Orthopedic Sleeve Locking Cuff for Migration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing orthopedic devices, including flexible sleeves, face challenges such as ineffective migration control, discomfort due to rigidity, skin irritation, and difficulty in donning and doffing, which hinder user compliance and rehabilitation effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A sleeve designed to intimately fit the limb and joint, featuring integrated or attachable bands for restricting and guiding the joint, and a locking cuff with a tacky band to secure the orthopedic device in place, thereby enhancing migration control and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rigid members and hinges are used to immobilize a joint, then immobilization effectiveness is improved, but user comfort and compliance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible orthopedic devices and sleeves that conform to the user's anatomy, replacing rigid members and hinges with flexible materials that provide support while maintaining comfort. The flexible device contours to the body or joint, minimizing movement restriction and discomfort while still providing the necessary support and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes materials with varying elasticity and compression properties to achieve different levels of support in different areas. The flexible orthopedic device is configured to stretch in different ways, enabling greater muscle stability while maintaining comfort, thus changing the physical parameters of the support structure to balance immobilization effectiveness with user comfort.
2Reliability
If frictional material is applied to the support's interior to control migration, then migration control is improved, but ease of donning deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies frictional material selectively to specific areas of the support's interior where migration control is most needed, rather than uniformly across the entire surface. This localized application provides effective migration control while minimizing the impact on ease of donning, as the frictional material is concentrated in key areas rather than creating uniform resistance throughout.
3Reliability
If highly compressive body panels are used to hold the device in place, then migration control is improved, but ease of donning and comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses body panels with optimized compression parameters that provide sufficient migration control without excessive compressive force. The compression level is adjusted to a range that balances migration control effectiveness with ease of donning and user comfort, avoiding the extreme of highly compressive panels while still preventing unwanted device migration.
4Reliability
If straps are used to hold the support on the leg, then migration control is improved, but comfort and ease of use deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes or minimizes the use of traditional straps by extracting their migration control function and replacing it with integrated features such as frictional material and elastic retention mechanisms built into the support structure itself. This eliminates the need for separate straps that can create discomfort and tangling, while maintaining effective migration control through the integrated design.
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 sleeve provides improved migration control, increased comfort, and enhanced biomechanical support, making it easier to don and doff while maintaining the orthopedic device's effectiveness in treating joint-related pathologies.
Implementation Method 1
a locking cuff with a tacky band to secure the orthopedic device in place
Data Source
AI summary
A sleeve has a tubular body formed from an elasticized textile and has first and second ends. The first end defines a locking cuff having a tacky band extending about an exterior surface of the sleeve; a non-tacky band located adjacent to and extending distally from the tacky band; and a receiving band located adjacent to and extending distally from the non-tacky band. The textile body further defines a central portion adjacent to and extending distally from the receiving band to the second end. The central portion includes an anatomical band arranged to contour to the anatomy of a user having at least one different elastic property different from an elastic property of the central portion outside of the anatomical band.