Method for aligning a prosthesis

• US 9,278,014 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2014
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orthocare Innovations, LLC
• Original Assignee: Orthocare Innovations, LLC
• Inventors: Macomber, Ben Gilbert, Boone, David Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Woznicki, Jacqueline
• Application Number:
  US14/307,205
• Publication Number:
  US 20150100292A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/60 Artificial legs or feet or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/66 Feet; Ankle joints
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/70 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/76 Means for assembling, fitting or testing prostheses, e.g. for measuring or balancing, e.g. alignment means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/5021 for adjusting a position by translation along an axis
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/5023 along two perpendicular axes
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/704 computer-controlled, e.g. robotic control
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/705 Electromagnetic data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/7635 for measuring force, pressure or mechanical tension
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/7645 for measuring torque, e.g. hinge or turning moment, moment of force
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2002/7695 Means for testing non-implantable prostheses
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/24 for testing alignment of axes
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/2218 the supports being of the column type, e.g. cylindric, adapted for measuring a force along a single direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/2231 the supports being disc- or ring-shaped, adapted for measuring a force along a single direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 5/162 of piezoresistors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/17 Mechanical parametric or variational design

Abstract

A computerized prosthesis alignment system includes a transducer that can measure socket reactions in the anterior/posterior plane and the right/left planes, while canceling or reducing the transverse forces on the measurements of these socket reactions. In addition, the transducer is also capable of determining the axial load or weight experienced by the prosthesis. The computerized prosthesis alignment system is in communication with a host computer. The moment data from the transducer is interpreted by the user via a computer interface. The host computer includes memory for storing one or more applications. These applications receive data from the transducer, interpret the data with discrete algebraic or fuzzy logic algorithms, and display the output numerically and graphically. Applications may also interpret the data to provide analyses to the user for aligning the prosthesis.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed, perform a method for analyzing misalignment of a prosthesis, the method comprising:

obtaining signals representative of moments in the anterior/posterior plane and right/left plane;

obtaining corrected signals by applying a correction factor to the signals;

computing gait variables from the corrected signals; and

applying the gait variables to a model of alignment.