Offset Handle Cane for Postural Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional walking canes disrupt the body's natural gait cycle and balance by shifting the center of gravity, leading to hyperextension of joints and potential physical and functional disabilities due to their size, shape, and orientation, which cause instability and pain.
Innovation Solution
A walking cane with an adjustable, angled shaft and a foot piece that mimics the heel-to-toe motion of the normal gait cycle, featuring a larger, non-planar foot surface and an offset handle to maintain vertical alignment and reduce the distance between the hip joint and the contralateral hand, allowing for more centralized weight distribution and reduced joint hyperextension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional walking canes are used with standard size, shape, and orientation, then they provide basic support, but they disrupt the body's natural gait cycle and cause joint hyperextension and instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies key parameters of the cane including shaft angle (non-vertical orientation), foot piece shape (anatomical contour matching heel-to-toe motion), and handle position (offset from shaft center). These parameter changes allow the cane to support body weight while maintaining natural gait cycle and preventing joint hyperextension
Solution Approach 2:
The cane is designed to dynamically follow the body's motion during the gait cycle. The foot piece contours allow heel-to-toe rolling motion, and the shaft angle adjusts to maintain proper alignment throughout the walking motion, transforming the cane from a static support to a dynamic assistance device
2Force
If traditional canes shift the center of gravity, then they provide lateral support, but they cause postural instability and reduce sensory input
Solution Approach 1:
The offset handle creates a counterbalancing moment that offsets the lateral shift in center of gravity. The handle position is specifically designed to generate a rotational moment that counteracts the destabilizing effect of the angled shaft, maintaining the body's center of gravity over the base of support
3Force
If the cane shaft is oriented vertically, then it provides straightforward support, but it causes the head to tilt forward and reduces proprioception
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is angled in the sagittal plane rather than oriented vertically, adding a dimensional component to the support force. This angular orientation allows the support force to have both vertical and horizontal components, maintaining head alignment with the horizon while providing adequate support
Data Source
AI summary
An ambulatory aid, such as a walking cane, including an elongate shaft, a handle at a first, upper end of the shaft, and a foot piece at a second, lower end of the shaft opposite the first end. The cane shaft can be adjustable at a top end, middle, a bottom end, or any combination thereof. The top of the cane shaft is aligned at a more posterior angle then the bottom of the shaft. The handle of the cane is elongated and extends posterior and anterior to the shaft. In a particular embodiment, a posterior portion of the handle is longer, and optionally larger in surface area than an anterior portion of the handle such that the handle is configured so that when the person's hand is gripping the handle, the handle will be offset over the shaft.