Device for investigation of muscular contraction
First Claim
1. A device for determining a change in mechanical magnitudes during muscular contraction and for correlating with a change in electrical magnitudes of nerve and muscle during muscular contraction in a body part having a joint with an axis of rotation, comprising:
- a housing and within the housing, a member for supporting the body part;
two axles extending outward from said member and being supported for rotation in said housing so as to align horizontally with the axis of rotation of the joint;
means for exciting the muscle so that the muscle becomes contracted during a period of muscle contraction and thereby moves the body part rotatably about the axis of rotation of the axle joint to effect rotating movement, whereby said axles (7,
8) rotate in response to the rotating movement of the body part;
counterforce means coupled to one of said axles for providing a counterforce against the force of the muscle during the period of muscle contraction as caused by said exciting means; and
measuring means for measuring muscular contraction and transmitting measured values indicative of said muscular contraction including potentiometer means attached to the other axle to measure angular positions of said axle in relation to the rotating movement of the body part during said period of muscle contraction;
means for measuring a total nerve potential and conductive speed of the nerve including a first pair of electrodes (49,
50) attachable to the body part above a nerve of the contracted muscle;
means for measuring electric potential fluctuations and including a second pair of electrodes (51,
52) attachable to the body part above the contracted muscle;
means for measuring muscular vibration and including a stethoscope head (3) and microphone (54) coupled to the stethoscope head (3), said stethoscope head (3) being attachable to the body part above the contracted muscle; and
means for simultaneously recording measured values delivered by said potentiometer means, said first and second pairs of electrodes and said microphone.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to a device for the determination of the change in the mechanical magnitudes during muscular contraction and for the correlation with the change in the electrical magnitudes of nerve and muscle during muscular contraction. The body part with joint, which is to be investigated, is attached to a bolster (2) which rotates sagittally and is supported by means of axles (7, 8) on a line coinciding with the axis of rotation of the joint. An electromagnetically controlled functional coupling (10) and an electric motor (9) are connected to the axle (7) so as to be controllable, and horizontally extending flexure beams (27, 28), with stress measurement strips (29, 30), are fastened at the longitudinal sides of the electric motor (9). A potentiometer (11) and a torque measurement strip (31) are arranged on the axle (8). Electrodes (49, 50 and/or 51, 52) are arranged above the contracting muscle or its nerve and/or a stethoscope head (53), with a microphone (54) coupled thereto, is arranged above the muscle. Stress measurement strips (29, 30), potentiometer (11), electrodes (49, 50, 51, 52) and stethoscope/microphone (53, 54) are connected with an electric amplifier (40), and the latter is connected with a recording device (41). The muscle is excited by means of an electric stimulus current stimulator (39) and surface electrodes (42).
For the investigations of muscular contraction in smaller joints and muscles (e.g. in the hand), a rotatable frame is proposed as a further development, which consists of U-shaped structural component parts (69, 72), which are connected with one another and have shared axles (68), and is attached to the investigated body part (e.g. thumb) with the axles (68) on a horizontal line with the axis of articulation. The potentiometer (11) and the torque strips (31) are located on the axles (68). During the contraction of the muscle, the frame presses on the frame construction (80, 81, 82), which comprises a pressure plate (78), which is vertically movable in the latter, and a pressure spring (79), via a lever (75) with a double roller (77) which runs in defined cam guides (87).
46 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A device for determining a change in mechanical magnitudes during muscular contraction and for correlating with a change in electrical magnitudes of nerve and muscle during muscular contraction in a body part having a joint with an axis of rotation, comprising:
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a housing and within the housing, a member for supporting the body part; two axles extending outward from said member and being supported for rotation in said housing so as to align horizontally with the axis of rotation of the joint; means for exciting the muscle so that the muscle becomes contracted during a period of muscle contraction and thereby moves the body part rotatably about the axis of rotation of the axle joint to effect rotating movement, whereby said axles (7,
8) rotate in response to the rotating movement of the body part;counterforce means coupled to one of said axles for providing a counterforce against the force of the muscle during the period of muscle contraction as caused by said exciting means; and measuring means for measuring muscular contraction and transmitting measured values indicative of said muscular contraction including potentiometer means attached to the other axle to measure angular positions of said axle in relation to the rotating movement of the body part during said period of muscle contraction;
means for measuring a total nerve potential and conductive speed of the nerve including a first pair of electrodes (49,
50) attachable to the body part above a nerve of the contracted muscle;
means for measuring electric potential fluctuations and including a second pair of electrodes (51,
52) attachable to the body part above the contracted muscle;
means for measuring muscular vibration and including a stethoscope head (3) and microphone (54) coupled to the stethoscope head (3), said stethoscope head (3) being attachable to the body part above the contracted muscle; and
means for simultaneously recording measured values delivered by said potentiometer means, said first and second pairs of electrodes and said microphone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A device for determining a change in mechanical magnitudes during muscular contraction and for correlating with a change in electrical magnitudes of nerve and muscle during muscular contraction in a body part having a joint with an axis of rotation, comprising:
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a housing (11) with outer walls (12,
13);a sagittally rotatable bolster (2); means for supporting said bolster (2) in said housing (11), said supporting means including two axles (7,
8) extending outward from said rotatable bolster and leading through said outer walls (12,
13), said axles (7,
8) being formed to align horizontally with the axis of rotation of the joint;an electric current source (23); a current stimulator (39) connected to said electric current source (23); means for exciting the muscle, said exciting means including surface electrodes (42) attachable to places on the body part relevant for muscular excitation and being responsive to said current stimulator (39); an electric coupling (10) having discs (18,
19) adjoining each other, at least one of said discs (18,
19) having a friction brake lining (20), said coupling being formed to respond to electromagnetic means (21,
22);an electric motor (9) connected to said electric coupling (10), both said electric motor (9) and said electric coupling (10) being connected to one of said axles (7) on said outer wall (12) of said housing (1) and being red in a controllable manner by said electric current source (23); first means for measuring muscular contraction, said first measuring means being formed to transmit measured values indicative of said muscular contraction and including a potentiometer means (11) attached to the other axle (8) at an outside of said outer wall (13) of said housing (1), second means for measuring a total nerve potential and for measuring a conductive speed of the nerve, said second measuring means including electrodes (49,
50) attachable above the nerve of the contracted muscle, and third means for measuring electric potential fluctuations, said third measuring means including electrodes (51,
52) attachable above the contracted muscle, a stethoscope head (53) attachable above the contracted muscle, and a microphone (54) coupled to the stethoscope head (53);an amplifier (40) connected to the electrodes (49, 50, 51,
52) of the second and third measuring means and the microphone (54) of the stethoscope head (53) and the potentiometer means (11) and the electric motor (9), said amplifier being formed to amplify said measured values so as to form and transmit amplified measured values; andrecording means for recording the amplified measured values, said recording means being connected to said amplifier for receiving and recording said amplified measured values.
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24. A device for determining a change in mechanical and/or electrical magnitudes during muscular contraction and for correlating with a change in electrical magnitudes of nerve and muscle during muscular contraction in a body part having a joint with an axis of rotation, comprising:
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a stationary member; a supporting member for supporting the body part; axles extending outward from the supporting member and being mounted for rotation on the stationary member; means for fixing the body part on the stationary and supporting members; means for adjusting the position of the body part on the supporting member so as to align the axis of rotation of the joint with the axles; means for exciting the muscle so that the muscle becomes contracted during a period of muscle contraction and thereby moves the body part rotatably about the axis of rotation of the joint to effect rotating movement, whereby the supporting member and the axles rotate in response to the rotating movement of the body part; counterforce means for providing a counterforce against the force of the muscle during the period of muscle contraction as caused by said excitation means; means for measuring one or more of the rotation of the axles during the muscular contraction, electrical signals generated during the muscular contraction, and electrical magnitude of the nerve during the muscular contraction, the measuring means being formed to transmit values indicative of the muscular contraction; and means for receiving the measured values and recording the same. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification