Patents by Inventor Diane Damiano

Diane Damiano has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230414381
    Abstract: Disclosed are powered gait assistance systems that include a controller, sensors, and a torque applicator (motor, spring, etc.) coupled to a patient's hips, thighs, knee, lower leg, ankle, and/or foot and operable to apply assistive torque to the patient's leg joint(s) to assist the patient's volitional joint actuating muscle output during selected stages of the patient's gait cycle, such that the applied torque improves the patient's leg posture, muscle output, range of motion, and/or other parameters over the gait cycle. The sensors can include a torque sensor that measures torque applied, one or more joint angle sensors, a ground contact sensor that measures ground contact of the patient's foot, and/or other sensors. The controller can determine what stage of the patient's gait cycle the patient's leg is in based on sensor signals and cause the torque applicator to apply corresponding torque to the joint(s) based on the gait cycle stage, sensor inputs, and known patient characteristics.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2023
    Publication date: December 28, 2023
    Applicant: The United States of America,as represented by the Secretary,Department of Health and Human Services
    Inventors: Thomas Bulea, Zachary Lerner, Diane Damiano, Andrew Gravunder
  • Patent number: 11801153
    Abstract: Disclosed are powered gait assistance systems that include a controller, sensors, and a motor coupled to a patient's thigh and lower leg and operable to apply assistive torque to the patient's knee joint to assist the patient's volitional knee pivoting muscle output during selected stages of the patient's gait cycle, such that the assistive torque applied by the motor improves the patient's leg posture, muscle output, range of motion, and/or other parameters over the gait cycle. The sensors can include a torque sensor that measures torque applied by the motor, a knee angle sensor, a foot sensor that measures ground contact of the patient's foot, and/or other sensors. The controller can determine what stage of the patient's gait cycle the patient's leg is in based on sensor signals and cause the motor to apply corresponding assistive torque to the knee based on the gait cycle stage, sensor inputs, and known patient characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services
    Inventors: Thomas Bulea, Zachary Lerner, Diane Damiano, Andrew Gravunder
  • Publication number: 20220160277
    Abstract: A handgrip device has a palm rest operable to engage with a palm of a user, a grip bar moveably coupled with the palm rest and operable to engage with one or more fingers of a user. One or more force transducers can be disposed between the palm rest and the grip bar to measure a compression rate and the return rate of the grip bar relative to the palm rest, and a data connection operable to communicate the compression rate and the return rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2020
    Publication date: May 26, 2022
    Inventors: Ami Mankodi, Andrew Gravunder, Thomas Bulea, Diane Damiano
  • Publication number: 20210298984
    Abstract: Disclosed are powered gait assistance systems that include a controller, sensors, and a motor coupled to a patient's thigh and lower leg and operable to apply assistive torque to the patient's knee joint to assist the patient's volitional knee pivoting muscle output during selected stages of the patient's gait cycle, such that the assistive torque applied by the motor improves the patient's leg posture, muscle output, range of motion, and/or other parameters over the gait cycle. The sensors can include a torque sensor that measures torque applied by the motor, a knee angle sensor, a foot sensor that measures ground contact of the patient's foot, and/or other sensors. The controller can determine what stage of the patient's gait cycle the patient's leg is in based on sensor signals and cause the motor to apply corresponding assistive torque to the knee based on the gait cycle stage, sensor inputs, and known patient characteristics.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2017
    Publication date: September 30, 2021
    Inventors: Thomas Bulea, Zachary Lerner, Diane Damiano, Andrew Gravunder