component arrangement rather than complex integrated structures. Each component maintains simple geometry while their coordinated arrangement provides precise alignment control.
Solution Approach 2:
The device utilizes adjustable parameters such as the position of hip wedges and the configuration of leg grooves to achieve precise alignment for different patients. These parameter adjustments are made through simple reconfiguration of modular components rather than complex mechanisms, maintaining device simplicity while ensuring alignment precision.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a support system for patients recovering from medical procedures, including from total knee replacement surgery. The disclosed system may include a foot support unit which supports a patient's feet, where the foot support may have leg grooves separated by a divider and a tapered height. The foot support may be placed in a patient's bed. Additionally hip support wedges may be placed beneath a patient's hip, where the hip supports provide the benefit of counteracting a leg's natural tendency to rotate outwards. The disclosed foot support and hip wedges promote proper alignment and in that way provide comfort and assist in recovery.