Neurophysiologically designed knee orthosis with three dimensional joint

摘要

A knee orthosis in which the lateral and medial hinges are articulated asymmetrically. The medial hinge, having a first variable axis of rotation, has a first pair of parallel concentric shells in the shape of the segment of a sphere defining a first opening between them, fastened to the medial portion of the thigh cuff, and three rivets, forming a first equilateral triangle having a center coincident with the first variable axis of rotation, fastened to each shell. The medial hinge also has a first shell in the shape of a segment of a sphere designed to be inserted into the first opening, fastened to the medial portion of the shank cuff and three grooves to receive the three rivets. The lateral hinge, having a second variable axis of rotation, has a second pair of parallel concentric shells in the shape of a segment of a sphere defining a second opening between the shells, fastened to the lateral portions of the thigh cuff, and three rivets, forming a second equilateral triangle having a center coincident with the second variable axis of rotation, fastened to each shell. The lateral hinge also has a second shell in the shape of a segment of the sphere designed to be inserted into the second opening, fastened to the lateral portion of the shank cuff and three grooves to receive the three rivets. The medial hinge and the lateral hinge have concavities opposite each other and facing the knee, in order to account for the variable axis of rotation of the knee joint within the anatomical boundaries of the knee.