Walking boot for diabetic and other patients
First Claim
1. An improved walking boot, comprising:
- a walking shell having an inner and an outer surface wherein the outer surface is a walking surface and the inner surface is a foot bed designed to receive and support a mid-sole;
a premolded mid-sole having a lower outer surface mounted on the foot bed, the mid-sole having an upper surface comprising a foot shaped cavity having a bottom surface with upwardly curving sides which rise to a foot shaped opening;
an inner-sole having a foot receiving upper surface and a bottom surface adapted to fit over the upper surface of the mid-sole, the inner-sole having a self-molding characteristic in response to pressure from a foot that allows the inner-sole to mold itself closely to a foot and tightly against the upwardly curving walls of the mid-sole; and
whereby support for a foot is provided around the heel and sides of the foot as well as under the foot.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An orthopedic walking boot promotes rapid healing of diabetic foot ulcerations by lowering the maximum peak pressure imposed upon the foot. The walker has a hard unyielding shell which is designed for walking. The shell closely and rigidly supports a mid-sole in a foot-shaped bed. The mid-sole has a foot-shaped cavity with rounded sides adapted to form resilient support for the heel, arch and sides of a foot in addition to the bottom of a foot. A conformable inner-sole is adapted to fit over the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole and be compressed in response to foot pressure between the sides and bottom of the foot and the sides and bottom of the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole thereby compensating for small differences between the shape of the foot and the shape of the cavity. Weight applied to the foot is transferred to the walking shell by contact between the sides of the foot, arch, and heel and the arch, heel and sides of the foot-shaped cavity as well as the bottom of the cavity thereby decreasing the peak or maximum unit pressure on the plantar surface of the foot. A breathable bootie which wraps the foot and lower leg in a protective “cocoon” is preferably secured to the upper surface of the insole thereby preventing foreign materials from entering the foot cavity.
54 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An improved walking boot, comprising:
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a walking shell having an inner and an outer surface wherein the outer surface is a walking surface and the inner surface is a foot bed designed to receive and support a mid-sole;
a premolded mid-sole having a lower outer surface mounted on the foot bed, the mid-sole having an upper surface comprising a foot shaped cavity having a bottom surface with upwardly curving sides which rise to a foot shaped opening;
an inner-sole having a foot receiving upper surface and a bottom surface adapted to fit over the upper surface of the mid-sole, the inner-sole having a self-molding characteristic in response to pressure from a foot that allows the inner-sole to mold itself closely to a foot and tightly against the upwardly curving walls of the mid-sole; and
whereby support for a foot is provided around the heel and sides of the foot as well as under the foot. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An improved walking boot, comprising:
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a walking shell having an inner surface having an upturned edge portion which forms an unyielding foot-shaped bed adapted to support a mid-sole;
a mid-sole supported in the foot-shaped bed, the mid-sole having a foot-shaped cavity with rounded sides adapted to provide form resilient support for the heel and sides of a foot in addition to the bottom of a foot;
a conformable inner-sole adapted to fit over the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole and be compressed in response to foot pressure between the sides and bottom of the foot and the sides and bottom of the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole thereby compensating for small differences between the shape of the foot and the shape of the cavity; and
whereby weight applied to the foot is transferred to the walking shell by contact between the sides of the foot and heel and the sides of the foot-shaped cavity as well as the bottom of said cavity. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An improved walking boot, comprising:
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a walking shell having an inner surface having an upturned edge portion which forms an unyielding foot-shaped bed adapted to support a mid-sole;
a mid-sole supported in the foot-shaped bed, the mid-sole being premolded to form a foot-shaped cavity with upwardly and outwardly rounded sides to form a resilient but non-compressively setting support for the sides of a heel and sides of a foot in addition to the bottom of a foot;
a conformable inner-sole formed from pliable but compressibly settable material wherein the conformable inner-sole is adapted to fit over the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole and be compressed in response to foot pressure between the sides and bottom of the foot and the sides and bottom of the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole thereby compensating for small differences between the shape of the foot and the shape of the foot-shaped cavity;
whereby weight applied to the foot compresses and molds the conformable inner-sole to fit tightly between the heel and sides of the foot thereby preloading the foot along the heel and the sides of the foot before the foot is fully loaded by fully compressing the inner-sole and the mid-sole at the bottom of the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of supporting an injured foot, comprising:
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providing a walking shell having inner and outer surfaces wherein the outer surface is a walking surface and the inner surface is a foot bed designed to receive and support a mid-sole;
mounting a premolded mid-sole in the foot-bed, the mid-sole having a foot shaped cavity having a bottom surface with upwardly curving sides which rise to a foot shaped opening;
placing a self-molding inner-sole having a foot receiving upper surface and a bottom surface adapted to fit over the upper surface of the mid-sole in a manner that allows the inner-sole to conform itself closely to a foot and fit tightly against the upwardly curving walls of the mid-sole;
placing a foot on the foot receiving upper surface of the self-molding inner-sole over the foot receiving cavity in the mid-sole; and
putting weight on the foot, thereby conforming and compressing the self-molding inner-sole closely against the foot between the bottom and sides of the foot and the foot-shaped cavity to shift some of the weight to the side portions of the foot before the bottom of the foot is loaded, thereby minimizing unit pressure applied to the foot. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification