Spinal treatment devices, methods, and systems
First Claim
1. A mobile wearable body brace suitable for correcting a spinal deformity of a person, comprising:
- at least three members axially offset from each other and shaped to engage a trunk of the person at different points along the caudal-cranial axis, the members being shaped, or configured to be able to shape, to conform closely with the trunk of the person;
one or more sensors positioned on or between the at least three members and the trunk of the person to provide real-time sensor data, the one or more sensors including pressure, shear, and/or temperature sensors;
actuators selectively controlled by a controller and connecting one of the at least three members to another one of the at least three members, the number and placement of the actuators providing forces tending to displace, rotationally or linearly, at least one of the at least three members relative to another in a combination of multiple degrees of freedom, wherein one of the at least three members is able to move in three rotational modes and three displacement modes for a total of six degrees of freedom relative to another of the at least three members;
the controller connected to the actuators to control them, wherein the controller is a programmable controller programmed to generate said forces responsively to predefined parameters according to a treatment to be performed to correct the spinal deformity; and
a battery sized to permit self-sufficient powering of said actuators and said controller for autonomous and mobile use of said body brace.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Active wearable body brace embodiments provide selectable conformation control of the interface between the trunk of a human subject and the brace, which conformation may be varied over time and responsively to feedback and an updateable prescription. Further active wearable body brace embodiments provide selectable movement control of the interface between the trunk of a human subject and the brace with up to six degrees of freedom between elements to allow a controller to implement operations such as muscle challenges, active support, and passive-like support where actuators mimic springs. Further embodiments may also provide detection functions such as quantifying muscle weakness. The features of these embodiments may be combined in various ways to provide still further embodiments.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A mobile wearable body brace suitable for correcting a spinal deformity of a person, comprising:
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at least three members axially offset from each other and shaped to engage a trunk of the person at different points along the caudal-cranial axis, the members being shaped, or configured to be able to shape, to conform closely with the trunk of the person; one or more sensors positioned on or between the at least three members and the trunk of the person to provide real-time sensor data, the one or more sensors including pressure, shear, and/or temperature sensors; actuators selectively controlled by a controller and connecting one of the at least three members to another one of the at least three members, the number and placement of the actuators providing forces tending to displace, rotationally or linearly, at least one of the at least three members relative to another in a combination of multiple degrees of freedom, wherein one of the at least three members is able to move in three rotational modes and three displacement modes for a total of six degrees of freedom relative to another of the at least three members; the controller connected to the actuators to control them, wherein the controller is a programmable controller programmed to generate said forces responsively to predefined parameters according to a treatment to be performed to correct the spinal deformity; and a battery sized to permit self-sufficient powering of said actuators and said controller for autonomous and mobile use of said body brace. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification