Massage Glove with Resilient Elements for Pressure Therapy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Care providers in physical and massage therapy often suffer from repetitive stress injuries due to prolonged application of pressure with their hands, which can lead to pain and reduced ability to provide treatment, as existing devices lack precision and flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A glove with attachable massage elements of varying resiliency, size, and shape is used to apply pressure to patients, reducing stress on the care provider's hands and enhancing treatment effectiveness by distributing pressure more accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a care provider applies pressure manually with their hands, then treatment precision and feedback are improved, but repetitive stress injuries and hand fatigue worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (pressure application device with cushioning element) between the care provider's hand and the patient's body. This mediator allows precise pressure application while protecting the care provider's hand from repetitive stress injuries, resolving the contradiction between treatment precision and hand injury risk
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure application device is segmented into distinct components: a support surface, a cushioning element, and a pressure application surface. This segmentation allows the cushioning element to absorb repetitive stress while the pressure application surface maintains treatment precision, addressing both concerns simultaneously
2Reliability
If mechanical pressure devices are used, then care provider hand injury is reduced, but treatment precision and feedback are attenuated
Solution Approach 1:
The device serves as an intermediary that combines mechanical protection with sensory feedback capabilities. The cushioning element protects the hand while the pressure application surface maintains contact quality, and the system includes sensors to preserve feedback accuracy, thus resolving the contradiction between hand protection and treatment precision
3Duration of action of moving object
If prolonged manual pressure application is performed, then treatment effectiveness is maintained, but hand fatigue and strength loss worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The device segments the pressure application function from the hand, allowing the hand to rest on the support surface while the pressure application surface does the work. This enables prolonged treatment duration without hand fatigue or strength loss
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed to be self-supporting with a support surface that bears the care provider's hand weight, eliminating the need for continuous muscular effort to maintain pressure application, thus enabling extended treatment sessions without strength depletion
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The use of massage elements on a glove reduces the risk and severity of repetitive motion injuries while enabling more effective and precise treatment delivery, conserving hand strength and preventing fatigue.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient element, such as a spring or rubber band, that can be compressed to store energy and then released to propel a projectile
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is an apparatus for reducing the stresses applied to the hands of a therapist and improving the ability of the therapist to accurately apply a desired level of pressure to a patient when performing massage therapy on that patient.