Ergonomic Soft Tissue Mobilization Device with Compressible Coating
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current soft tissue mobilization devices are designed to help patients but often cause strain and fatigue in the hands and forearms of practitioners due to their thinness and lack of ergonomic design, leading to chronic issues like carpal tunnel and discomfort.
Innovation Solution
A soft tissue mobilization device with a larger ergonomic gripping area coated with a compressible material that redistributes strain from small muscles to larger muscles, maintaining sensitivity for resonance feedback and reducing fatigue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the device is made thin for effective tissue mobilization, then the treatment effectiveness is improved, but the strain on the practitioner's hand muscles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the device in the longitudinal dimension by adding an elongate handle portion that protrudes from the treatment head. This dimensional extension moves the grip area away from the treatment area, allowing the practitioner's hand to be positioned farther from the point of application. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining the thin treatment head for effective tissue mobilization while providing sufficient handle length to reduce hand strain through better leverage and positioning.
2Measurement precision
If the device has a small gripping surface for precise control, then the control precision is improved, but the fatigue of hand muscles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into distinct functional zones: a treatment head portion for precise tissue contact and an elongate handle portion for comfortable gripping. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the treatment head maintains a compact size for precise control while the handle provides an extended gripping surface that distributes hand fatigue, resolving the contradiction between control precision and fatigue resistance.
3Force
If the device is made of hard material for effective force application, then the force transmission is improved, but the comfort of the practitioner's hand decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The device applies different material qualities to different parts: the treatment head is made of hard material (metal, ceramic, or stone) for effective force transmission to tissues, while the handle portion is made of softer, more comfortable material for hand contact. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction by ensuring force transmission effectiveness at the treatment point while providing hand comfort at the grip point.
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 device decreases fatigue and stress on the practitioner's hand while maintaining sensitivity for effective tissue mobilization, reducing the risk of chronic hand and forearm problems.
Implementation Method 1
a hand-held portion, wherein the hand-held portion is coated with a compressible material, when it is warm, to take the strain off the hand of the user
Data Source
AI summary
A soft tissue mobilization device having a hand-held portion coated with a compressible material to take the strain off the hand of the user when using the device. The hand-held portion is coated with a compressible material to take a strain off the hand of the user, is custom molded to the user's hand, and the compressible material is a compound comprising a mixture of one or more low melting point polymers.