WO2019000109A1 - Orthotic kit for persons with amputated or atrophied upper limbs - Google Patents

Abstract

Orthotic kit for people with amputated or atrophied upper limbs so that they can hold and manipulate objects and minor utensils comprising an orthosis formed by a flexible band with an inverted "T" shape made of a layer material of at least two layers, with one or more permanent magnets or magnets fixedly inserted between the at least two layers in a central area between the arms of the "T", at least one metal plate adhered to the surface of an object or utensil to hold or manipulate and adhere in turn by magnetic attraction to the magnets of the flexible band so that the person can hold and manipulate said object or utensil, and a means of adhesion of the at least one plate to the object or utensil, the flexible band having means of closure in the ends of the arms of the "T" and at the end of the vertical of the "T" arranged to place the band around the end of the atrophied or amputated extremity.

Description

 Orthotic kit for people with amputated or atrophied upper limbs.

Field of the invention

The invention relates to an orthotic kit for people with amputated or atrophied upper limbs so that they can hold and manipulate minor objects and utensils, for example eating utensils, writing or a cell phone, allowing them to perform daily activities of moving objects and providing them autonomy and independence. The invention also relates to a method of using the orthotic kit for people with amputated or atrophied upper limbs.

The invention is directed to people with the indicated condition due to diseases, malformations or accidents and can also be used by people with hand in cocoon, arthritis, osteoarthritis or other motor impairment. It can be one or both upper extremities that are in said condition. The invention is also applicable to lower extremities in some particular cases, for example in people who do not have arms and can only use their feet.

State of the art

There are several diseases or causes that involve a partial or total atrophy of the hands, as is the case of hand in cocoon, arthritis, osteoarthritis, burns or amputations of hands. The user having his hands atrophied, is affected and limited to perform daily activities such as eating, writing, brushing teeth or drawing among many other activities, affecting their autonomy and their quality of life.

According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an orthosis is defined as a support or other external device (appliance) applied to the body to modify the functional or structural aspects of the neuromusculoskeletal system. In the state of the art various solutions are known to assist people with problems to manipulate objects that comprise different grip mechanisms, which however are fundamentally designed for people with fingers. Therefore, there is a need for an orthosis for people with amputated or atrophied upper limbs that allows them to hold and manipulate minor objects and utensils for daily use.

Summary of the invention

The orthotic kit of the invention is characterized in that it comprises: an orthosis formed by a flexible band with an inverted "T" shape made of a layered material of at least two layers, an interior to dispose of the side of the person's skin and another outer, the band having an inner face formed by the inner layer that uses it and an outer face formed by the outer layer, the band also having one or more permanent magnets or magnets fixedly inserted between the at least two layers in a central area between the arms of the "T"; at least one metal plate adhered to the surface of an object or utensil to be held or manipulated and in turn adhered by magnetic attraction to the magnets of the flexible band so that the person can hold and manipulate said object or utensil; and an adhesion means for adhering the at least one plate to the object or utensil, in which the flexible band is configured with closing means at the ends of the arms of the "T" and at the end of the vertical of the "T". ", arranged to place the band around the end of the atrophied or amputated extremity by folding said arms and vertical of the" T "on it and joining together said ends of the arms and the vertical of the" T ".

Preferably the one or more magnets are inserted into corresponding concavities in a rigid magnet-containing plate inserted between the at least two layers of the flexible band. This container keeps the magnets at a certain distance from each other for optimum adhesion to the object to be manipulated and to prevent magnetic attraction between the magnets. Preferably the band has a centrally cut out an oval shape with curvature of the upper inverted contour at a distance below the location of the magnets in which this curved cut has the ergonomic purpose of facilitating the natural movements of the wrist (if any) and also It serves as a window to insert the vertical of the "T" when not in use or "closed" forming, together with the arms of the "T" joined at the back a face with eyes (relief of the magnets), mouth (the cutout in moon quarter shape) and tongue (the outstanding exterior of the vertical of the "T"), which helps and psychologically encourages its use mainly by children.

The orthotic kit of the invention is distinguished by its structural conformation, its materiality and ergonomic design. Put the orthosis on the stump, its ergonomic characteristics allow the mobility of the wrist (in case of having it) without generating discomfort to the user and allows the user to adopt it as an extension of his body as he uses it.

In the same way, the kit is distinguished by its easy position, since even a person with a hand on a stump can put it on its own. In addition, the device is an economic product, which allows it to be available to the pocket of those who need it.

Brief description of the figures

To facilitate the understanding of the invention, it is described below with reference to the illustrative drawings which, by way of a preferred embodiment of the invention, are accompanied, where:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an orthotic kit according to the invention with an object to be manipulated, which is, for example, a spoon, in which the flexible band is arranged in closed form when it is not in use .

Fig. 2 shows a view in elevation on the outer face of the flexible band of the orthotic kit according to the invention showing the elements that comprise it, including the rigid container plate of magnets and magnets inserted therein. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged elevation view of the rigid magnet container plate of the flexible band of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows an elevation view of the two faces of the flexible band of the orthotic kit according to the invention showing as shaded areas corresponding to hook and loop closing means. FIG. 5 shows the succession of steps followed by a person with both amputated or atrophied upper limbs to place himself the flexible band of the orthotic kit according to the invention on one of the limbs.

Detailed description of the invention:

According to FIG. 1, the orthotic kit according to the invention comprises an orthosis formed by a flexible band (1), at least one metal plate, in this case two (2, 3), and an adhesion means (4). ) of the plates to the object to be manipulated which in this case and by way of example, is a spoon.

As seen, one of the metal plates (2) is rectangular flat with edges at ninety degrees while the other metal plate (3) is simply rectangular flat. The user of the kit will select one of the two according to the object to be manipulated. Thus, the first (2) is useful for manipulating objects such as a toothbrush, covered or pencil that could cause a displacement of the orthosis with respect to the plate, causing loss of magnetic adhesion and consequent separation of the two parts, an issue that it is avoided with the ninety degree ridges that operate as anti-displacement stops. The second (3) on the other hand is useful when there is no risk of this problem, for example, to hold a cell phone.

It is obvious that the kit could also comprise other types of metal plates with a design adapted for a variety of specific uses that are not intended here to be detailed, since they are very broad. In contrast plates (2, 3) configure the most basic and versatile pair of plates for the orthotic kit of the invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the adhesion means (4) typically comprises a double-contact adhesive tape which is fixed to the object or utensil and then fixed to one of the metal plate (2) or (3) selected to hold and manipulate said object or utensil.

The orthosis can be formed by at least two layers of soft and flexible material such as an outer layer of fabric and an inner layer of neoprene, which form a unit. The inner layer that comes in contact with the user's skin, being neoprene, generates a better adaptability and subjection to the atrophied or amputated extremity, it also does not cause perspiration of the skin and is a washable material. The fabric can incorporate nano copper particles or other antibacterial material and can be customized according to the color or pattern of printing that the user wishes in order to help their self-esteem. This way they will want to show their hands, being able to do it even in a playful way, which causes a positive psychological effect to the user.

Fig. 2 shows the unfolded or open form of the orthosis of the orthotic kit, which can be related to an inverted letter "T" of soft and curved ends and corners, having an axis of symmetry (E), the vertical part (5) ) of the "T", which acts as a securing tab of the orthosis to the atrophied or amputated extremity, and the left (8) and right (9) arms of the inverted "T", which also fulfill a function of restraint. the orthosis to the atrophied or amputated limb and also lodge among them the one or more permanent magnets (7), in this case two.

The two magnets or permanent magnets (7) in the figure are inserted in a rigid magnet container plate (6) which is arranged between the inner and outer layers of material of the orthosis, the rigid magnetic container plate assembly and the magnets marking on the material of the outer face of the flexible band. The flexible band (1), having magnets allows the user to manipulate the objects easily without requiring the help of a third party. These magnets are selected so that they can support around 1kg.

In addition, an oval shape is observed with the curvature of the inverted upper contour (10) trimmed centrally in the band below the magnets for ergonomic purposes and configuration of a character when "closing" the orthosis when it is not placed at the user's extremity.

The height (a) of the inverted "T" determines the geometric proportions of the unit and is taken as the basis for the other measurements. Thus, Fig. 3 shows an enlarged elevation view of the rigid magnet container plate (6) of Fig. 2, where the length equals 0.24 times that height and the height equals 0.1 times said height , and incorporates two concavities of diameter 0.05 times said height, located equidistant from the axis of symmetry and separated from each other by 0.09 times that height, the concavities allowing to accommodate and contain the magnets or permanent magnets (7). It should be noted that said permanent magnets can alternatively be electromagnets.

In Fig. 4 it can be seen the outer face (1E) and the inner face (II) of the flexible band (1), respectively formed by an outer layer (12) of one material and an inner layer (13) of another material; at the end and on the inner side of the vertical (5) of the inverted "T" of the shape of the band (or fastening tab) the zone of arrangement of a closing means of the hook and loop type is shaded ( 11), commercially known as Sailboat, as well as at the ends and the outer face of both arms of the "1" and inner face of the right arm.

Fig. 5 illustrates the method of using the orthotic kit comprising the steps of: placing the orthosis on an atrophied or amputated extremity; adhering a metal plate with the means of adhesion to an object to be held and manipulated; and approach and adhere by magnetic attraction of the magnet or magnets of the flexible band, the orthosis to the metal plate. To place the orthosis on an atrophied or amputated limb, first place the orthosis deployed or open on a surface below the atrophied or amputated upper extremity, with the vertical of the inverted "T" shape of the flexible band pointing outward and aligned with the upper extremity and the outer face down. Next, the end of said upper extremity atrophied or amputated on the inner face of the deployed or open orthosis, on the area of the magnet or magnets and the cut-out in the form of a quarter moon, then fold the left arm of the "T""on the end of the atrophied or amputated limb and, without letting go arm, rotate said end of said atrophied or amputated extremity to join the left arm of the flexible band with the right arm of the same and join both arms via the closing means at the ends of the outer face of the left arm and the inner face of the arm. right arm. Finally the orthosis is adjusted with the vertical of the "1" or retaining tab folding it on the stump until joining the inner side of the end of the vertical to the outer face of the end of the right arm with the respective means of closing in said ends of the inner face of the vertical and the outer face of the right arm.

Claims

Claims 1. - Orthotic kit for people with amputated or atrophied upper limbs so that they can hold and manipulate objects and minor utensils, such as eating utensils, writing or a cell phone, allowing them to perform daily activities of movement of objects and giving them autonomy and independence , CHARACTERIZED because it comprises: an orthosis formed by a flexible band with an inverted "T" shape made of a material in layers of at least two layers, one interior to dispose of the side of the skin of the person and another outside, the band having an inner face formed by the inner layer that uses it and an outer face formed by the outer layer, the band also having one or more permanent magnets or magnets fixedly inserted between the at least two layers in a central area between the arms of the " T "; at least one metal plate adhered to the surface of an object or utensil to be held or manipulated and in turn adhered by magnetic attraction to the magnets of the flexible band so that the person can hold and manipulate said object or utensil; and an adhesion means for adhering the at least one plate to the object or utensil, in which the flexible band is configured with closing means at the ends of the arms of the "1" and at the end of the vertical of the "T". ", arranged to place the band around the end of the atrophied or amputated extremity by folding said arms and vertical of the" T "on it and joining together said ends of the arms and the vertical of the" T ". 2. - Orthotic kit of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the one or more magnets are inserted in corresponding concavities in a rigid magnet containing plate inserted between the at least two layers of the flexible band. 3. - Orthotic kit of claim 2, CHARACTERIZED because it has two magnets at a certain distance from each other in the rigid container plate. 4. - Orthotic kit of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED because the band has a centrally cut out an oval shape with curvature of the upper contour inverted at a distance below the location of the magnets. 5. - Orthotic kit of claim 1, characterized in that the material that forms the inner face is made of neoprene and the material that forms the outer face is made of fabric. 6. - Orthotic kit of claim 1, CHARACTERIZED because the magnets used are electromagnets. 7. - Method of using an orthotic kit according to claim 1 by a person with amputated or atrophied upper limbs, CHARACTERIZED because it comprises the steps of: place the orthosis on an atrophied or amputated limb; adhering a metal plate with the means of adhesion to an object to be held and manipulated; Y approach and adhere by magnetic attraction of the magnet or magnets of the flexible band, the orthosis to the metal plate; where to place the orthosis on an atrophied or amputated limb the following steps are followed: arranging the orthosis deployed or open on a surface below the atrophied or amputated upper extremity, with the vertical of the inverted "T" shape of the flexible band pointing outward and aligned with the upper extremity and the exterior face downward; placing the end of said atrophied or amputated upper extremity on the inner face of the deployed or open orthosis, on the area of the magnet or magnets and the cut-out in the form of a quarter moon; folding the left arm of the "T" over the end of the atrophied or amputated extremity and, without releasing said arm, turning said end of said atrophied or amputated extremity to join the left arm of the flexible band with the right arm of the same and joining both arms via the closing means at the ends of the outer face of the left arm and inner face of the right arm; Y adjust the orthosis with the vertical of the "T" or locking tab folding it on the stump until joining the inner side of the end of the vertical to the outer face of the end of the right arm with the respective means of closing on said ends of the face inside of the vertical and the outer face of the right arm.