Continuous passive motion apparatus
First Claim
1. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
- a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion;
a flexion and extension assembly connected to the drive tube and including at least one finger motion assembly pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a quaternion coupler adapted to enable movement of the finger motion assembly in at least 2 degrees of freedom relative to the coupler; and
at least one finger splint releasably connected to a distal end of the finger motion assembly and adapted to receive a distal phalanx of the at least one finger, the finger splint being formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates layers selected from the group including stiffening, bend memory, and hypo-allergenic adhesive layers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of the fingers of a patient'"'"'s hand that includes a forearm hand splint. A drive unit is mounted on a palmer aspect of the splint and incorporates a motorized drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion. A flexion and extension assembly is connected to the tube and includes at least one finger motion assembly. The finger motion assembly is pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a coupler adapted to enable movement in at least 2 degrees of freedom relative to the coupler. The coupler is further adapted to releasably engage the at least one finger motion assembly after adjustment to optimally accommodate the anatomical arrangement, size, and range and path of motion of the fingers. The finger motion assembly includes a resilient prime mover selected to be repeatedly bendable without damage but with a bend memory so that it can be adjusted to have an angle of up to about 90 degrees. In variations of the exemplary embodiment, the prime mover is interconnected to the coupler by at least one pivot ball received within the coupler and configured to move about multiple axes of motion. At least one finger splint is releasably connected to a distal end of the finger motion assembly and is adapted to receive a distal phalanx of the finger. The finger splint is preferably formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates one or more stiffening, bend memory, and hypo-allergenic adhesive layers.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion;
a flexion and extension assembly connected to the drive tube and including at least one finger motion assembly pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a quaternion coupler adapted to enable movement of the finger motion assembly in at least 2 degrees of freedom relative to the coupler; and
at least one finger splint releasably connected to a distal end of the finger motion assembly and adapted to receive a distal phalanx of the at least one finger, the finger splint being formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates layers selected from the group including stiffening, bend memory, and hypo-allergenic adhesive layers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion;
a flexion and extension assembly connected to the drive tube and including at least one finger motion assembly pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a coupler adapted to enable movement of the finger motion assembly in multiple degrees of freedom relative to the hand splint; and
at least one finger splint releasably connected to a distal end of the finger motion assembly and adapted to receive a distal phalanx of the at least one finger and being formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates a combination of layers selected from the group including stiffening, bend memory, and hypo-allergenic adhesive layers. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion;
at least one finger motion assembly connected to a proximal end of the drive tube and adapted with a coupler that enables movement of the finger motion assembly in at least 2 degrees of freedom relative to the hand splint; and
,at least one finger splint releasably connected to a distal end of the finger motion assembly and adapted to receive a distal phalanx of the hand and being formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates at least one layer having a surface treated with a hypo-allergenic adhesive. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be earned from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion;
a flexion and extension assembly connected to the drive tube and including at least one finger motion assembly pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a quaternion coupler adapted to enable movement of the finger motion assembly in at least 4 degrees of freedom relative to the coupler, and wherein the finger motion assembly is pivotally interconnected by the coupler which is further adapted to releasably engage the finger motion assembly after adjustment to accommodate the anatomical arrangement, size, and range and path of motion of the at least one finger; and
at least one finger splint releasably connected to a distal end of the finger motion assembly and adapted to receive a distal phalanx of the at least one finger and being formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates layers selected from the group including stiffening, bend memory, and hypo-allergenic adhesive layers.
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14. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of the fingers of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising
a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion; -
a flexion and extension assembly connected to the drive tube and including at least 4 finger motion assemblies each pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a coupler adapted to enable movement of each finger motion assembly in at least 4 degrees of freedom relative to the coupler, and wherein each finger motion assembly is pivotally interconnected by the coupler which is further adapted to releasably engage the at least 4 finger motion assemblies after adjustment to accommodate the anatomical arrangement, size, and range and path of motion of the fingers; and
at least one finger splint releasably connected to a distal end of each of the finger motion assemblies and adapted to receive a different distal phalanx of the fingers and being formed from a flexible sheet material that incorporates layers selected from the group including stiffening, bend memory, and hypo-allergenic adhesive layers.
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15. A finger motion assembly for use with a continuous passive motion apparatus and for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a resilient prime mover formed from a rod material selected to be repeatedly bendable without damage and to have a bend memory and material property that withstands repetitive tensile, compressive, and shear loads;
wherein the prime mover is further formed to have, as measured between proximal and distal ends, an acute angle of approximately between 0 and 90 degrees;
an adjustable and releasable finger attachment clip about the distal end, and adapted to receive the at least one finger; and
an adjustable attach device about the proximal end that is configured for adjustment in at least 2 degrees of freedom, and for connection to and actuation by the continuous passive motion apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A flexion and extension actuator assembly for use with a continuous passive motion apparatus adapted for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a coupler adapted to be driven and actuated by the continuous passive motion apparatus;
at least one pivot ball received within the coupler and configured to move about multiple axes of motion;
a finger motion assembly that includes an adjustably bendable rod with a proximal end that has an adjustable attach device configured to move about multiple at axes of motion relative to the coupler; and
wherein the pivot ball is adapted to be releasably constrained within the coupler whereby the finger motion assembly can be adjusted to optimally conform to the respective anatomical size, arrangement, and range and path of motion of the patient'"'"'s at least one finger and hand. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A finger splint adapted for use with a continuous passive motion apparatus and to receive a distal end of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a substantially planar flexible sheet material that incorporates a resilient stiffening layer, a bend memory layer, a hypo-allergenic adhesive layer, and a releasable adhesive protective liner;
a plurality of wrap and attachment tabs formed in the sheet and configured to substantially encircle at least the distal phalanx of the at least one finger; and
wherein each of the plurality of attachment tabs is formed with a recess, the recesses being arranged to be aligned when the finger is received within the splint whereby the splint pivotally connects to the continuous passive motion apparatus about the aligned recesses. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A finger immobilization splint adapted for use with a continuous passive motion apparatus and to immobilize at least one joint of a finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a substantially planar flexible sheet material that incorporates a resilient stiffening layer, a bend memory layer, a hypo-allergenic adhesive layer, and a releasable adhesive protective liner;
a plurality of wrap tabs formed in the sheet and configured to substantially encircle at least one joint of the at least one finger; and
whereby the at least one joint is immobilized when each of the plurality of wrap tabs substantially encircles the at least one finger. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and father adapted to drive a flexion and extension assembly adapted to mobilize the at least one finger, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion; and
control electronics that include a ladder logic switching circuit having at least one relay and a plurality of limit and contact switches in electronic communication with the control electronics and the motor and operative to reversibly actuate the motor to move the drive tube over the selectable range of motion; and
wherein the control electronics draw power only during a period of time during which the direction of operation of the motor is reversed by the control electronics.
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43. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion;
a flexion and extension assembly connected to the drive tube and including at least one finger motion assembly pivotally interconnected to a proximal end of the drive tube by a quaternion coupler adapted to enable movement of the finger motion assembly in at least 2 degrees of freedom relative to the coupler;
control electronics that include a ladder logic switching circuit having a single latch coil relay and a plurality of limit and contact switches in electronic communication with the control electronics and the motor and operative to reversibly actuate the motor to move the drive tube over the selectable range of motion; and
wherein the control electronics draw power only during a period of time during which the direction of operation of the motor is reversed by the control electronics.
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44. A continuous passive motion apparatus for therapeutic treatment of at least one finger of a patient'"'"'s hand, comprising:
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a drive unit, adapted to be carried from a palmer aspect of a hand splint adapted to be worn about a forearm of the patient proximate to the hand, and further adapted to drive a flexion and extension assembly adapted to mobilize the at least one finger, and incorporating a motor driven drive tube actuatable over a selectable range of motion that is selected by a range of motion adjuster; and
control electronics that include a ladder logic switching circuit having at least one relay and a plurality of limit and contact switches in electronic communication with the control electronics and the motor and operative to reversibly actuate the motor to move the drive tube over the selectable range of motion; and
wherein the control electronics draw power only during a period of time during which the direction of operation of the motor is reversed by the control electronics.
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Specification