Abstract: An angular compensation hinge for a human joint brace, as well as the brace into which the hinge is incorporated, are described. The hinge's hinge pin and leaves cooperate with an arch bar through guide pins and a bi-threaded screw to provide angular compensation adjustment of the brace. The hinge can be easily operated by the user without assistance and by rotation of a single screw, either with a simple tool or through a knob, and provides for infinite angular adjustment over the entire adjustment range. Adjustments can be easily made while the user is wearing the brace. There is positive locking of the hinge at any angle within the range of adjustment. A few standard sizes of the brace will be sufficient to provide essentially customized fitting braces for virtually any person because of the "fine tuning" capability provided. The hinge may be used with many different types of braces, including those intended for knee, wrist, elbow, ankle, hip and shoulder joints.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a composite pad from stock made of a relatively thin, sheet-like first layer, a relatively thin, sheet-like second layer and a relatively thick layer of an elastic, cushioning material sandwiched between the two. The outer layers are made of material, such as heat sealable material, that forms a seal under predetermined conditions. The pad is manufactured by first forming a sealed perimeter from the stock using a sealing tool and then using the same tool to separate the pad from the adjacent stock while simultaneously orienting the seal away from the side of the pad which will contact the wearer of a brace into which the pad is fitted.

Abstract: A hinged knee brace has a system of inflatable pads mounted thereon to adjustably provide secure and comfortable support for the brace against the leg. Each pad is a pneumatic bladder having a valve enabling selective inflation or deflation of the bladder with a fluid to systematically adjust the fit of the brace to the leg in accordance with the needs of the user.

Abstract: A hinged orthopedic knee brace has a structural frame and at least one knee condyle pad attachable thereto. The frame has a plurality of rigid or stiffened support components dynamically connected by one or more hinges. The knee condyle pad is attachable to the frame proximal to the hinge and is configured to conform to the surface of the body overlying the lateral or medial knee condyle. The knee condyle pad has a fluid-containing primary bladder with a loop configuration encircling a depressed interior opening of the pad. The primary bladder is sized to circumscribe the periphery of the knee condyle and the interior opening is sized to receive the apex of the knee condyle. The distal portion of the primary bladder has a reduced volume and reduced surface area relative to the proximal portion thereof.

Abstract: A hinged orthopedic knee brace has a structural frame made up of a plurality of rigid or stiffened support components dynamically connected by one or more hinges. A plurality of pneumatic pads are attached to the inside faces of the frame to effectively grip the body of the user and simultaneously cushion the body from the frame. Each pad is connected in selective fluid communication with a pump and a fluid release valve enabling the user to instantaneously inflate or deflate the pads whenever desired to enhance the fit of the brace on the body of the user.

Abstract: An ankle brace to be fitted about the lower leg and ankle of a wearer for inhibiting inversion and eversion of the ankle while accommodating plantar flexion and dorsiflexion is characterized by a rigidifying and unitizing external shell comprising a unitary member made of a rigid material and including a leg encircling portion at least substantially encircling the lower leg of the wearer and ankle stays extending downwardly from the leg encircling portion over the ankle and down to the heel on both the medial and lateral sides of the leg, the leg encircling portion accommodating flexing of the sides of the shell about a vertical axis intermediate the ankle stays for movement of the sides and the stays horizontally into supporting engagement with the medial and lateral sides of the leg and ankle, the shell preventing undesired movement of the ankle stays relative to one another.

Abstract: An osteoarthritic knee brace is provided having flexible upper and lower arm members rotatably connected to each other by a rotary hinge assembly. A selectively inflatable or deflatable fluid-containing pad is positionable between the hinge assembly and a side of the knee joint. In operation, the brace is mounted on the leg with the pad engaging both the hinge assembly and the side of the knee joint, the hinge assembly aligned with the knee joint, and the upper and lower arm members aligned with the upper and lower legs, respectively. The upper and lower arm members are stressed away from the knee joint, thereby applying a restoring force to the knee joint across the hinge assembly and the pad that effectively treats the osteoarthritic knee joint. The restoring force is adjustable by selective inflation or deflation of the pad.

Abstract: A splint and a kit from which the splint is assembled include a plurality of components having a planar configuration for compact storage when in the kit, but having a three-dimensional configuration conforming to the desired body contours when the splint is assembled. The individual planar kit components include a rigid support member, a pad for cushioning the support member against the body, a plurality of belts for securing the support member to the body, a pair of flexion members for fixedly retaining the flexion angle of the support member, and one or more straps flexibly connecting the flexion members to the support member. The support member is an elongated surface having two longitudinal grooves formed therein that act as contour joints, and two slits formed therethrough perpendicular to the grooves that act as flexion joints.

Abstract: A method is provided for prefitting a stiffened member to a curved body having a geometry approximatable by a cone. Two points are initially selected on the surface of the body which also lie on two different planes passing through the body, such that the intersection of the surface and the planes defines two closed curves. A cone is approximated based on parameters relating to the curves and the selected points. A three-dimensional pattern of a stiffened member is then superimposed onto the conical surface at a modeling position corresponding to the desired placement position of the member on the body. The geometry and dimensions of the pattern are mathematically specified relative to the conical surface and the specifications provide a model for fabricating the prefitted stiffened member.

Abstract: A hinged knee brace has a system of inflatable pads mounted thereon to adjustably provide secure and comfortable support for the brace against the leg. Each pad is a pneumatic bladder having a valve enabling selective inflation or deflation of the bladder with a fluid to systematically adjust the fit of the brace to the leg in accordance with the needs of the user.

Abstract: A hinge assembly is provided for an orthopedic brace having a rotatable hinge and a detent mechanism to automatically, yet releasably, lock the hinge in a fixed position of rotation. The hinge includes two rotatably attached members and the detent mechanism includes an indentation formed in the attached end of one member and a block pivotally mounted on the other member. The block has a locking projection that is biased toward the indentation and cooperates therewith to provide three positions of operation, a locked position, a release position, and an activated position. In the locked position, the locking projection fittingly engages the indentation, thereby substantially preventing rotation of the hinge. The release position displaces the locking projection a radial distance away from the indentation, thereby permitting the hinge to rotate freely.

Abstract: An adjustable shoulder brace is provided for stabilizing and immobilizing the shoulder following an injury or surgical trauma to the soft tissue thereof. The shoulder brace is mountable on the arm and torso to isolate the shoulder and is fully adjustable across the abduction, flexion and rotation ranges of motion of the shoulder to enable fixation of the shoulder in virtually any rehabilitative position. The brace is made up of a series of rigid support members secured to the body of the patient, and a plurality of selectively rotatable and lockable joints adjustably interconnecting the support members. The combined effect of the joints simulates the entire range of motion of the shoulder.

Abstract: A splint and a kit from which the splint is assembled include a plurality of components having a planar configuration for compact storage when in the kit, but having a three-dimensional configuration conforming to the desired body contours when the splint is assembled. The individual planar kit components include a rigid support member, a pad for cushioning the support member against the body, a plurality of straps for securing the support member to the body, and a pair of flexion members for fixedly retaining the flexion angle of the support member. The support member is an elongated surface having two longitudinal grooves formed therein that act as contour joints, and two slits formed therethrough perpendicular to the grooves that act as flexion joints. The joints remain fully extended and flat in the kit, but when the splint is assembled from the kit, the contour joints are flexed to impart a u-shape to the support member conforming to the desired contour of the body.

Abstract: A humeral fracture brace for providing rigid lateral support to the humerus which includes a humeral cuff that is pivotally connected to a forearm support by a sliding hinge that allows the forearm support to slide relative to the axis of the humeral cuff. The forearm support includes a rigid brace bar and a generally U-shaped cuff for engaging a patient's wrist. An adjustable shoulder strap with a slidable pad is connected between the humeral cuff and the forearm support.

Abstract: An orthopedic brace for supporting a joint has a plurality of compliant support components, including a hinged shell of stiffened elastic material and at least one supple support strap engaging the brace at two points on opposite sides of the hinge to stabilize the weakened joint throughout its range of motion, The shell has a pair of cuffs adapted to engage the body adjacent to the joint and connected to one another across a rotatable hinge by arms integrally extending from the cuffs, The support strap is adjustable in length enabling the user to modify the support strap tension, and consequently the degree of support the brace provides to the joint.

Abstract: An orthopedic ankle brace is provided having a pliant boot that surrounds the ankle joint, as well as the foot and lower leg in the region thereof. The boot may incorporate straps for applying compression to the ankle joint. Attached to the boot are a pair of adjustable tension straps vertically disposed about the ankle joint for restricting the mobility thereof. Integral with the boot are a pair of stiffening members positioned about the ankle joint to cooperate with the tension straps in the performance of their mobility restricting function. Further provided integral with the boot are retention members that isolate the malleoli from the stiffening members for the comfort of the wearer. Finally, one or more retention straps are provided to maintain the stability of the brace.

Abstract: An orthopedic brace is provided having one or more pads mounted thereon to provide secure and comfortable support for the brace when positioned against the body of a user. Each pad includes at least one pneumatic bladder, formed from a flexible skin permanently sealed to enclose a volume of gas therein. In a first embodiment, the brace has a point pad mounted thereon which is configured to conform to a surface of the body overlying a skeletal protrusion. The point pad contains a bladder having a substantially closed-loop configuration circumscribing the skeletal protrusion and having an interior opening to receive the protrusion. In a second embodiment, the brace has an areal pad mounted thereon which is configured to conform to a surface of the body overlying a curved, but relatively level, skeletal structure or soft tissue. The areal pad is a plurality of interconnected gas-inflated chambers that are maintained in fluid isolation from one another by flexible seams positioned between adjacent chambers.

Abstract: An orthopedic brace is provided which includes a pair of arms joined by a hinge about which the arms pivot relative to each other. The brace also includes pins for adjustably limiting the pivot range of the arms, members for retaining the pins in operable position during use of the brace and for retaining the pins in pivotal connection with the brace during repositioning of the pins, and a cover with a lid thereon for selectively accessing the pins and enabling repositioning of them as desired.

Abstract: An orthopedic ankle brace is provided having a pliant boot that surrounds the ankle joint, as well as the foot and lower leg in the region thereof. The boot may incorporate means of applying compression to the ankle joint. Attached to the boot are a pair of adjustable tension straps vertically disposed about the ankle joint for restricting the mobility thereof. Integral with the boot are pair of stiffening members positioned about the ankle joint to cooperate with the tension straps in the performance of their mobility restricting function Further provided integral with the boot are retention members that isolate the malleoli from the stiffening members for the comfort of the wearer. Finally, one or more retention straps are provided to maintain the stability of the brace.