Abstract: A knee brace is provided having an upper leg support, a lower leg support, a hinge mechanism connecting the leg supports and knee straps which cross the knee and apply a three-point corrective unloading force to a degenerated compartment of the knee joint. The lower leg support includes upper and lower arms pivotally attached to each other allowing angular adjustment of the knee brace in the coronal plane to provide a varus/valgus correction to the wearer's leg. The hinge mechanism may be aligned with the wearer's forward progression by rotationally adjusting the upper and lower leg supports relative to the hinge mechanism.

Abstract: A post-operative hip abduction orthosis for preventing hip dislocation during recovery of a patient includes a pelvic support, a thigh cuff that fits around the upper thigh of the patient, and an upright adjustable hip support brace secured to the outside of the pelvic support and thigh cuff. The hip support brace extends alongside the hip joint and carries an adjustable hinge aligned with the hip joint of the patient. Hip brace adjustments control hip abduction and limit range of motion in hip rotation. Brace adjustments include laterally rotational and longitudinal alignment connections between upper and lower brace arms and the pelvic support and thigh cuff, respectively. The lower brace arm is angled outwardly relative to the upper brace arm to hold the patient's upper leg at a pre-set abduction angle. A silicone skin adhesion system on the inside of the pelvic support and thigh cuff prevents rotation and proximal/distal migration of the orthosis on the body of the patient.

Abstract: A non-invasive halo-type cervical brace includes an anterior vest overlying the patient's chest and secured tightly by straps extending behind the patient's back. The vest carries a rigid frame structure, including a U-shaped halo frame extending under the patient's chin and around the sides of the patient's head. The halo frame fastens to the frame by upright supports with adjustments aligning the orientation of the halo frame around the patient's head and relative to the anterior vest. A non-invasive halo mask affixed to the halo frame includes a two-part flexible halo immobilized in a position encircling the patient's head, extending generally horizontally around the forehead, the sides and back (occipital region) of the head.

Abstract: A cervical thoracic orthosis includes a chest plate and a back plate overlying a patient's chest and back, adjustable shoulder straps and waist straps for securing the chest and back plate to the patient's upper torso, an occipital support conforming to the shape of the patient's occipital region, an upright occipital support bar adjustably securing the occipital support to the back plate, a flexible chin support suspended inside a rigid chin support member, and an upright chin support bar adjustably securing the chin support member, to the chest plate. Axially rigid but bendable lateral support rods are fastened between the occipital support and the chin support member to provide a rigid surrounding frame structure that holds the patient's head in any fixed desired orientation. The lateral support rods are bendable to a desired configuration and releasably adjustable in length for shaping the rigid outer frame structure.

Abstract: A post-operative hip brace for preventing hip dislocations during recovery of a patient including a waist strap and an upper leg strap that fits around the upper thigh of the patient. The two straps are spaced apart and extend generally parallel to each other, and support the top and bottom of a vertically extending thin, generally flat semi-rigid hip support for extending along the side of the hip. The hip support includes a plurality of long narrow, generally parallel, vertically-extending, horizontally spaced, semi-rigid metal stays extending between the waist strap and the upper leg strap along the side of the hip joint. The stays are malleable and can be shaped manually to a desired configuration for matching the shape of the patient's hip in the area of the surgical incision. The stays are each removable from long narrow sleeves on the support. The inside of the hip support also includes a spacer that overlies the incision to provide cushioning.

Abstract: A hyperextension brace includes an upright support frame and a sternum pad positioned at one end of the upright support frame and a pubic pad positioned at the opposite end of the upright support frame. The brace further includes self-adjusting connectors for pivotally attaching the pads to the ends of the vertical support frame. The self-adjusting connectors comprise a one-piece structure having a generally flat web section integrally molded with an elongated, narrow recessed portion projecting from and reinforcing the web section. The recessed portion has an open end opening into an internal cavity for slidably receiving the end portions of the upright support frame. The one-piece connector further includes a U-shaped flange section integrally molded with and extending away from an end of the recessed portion opposite from its open end.

Abstract: Orthopedic supports are made from a flexible, resilient composite material which includes a base layer of a flexible, closed cell elastomeric material such as neoprene rubber in thin sheet form, with a multiplicity of relatively large air holes extending through the depth of the sheet and dispersed across the surface of the sheet. A skin-protecting first layer of a soft, flexible stretchable porous knitted fabric is adhered to a first face of the base layer. A protective second layer of a flexible, stretchable porous knitted fabric is adhered to the second face of the base layer. The composite material is porous to air and water passing through the depth of the composite layer. Orthopedic supports made from the material are sufficiently elastic to provide compression around a body part supported by the composite material in its stretched condition.

Abstract: A preventive brace for supporting anatomical joints, such as the ankle joint, includes a semi-rigid leg-supporting shell conforming to the shape of the lower leg above the ankle joint, a semi-rigid foot-supporting shell conforming to the shape of the foot, and lateral and medial circular hinges rotatably securing the lateral and medial sides of the leg-supporting shell to the foot-supporting shell. The circular hinges are formed by relatively large area wall portions of the shells which overlie one another in the vicinity of the ankle bones (lateral and medial melleoli) projecting from the lateral and medial sides of the ankle. The overlying faces of the walls are rotatably interconnected along a circularly curved axis spaced outwardly from the ankle bone. In one embodiment, the circular hinge is centered generally on the ankle bone and traverses a circular path spaced a substantial distance outwardly from the ankle bone.

Abstract: A temporary post-operative stump sock for amputees comprises a flexible, resilient composite material including a base layer of a flexible, resilient open cell material; a skin-protecting first layer of a soft, flexible porous material overlying a first face of the base layer, and a second layer of a protective fabric overlying a second face of the base layer. The composite material is cut, overlaid and seamed to form a tubular sock which is open at its top, closed at its bottom and along its sides and shaped generally to conform to the shape of the amputee's stump. The stump sock is applied to the stump, after which a socket portion of the temporary prosthesis is wrapped around the stump to make the patient ambulatory within a short period after the amputation.

Abstract: Several knee stabilizing braces include an articulated knee joint support having upper and lower support arms, a first hinge bar pivoting on the upper and lower support arms and extending diagonally between them, and a second hinge bar pivoting on the upper and lower support arms and extending diagonally in an opposite direction for intersecting the first hinge bar. The two hinge bars allow relative rotation of the support arms while resisting relative forward or rearward sliding motion of each arm. Adjacent ends of the arms rotate into contact when they rotate to an upright position to stop further rotation beyond the upright position. One preventive knee brace has the upper and lower arms releasably affixed to flexible cuffs wrapped around the patient's upper and lower leg to hold the brace adjacent the knee joint.

Abstract: A cervical thoracic orthosis includes a chest plate and a back plate for overlying a patient's chest and back, fastening means for securing in a fixed position around the patient's upper torso, an occipital support shaped to conform to the occipital region of the patient's head, an occipital support bar secured to the occipital support and fastened to the back plate a chin support shaped to conform to the chin and lower jaw region of the patient, and a chin support bar secured to the chin support and fastened to the chest plate. In one embodiment, the chin support is hinged to the chin support bar so the chin support can rotate to a desired angle at which the patient's head is held. Adjustable fasteners extending between the occipital support and the chin support are secured to hold the patient's head in the desired angular position. The occipital support bar extends vertically and is shaped to provide a rigid means of support conforming to the shape of the patient's upper cervical spine.

Abstract: A dynamic post-operative hip abduction brace comprises a pair of spaced apart U-shaped cuffs adapted for attachment to the insides of the upper legs of a patient, and a generally inverted U-shaped supporting bridge secured between the leg-supporting cuffs. The bridge comprises a generally planar unitary piece made from a semi-rigid material. The bridge member has a cross-member extending between the cuffs and a pair of spaced apart leg members diverging downwardly away from the cross-member of the bridge. The leg members of the bridge are rigidly secured to inside faces of the cuffs for holding the cuffs at a fixed abduction angle set by the diverging leg members of the bridge. The cross-member and leg members of the bridge are each of U-shaped channel configuration.

Abstract: A cervical collar comprises front and rear halves for resting on the shoulders and extending around the neck to support the chin and rear of a patient's head. Each half comprises a thin, semi-rigid shell molded from a plastic material such as polyethylene. The front half preferably comprises a self-supporting shell preformed as a single piece of a thin, semi-rigid material shaped to conform to the anatomical contour of the underside of the chin and lower jaw, the front portion of the neck, and the upper chest region. The length of the neck region of the shell is reinforced for increasing its stiffness to resist without collapse the downward forces on the chin and lower jaw-supporting section of the shell normally encountered during use. A resilient open cell containing material provides padding for the inside face of the shell. The rear half of the collar comprises a similar thin semi-rigid shell with an open cell containing material on its inside face.

Abstract: A cervical collar has front and rear halves for resting on the shoulders and extending around the neck to support the chin and rear of the patient's head. The front half through an angle is split into upper and lower sections hinged to pivot relative to each other. The upper section has a U-shaped portion conforming to the shape of the patient's chin and extending along opposite sides of the lower jaw. A U-shaped bridge member on the upper section extends downwardly below the lower jaw and across the front of the neck region. The lower section extends around the lower front portion of the patient's neck and overlies the collarbone region and the central portion of the upper chest region. Fasteners extend through guide slots in the bridge member to provide means for guiding angular travel between the upper and lower sections. The fasteners can be loosened to permit angular travel and tightened to hold the upper and lower sections in a preset angular position to conform to different neck sizes.

Abstract: A knee brace comprises generally U-shaped upper and lower support members for fitting around the upper and lower leg above and below the knee joint; two pairs of upper and lower support arms extending downwardly and upwardly, respectively, from the upper and lower support members along opposite sides of the patient's upper leg; and polycentric hinges for pivoting the upper support arms to the lower support arms adjacent lateral and medial sides of the knee joint. Floating condyle pads are affixed to fixed inside portions of the polycentric hinges. The condyle pads are held in direct contact with the lateral and medial sides of the patient's knee joint. The condyle pads are restrained from rotational movement but are hinged so they can pivot toward or away from each other about common generally vertical axes within the space between the polycentric hinges.

Abstract: A brace for use as a knee joint brace or a fracture brace, for example, comprises upper and lower bars and at least one pivot pin for joining adjacent end portions of the bars so they can pivot relative to each other about at least one transverse axis. One embodiment comprises a polycentric brace in which adjacent end portions of the upper and lower bars are engaged with one another and pivot relative to each other about a pair of spaced-apart upper and lower pivot pins. A bracket protrudes outwardly beyond left and right edges of the upper bar, and a continuous arcuate groove extends through the bracket so that left and right portions of the groove extend beyond the left and right edges of the bar. Left and right stop pins are releasably inserted in the left and right portions of the groove, and the stop pins can be moved to independently desired locations in the groove and tightened by set screws to set the angle of travel of the upper bar.