Functional Knit Orthopedic Device with Restrictive Cables
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional orthopedic braces and supports are overly rigid, leading to patient discomfort and reduced compliance, which can hinder rehabilitation outcomes, as they often require rigid members to immobilize joints effectively.
Innovation Solution
A functional knit orthopedic device with integrated restrictive cables or bands made from metallic yarns, thermoplastic fibers, or elastics, designed to provide adjustable motion restriction and guidance, promoting comfort and compliance through biomechanical alignment and motor activation patterns, using various knitting techniques to create customizable textile structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid members and hinges are used to immobilize joints, then joint immobilization is improved, but patient comfort and compliance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional rigid members and hinges with a flexible knit fabric construction that provides joint immobilization through elastic compression and integrated restrictive cables. The knit structure conformably wraps around the joint, providing stable immobilization without the discomfort of rigid components, thereby improving patient compliance while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines multiple materials including knit fabric, elastic fibers, and restrictive cables to create a composite orthopedic device. This composite structure integrates the immobilization function of rigid elements with the comfort and flexibility of soft materials, resolving the contradiction between reliable joint control and patient comfort.
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid members are used to provide ultimate immobilization, then motion restriction precision is improved, but device complexity and patient comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential immobilization function from complex rigid mechanical structures and implements it through a simplified knit fabric construction with integrated cables. This eliminates the need for hinges, rigid bars, and complex adjustment mechanisms while maintaining precise motion restriction through the elastic properties of the knit material.
3Measurement precision
If rigid braces are used to control joint motion, then motion control accuracy is improved, but patient comfort and wearability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the orthopedic device from rigid to flexible, using elastic knit fabric with controlled compression forces. The restrictive cables are integrated into the knit structure at specific tensions, providing accurate motion control through material properties rather than rigid mechanical constraints, thereby improving wearability while maintaining control accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
An orthopedic device includes a textile panel having interior and exterior surfaces, and a first stabilizer assembly including a first tubular welt sewn or knitted within and extending from an exterior surface of the textile panel. A first cable is slidably extending through the tubular welt and a strap is connected to a first end of the cable extending from a first opening of the welt, and the strap is adjustably securable over the textile panel. The orthopedic device may include various portions of stretchability and features for receiving components for the orthopedic device.