Patents Assigned to Seattle Systems, Inc.
  • Patent number: 6500210
    Abstract: An apparatus for providing a person with stimuli corresponding to an external operation on a sensor of a prosthetic device used in conjunction with a prosthetic or sensory impaired limb. A lower limb prosthesis includes sensors located in a prosthetic foot, contacts in the socket producing stimuli felt on the residual limb, and an electronic unit to adjust and control the magnitude of the stimuli. The sensors are either inductance-based or resistance-based. An upper limb prosthesis comprises a pressure sensor located in the thumb of a prosthetic hand, a vibrating motor generating sensations felt in the residual limb and an electronic circuit to control the vibrating motor and to adjust the intensity of the vibrations. An apparatus for a sensory impaired limb providing a sense of feel to a remote but unimpaired body part are constructed in a similar manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1996
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2002
    Assignee: Seattle Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: John A. Sabolich, Giovani M. Ortega, G. Blaine Schwabe, IV