Variable Resistance Knee Brace for Rehabilitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current knee braces during the rehabilitation phase after surgery limit the range of motion and resistance training options, leading to muscle atrophy and increased risk of joint injury, requiring prolonged and costly physical therapy sessions.
Innovation Solution
A competition knee brace with a removable variable resistance band system that provides adjustable resistance to assist in regaining muscle mass and reducing the risk of joint injury during rehabilitation, allowing for safer and faster recovery by minimizing sheer effect on the joint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a competition knee brace is used during rehabilitation to allow greater range of motion, then the patient can perform resistance training to reverse muscle atrophy, but the patient risks causing shearing or other damage to the freshly repaired joint
Solution Approach 1:
The resistance band system allows dynamic adjustment of resistance parameters during movement. The resistance force changes as the band stretches and releases, providing variable loading that adapts to the joint's position and the patient's capability, enabling safe progressive resistance training without exceeding joint safety limits
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic resistance band acts as an intermediary between the patient's muscle force and the joint. Instead of direct rigid resistance that could cause shearing, the band provides mediated resistance that absorbs and distributes forces, reducing peak shear loads on the repaired joint while still providing effective muscle stimulation
2Productivity
If open-chain resistance training is used to isolate muscles around the joint, then muscle atrophy can be reversed effectively, but significant shear effect is applied to the joint
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potentially harmful shear force into a beneficial elastic restoring force. As the resistance band stretches during movement, it stores energy and provides a restoring force that pulls the limb back toward the starting position, transforming what would be a dangerous shear load into a controlled, beneficial loading pattern that protects the joint
3Reliability
If low impact non-invasive resistance training methods are used to minimize joint stress, then joint safety is maintained, but significantly more time is required to regain atrophied muscle
Solution Approach 1:
The resistance band system transforms static, low-impact resistance into dynamic, adaptable resistance. The band's elastic properties allow it to provide increasing resistance as the limb moves through its range of motion, enabling higher intensity training that accelerates muscle recovery while maintaining joint safety through the dynamic nature of the resistance
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 brace with a variable resistance band system facilitates muscle development and reduces the need for physical therapy sessions, offering a safer, faster rehabilitation experience while being portable and affordable, allowing for use during everyday activities.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient band 86 having a first end 88 attached to the upper arm 14 and a second end 90 attached to the lower arm 24
Data Source
AI summary
A brace assists a user in regaining muscle mass during the back to work phase of joint injury recovery. The brace uses a resistance band that is attached to the upper arm and the lower arm of the brace. Proximate the arms' juncture point, a pair of gears is attached, one gear per arm with a gap between the gears. The gears rotate in lockstep with their respective arm. A variation piece has two sets of teeth, each set gearably mating with one of the gears so that rotation of the gears causes the variation piece to linearly extend and counter-rotation causes the variation piece to retract. A medial portion of the band is received by the variation piece so that as variation piece extends, it places additional tension on the band, which tension placement is reduced with variation piece retraction.