Teeter-Totter Limb Exerciser with Visual Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with neurological impairments due to stroke or brain injury face challenges in restoring limb movement and motor skills due to muscle spasticity and weakness, as existing therapeutic devices lack effectiveness in encouraging and measuring progress in rehabilitation.
Innovation Solution
A weight assist limb energizer and exercise device featuring a teeter-totter balancing beam with adjustable weight and visual feedback, designed to encourage and measure slight limb movements, comprising a pivoting beam, adjustable height, and mobility features for adaptable rehabilitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing therapeutic devices are used, then patients can perform limb exercises, but the devices lack effectiveness in encouraging and measuring progress in rehabilitation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates visual feedback mechanisms including a clear plastic track with colored zones (green, yellow, red) that provide immediate visual confirmation of limb movement progress. A ball positioned in the track rolls to indicate achievement of specific movement milestones, giving patients real-time feedback on their rehabilitation progress and encouraging continued effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses color-coded zones in the track (green for easier movements, yellow for moderate, red for more challenging positions) to visually represent different levels of achievement. This color system provides intuitive feedback to patients about their progress and the difficulty level they are working at, making abstract progress concrete and measurable.
2Ease of operation
If the device provides adjustable assistance for slight movements, then patient motivation is enhanced, but the device structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The device features a weight system that can be adjusted to provide different levels of assistance. The weight can be positioned at various locations along the beam to create different moments, allowing the device to adapt to patients at different stages of rehabilitation. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the same device to assist both patients with very limited movement and those with greater range of motion.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses a counterweight mechanism where an adjustable weight on one side of the pivot balances the limb weight on the other side. By adjusting the position and magnitude of the counterweight, the device can provide gravitational assistance to help patients initiate and complete limb movements that would otherwise be too difficult, effectively reducing the effort required while still providing therapeutic benefit.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the device is designed to be mobile and adaptable for various environments, then ease of use in different settings is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is constructed as a modular system with distinct components: a base unit with wheel mechanism, a vertical support structure, a horizontal beam with pivot point, and an adjustable weight system. These segmented components can be easily assembled and disassembled, allowing the device to be transported between facilities and reconfigured for different patients and exercise types without requiring complex tools or procedures.
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 effectively encourages and measures progress in limb movement rehabilitation by providing adjustable assistance and visual feedback, facilitating even slight movements and adaptable use in various environments, enhancing patient motivation and rehabilitation outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
the device is designed to displace the weight of the limb (upper extremity or lower extremity)
Implementation Method 2
The balancing beam is pivotably connected to the shaft via joint member and is designed to pivot laterally about the joint member
Data Source
AI summary
A device for encouraging and exercising limb movement of patients who have been affected by a stroke, brain injury, or other orthopedic conditions is provided. The device is preferably designed to encourage the slightest movement present in the limbs so that the limbs are initially encouraged and practiced. Preferably, the device is designed to displace the weight of the limb (upper extremity or lower extremity) allowing the patient the opportunity to practice using the slightest amount of available active range of motion (ROM). In one implementation, the device includes a teeter-totter balancing beam, a shaft and a base. The balancing beam is pivotably connected to the shaft via joint member and is designed to pivot laterally about the joint member.