Orthopedic Support Shell With Adjustable Locking and Pressure Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional plaster casts and orthopedic devices often fail to provide a comfortable and anatomically correct fit, leading to pressure points and discomfort due to their rigidity and inability to adjust once hardened, which can impede the healing process by restricting blood flow and movement.
Innovation Solution
A support shell arrangement with a calf part, foot part, and sole part, featuring an articulated connection, pressure sensors, and an evaluation device that alerts the user to excessive impact loads, along with a locking device and spring element for adjustable flexion angles, ensuring proper anatomical alignment and comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plaster cast is used to treat extremity fractures, then the extremity is immobilized and protected, but once the plaster has hardened, its fit can no longer be changed, leading to pressure points and insufficient blood flow
Solution Approach 1:
The support shell arrangement uses flexible shell parts that can be dynamically adjusted during the rehabilitation process. The shells can be removed, repositioned, and reconfigured to adapt to changing extremity shapes as healing progresses, unlike rigid plaster casts that remain fixed once hardened.
Solution Approach 2:
The support system allows changing physical parameters such as shell position, orientation, and configuration. The flexible materials enable parameter adjustments in terms of fit and comfort while maintaining immobilization effectiveness throughout the recovery period.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a removable support with articulated joints is used to allow movement during rehabilitation, then flexibility and comfort are improved, but a high degree of accuracy is required when adapting shell parts to the extremity
Solution Approach 1:
The support system employs flexible shell parts that can be easily adapted to the extremity's contours. These flexible shells reduce the precision required during adaptation compared to rigid components, while still achieving accurate anatomical positioning through their conformability.
Solution Approach 2:
The support is divided into multiple separable shell parts and components that can be independently adjusted and assembled. This segmentation allows for simpler, more accurate adaptation of each individual component to specific anatomical regions, reducing the overall complexity and precision requirements compared to a single-piece design.
3Strength
If support shell arrangements have inherent rigidity to achieve necessary stability, then structural support is improved, but pressure points often arise due to individual body shape variations
Solution Approach 1:
The support system uses flexible shell parts that can conform to individual body shapes and contours. This flexibility distributes pressure evenly across the extremity surface, preventing pressure point formation while maintaining sufficient structural stability for immobilization and support during rehabilitation.
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 support shell arrangement promotes healing by preventing pressure points, allowing for anatomically correct positioning, and providing feedback on impact loads to prevent overuse, thereby enhancing comfort and reducing healthcare costs.
Implementation Method 1
the sole part having a pressure sensor device for detecting the impact load on the sole part by a patient, and the pressure sensor device having at least one pressure sensor which is designed to output a sensor signal
Implementation Method 2
a locking device, the guide rail of which is attached either to the calf part or to the foot part, and the locking element of which can be moved along the guide rail and fixed in a desired position on the guide rail
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A support shell arrangement (1) comprises a calf part (2), a foot part (3), and a locking unit (5) having a guideway (52) and a locking element (51). The locking element can be moved along the guideway in order to adjust a flexion angle (α) between the calf part and the foot part and can be fixed in a desired position. The locking unit further comprises a spring element (53) which applies a spring force to the locking element (51) such that moving the locking element along the guideway is made easier or more difficult. An insert (7) for a support shell arrangement comprises a first chamber (71) and a second chamber (72). The first chamber can be filled with a fluid by means of a first valve device (73) in order to stiffen the insert in a first region. A fluid can be discharged from a second chamber, which is filled with molded bodies (77), by means of a second valve device (74) in order to stiffen the insert in a second region.