EP1169003A1

EP1169003A1 - Device and method for a locomotion therapy

Info

Publication number: EP1169003A1
Application number: EP00914001A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Volker Dietz; Gery Colombo; Rüdiger RUPP
Original assignee: Balgrist/Schweiz Paraplegikerzentrum
Current assignee: Balgrist/Schweiz Paraplegikerzentrum
Priority date: 1999-04-07
Filing date: 2000-04-07
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 2020-04-07
Also published as: WO2000061059A1; ATE262878T1; CA2369226A1; DE50005903D1; EP1169003B1; CA2369226C; US6685658B1

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus which actively moves the legs of a disabled person in a movement pattern that is similar to physiological walking. The inclination of the standing table can be adjusted between a horizontal and a vertical position as desired. The patient is fixed to the standing table by means of a belt gear. The aim of this kind of rehabilitating locomotion therapy is to activate the locomotion structures in the spinal cord in order to improve the muscular situation in a time optimal manner, to prevent the intensity of spasticity and to improve the circulatory conditions.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR A LOCOMOTION THERAPY

8. The invention relates to a device and a method for starting locomotion training in patients with mobility problems in an early phase of rehabilitation, according to patent claims 1 and 8, respectively.

In the case of incompletely paraplegic patients, it has been proven that there is an opportunity to improve walking ability to normal by means of adequate locomotive training. The therapy required for this is currently carried out on a treadmill, whereby the patient is only able to walk through defined weight relief and in part through additional assistive guidance of the legs by physiotherapists (Wickeigren, I. Teaching the spinal cord to walk. Science, 1998, 279, 319-321). However, this type of locomotion therapy can only be started when the circulation is sufficiently stable, since the patient has to remain in an upright position for a long time. The required circulatory stability is usually not given in the first weeks after the onset of the spinal cord lesion.

In the rehabilitation of patients with restricted movement of the legs or after orthopedic surgery, various powered orthoses are already in use, which actively move the legs of lying patients. U.S. Patent No. 5239987 (1993) describes such a system. In these devices, the legs are primarily guided by moving the lower leg relative to the thigh. However, there is no device in which a knee extension with a weight load on the sole of the foot is achieved in the exteridated phase ("stance phase") of the movement cycle. Hip expansion is also absent from the mechanisms mentioned.

EXPLICIT COAL US Pat. No. 4,986,261 (1991) describes an apparatus that also causes hip extension. However, the knee joints are not moved as in physiological walking.

None of the systems described makes it possible to move the legs while at the same time adjusting the patient's inclination.

It is the object of the present invention to enable para- and hemiparetic patients to undergo intensive gait training (activation of the locomotive centers in the spinal cord) before they are physically able to take part in treadmill training, that is to say when the circulatory situation is still unstable. The aim is to make it possible to continuously bring the patient's body closer to the vertical position during training. The aim of the device according to the invention is to create a so-called 'active standing table' (tilting table) which enables the movement of the legs of paraplegic patients in a physiological manner similar to walking, without the need to straighten it up.

According to the invention, this object is achieved with an active standing table according to the wording of claim 1 and an associated method for operating the active standing table according to the wording of claim 8

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Show it

Fig. 1 side view of an active standing table with a patient in a vertical position. Fig. 2 overall view of a first embodiment of an active

Standing table in a horizontal position Fig. 3 Mechanism for adjusting the hip extension angle

Fig. 4A knee mechanism to Fig. 2 in perspective

Fig. 4B knee mechanism to Fig 2 in side view

Fig. 5 foot mechanism to Fig. 2 in perspective

Fig. 6 knee cuff to Fig. 2 in a perspective view

Fig. 7 overall view of a second embodiment of an active

Standing table in a horizontal position Fig. 8A knee mechanism to Fig 7 in perspective

Fig. 8B eccentric drive to Fig 7 in supervision

Fig. 9 foot mechanism to Fig. 7 in perspective

1 shows a side view of the active standing table with a patient in a vertical position. A base frame, as is found in conventional standing tables, serves as the basis. It consists of a chassis 1 with castors 2 and 3 and a height-adjustable frame 6 (eg "tilting table") Super ", Gymna, Belgium) The frame 6 can be adjusted in height manually or with a drive (not shown). A joint 7 is attached to the frame 6, with which a leg part 8, consisting of two bars and two cross struts (see Fig. 2) is articulated to the frame 6. The leg part 8 is in turn connected via a joint 9 to a head part 10 (frame similar to leg part 8), on which there is a lying surface 11 consisting of a wooden board with a foam cover, so that during therapy with the active standing table the angle of the standing table can be continuously increased from the horizontal to the vertical, the leg section 8 can be driven by a drive 4 and m rotate the joint 7 and so an inclination angle β1 can be set in order to be able to carry out a treatment at various inclination angles in a known manner. In the figure, the inclination angle β1 is 90 °, which corresponds to a vertical position of the patient. The adjustability of the inclination angle β1 can Patients with unstable blood circulation are treated while lying down and then continuously brought into the vertical position appropriately for their status during the therapy by slightly increasing the angle of inclination β1

With a mechanism 21 for adjusting the hoof extension, it is possible to fix an inclination between the leg part 8 and the head part 10, as a result of which a hoof extension angle β2 is defined. In this way, a hoof extension of the legs can be achieved during the therapy if the standing table is in a horizontal position ß2 is always 180 °, because the head part 10 rests on the frame 6. If the angle ß1 is increased, then ß2 also decreases until the mechanism 21 comes to a stop and the head part is also pulled upwards. In this figure, the angle is ß2 172 ° which results in a hoof extension angle of 8 ° for the patient, preferred values are 12 ° On the leg part 8 there is a knee mechanism 13 with two knee drives 24 and a foot mechanism 14. These two mechanisms can be moved parallel to the leg part on two rails 15, which are fastened on each side of the leg part 8, and thus allow the standing table to be adjusted the anatomy of different patients

In order to be able to carry out therapy, the lying surface 1 1 is tilted into the horizontal position and brought to the same height as the hospital bed on which the patient to be treated lies by adjusting the height of the base frame. Then the patient is transferred to the lying surface 1 1. so that his upper body comes to rest on the lying surface and his hip joints on the lower edge of the lying surface. The patient is then tightened with a fixation strap 16 around his waist, which is attached to eyes 22 with fixing straps 17 on the upper side of the lying surface, with fixing straps 18 the lower side of the bed is attached to eyelets 23.This fixation prevents the upper body from moving up and down during therapy.It is designed in such a way that the trunk movements are minimized in order to prevent injuries to the spine, which may still be unstable.The fixation belt 16 corresponds to one Belt like he used for weight relief during treadmill training of paraplegics is used as standard (eg treadmill "Walker ', Fa Hamster's Parachute Service, Austria) If the patient is fixed on the lying surface, the knee mechanism 13 is moved on the rails 15 in such a way that the knee drives 24 close under the back of the patient's knees Come to lie there The knee mechanism is fixed with locking screws 25 Then the foot mechanism 14 is also moved so that an extension (extension) of the patient's legs press footplates 19a and 19b down to a stop (see FIG. 5). The foot mechanism 14 is in the correct position Position fixed with locking screws 26 There are markings on the rails 15, which allow the position of the foot mechanism 1 3 and knee mechanism 14 to be read. In the case of repeated therapies, the settings can be easily reproduced on the basis of the markings

Next, knee cuffs 20 are attached to the patient's knees (see FIG. 6). These are attached to the knee drives 24, which pull the patient's knees down or push them up during the therapy each causes a stretching or a bending of the legs. In the figure, the patient's right leg is shown bent, the left leg in a stretched state. It should be mentioned that at the beginning of the therapy, the two knee drives 24 are retracted so that the patient can easily open be transferred to the standing table Only at the beginning of the treatment is a knee drive extended and one leg bent

During locomotion therapy, the knee drives 24 are moved alternately up and down, so that the patient's legs move with a movement sequence similar to that which occurs during normal walking. Thus, the sensory input (afferents) from the legs for the spinal locomotion centers in the spinal cord similar information as in physiological walking, which stimulates the locomotive centers to activate

2 shows the overall view of a first exemplary embodiment of an active standing table in a horizontal position. The base frame can again be seen, consisting of a chassis 1 with rollers 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b and the height-adjustable frame 6. The leg part 8 is a frame via the joint 7 consisting of two bars 8A and 8A 'and two cross struts 8B and 8B', connected to the frame 6. The leg part 8 is in turn connected via the joint 9 to the head part 10, on which the lying surface 11 is located. The joint 9 is located at the joint 9 the mechanism 21 for adjusting the hoof extension

On the leg part 8 there are the knee mechanism 13 with the two knee drives 24a and 24b and a foot mechanism 14 which can be moved parallel to the leg part 8 on the rails 15a and 15b. The locking screws 25 and 26 are located on the leg part 13 and on the foot part 14 which are used for fixation on the rails 15a and 15b

Eyelets 22a, 22b, 23a and 23b are attached to the lying surface 11 for fixing the patient

3 shows the mechanism for adjusting the hoof extension angle in a side view. The joint 9, each with a part of the leg part 8, the head part 10, the lying surface 11 and the splint 15, can be seen. An angle 30 is attached to the leg part 8 a limiting screw 31 in a thread If the standing table is in the horizontal position (angle of inclination β1 = 0), the head part 10 lies on the base frame of the tilting table and the angle β2 is 180 °. If the angle of inclination is increased, the angle β2 decreases until the head part 10 opens the limiting screw 31 rests on the screw head 43, and the head part is also brought upwards. If the limiting screw 31 is now screwed further into the angle 30, the angle β2 becomes correspondingly larger, it is unscrewed, correspondingly smaller. A pointer 33 shows on a scale 32 which hoof extension angle is set for the patient with the limiting screw. The hoof extension angle corresponds to 180 ° - ß2

4A shows the knee mechanism 13 to FIG. 2 in a perspective view. On each side of a cross member 40 there are the square tubes 41 a and 41 b (not shown). These serve as guides for the knee mechanism 13 on the rails on the leg part. The cross member 40 has two rectangular ones Recesses 40 'in which the two knee drives 24a and 24b are located. These two drives are identical in construction, which is why only one drive is numbered in the figure. On the lower side 40, bearings 42, 43a and 43b (not shown), in which suspension shafts 44b and 45b can rotate freely. These suspension shafts are each fastened to a base plate 46b. The knee drives can be rotated by this mounting, so that they flex when the patient knees about the axis of rotation of the hip joint or extension are moved in the base plate 46b, a motor 47b is fixed, as well as two guide tubes 48 b or 49b (not shown) recessed There is also a guide 50b in the base plate 46b in which a threaded rod 51 can be freely rotated. The structure of the drive by means of the threaded rod is described in detail in FIG. 4B. The guide tubes 48b and 49b can each have a guide rod 52b and 53b can be moved up and down If the linear drive is now moved up or down, a plate 54b and an attached knee pad 55b are moved up and down with the knees of the patient with a movement of the Knee pads brought into flexion when moving downwards from the knee cuffs (see FIG. 6) pulled into an extension. The two guide rods 52b and 53b, which are guided in the guide tubes 48b and 49b, ensure lateral stability of the knee drive, so that the leg the patient does not incline to the side The guide tubes 48b and 49b as well as the

Threaded rod 51b are mounted at the upper end in the plate 54b and at the lower end in a plate 62b

A protective cover 56a made of rubber protects the patient from injuries to the

Knee drives

FIG. 4B shows the knee mechanism 13 of FIG. 2 in a side view. The principle of the drive is explained in more detail with reference to this figure. The cross member 40 with the base plate 46 embedded in the recess 40 'can be seen. On the base plate 46, the suspension shaft 44 can be seen, which is a rotation of the knee drive around the axis indicated by the round arrow. The guide rod 52 can be moved through the guide tube 48, and the threaded rod 51 can be moved through the guide 50. The motor 47, which is fixedly mounted in the base plate 46, drives with a gearwheel 57 via a V-belt 58 a gear 59 mounted on the guide 50 in the gear 59 there is a thread. If the gear is now driven by the motor 47, the threaded rod 51 in the base plate 46 is moved up or down, as with the straight arrow indicated

On the base plate 46 there are a limit switch 60 and 60 'at the top and bottom. These serve to announce to a control unit which controls the movement of the front end that the end positions have been reached. If the drive has reached the lowest point, the plate prints with the Knee cuff on a contact button 61 and the limit switch 60 signals the control unit that the motor should run in the opposite direction. Then the drive moves up until the lower plate presses on a contact button 61 'and the limit switch 60' of the control unit provides another signal for switching granted

Fig. 5 shows the foot mechanism 14 to Fig. 2 in a perspective view. On the lower side of a T-piece 63, a square tube 69a and 69b are each firmly connected to it. These serve as a guide for the foot mechanism on the rails attached to the leg part Therapy at the correct place with the fixing screws 26a and 26b are screwed at the upper end of the T-piece 63 on each side there is a footplate 19a and 19b which can be rotated around a bearing at the fastening point on the T-piece The foot plates are identical in construction, all parts appear symmetrically on both sides. The patient's feet can each be inserted into an elastic loop 65a and 65b on the foot plates. They are then protected from slipping out by the heel holders 66a and 66b

The foot plates 19a and 19b are each connected to a spring 67a or 67b (not shown). This is tensioned on a bolt 68a or 68b (not shown) when the footplate is pressed downwards by the patient (caution). This generates a compressive force The sole of the patient's foot in the extended phase of the movement cycle, which simulates a weight force similar to that produced when walking. The strength of this weight force can be adjusted by moving the bolt 68a in the various holes 68a '. If the angle of inclination of the standing table becomes larger, then usually the weight increases, which acts on the legs. This effect can be compensated and controlled by pulling the patient with the fixation straps and the fixation belt more or less upwards

FIG. 6 shows a knee cuff to FIG. 2 in a perspective view. A plate 70 is fixedly attached to the upper end of the threaded rod 49 and the guide rods 54 and 55. A bracket 71 is fastened to this, to which two clip mechanisms 72 and 72 'engage Allow knee pad 53 to be attached This knee pad 53 is a plastic-covered foam. The clip mechanism holds the knee pad sufficiently strong to cause the knee to stretch when the knee drive is pulled down. However, the connection is lost if the patient's knee is incorrectly manipulated for some reason can not be stretched This serves as overload protection for the legs of the patient and protect him from injury the clip mechanism are the knee pads in load forces, or pulling forces from 150 to 200 N, preferably 180 N, free on knees ^¬ pad 53 is a knee cuff consisting of two Velcro straps 73 and 73 attached, which allows it to attach the patient's knee to the knee pad by attaching the bands to the Velcro strip 74. The two bands are attached to the knee so that the patient's kneecap is between the bands so that no pressure is exerted on them when the leg is extended becomes 7 shows the overall view of a second exemplary embodiment of an active standing table in a horizontal position. The basic structure is identical to the first exemplary embodiment. In contrast to this, in the present training machine the patient's legs are not driven by linear drives but by a cable 80 from an eccentric drive 81, which is shown in more detail in FIG. 8. A knee part 82 and a foot part 83 can be moved on the rails 15a and 15b and thus adapted to the patient's leg length

FIG. 8A shows the knee mechanism for FIG. 7 in perspective. It consists of the eccentric drive 81, ropes 80a and 80b (nylon ropes), and the knee part 82. A gear 91 is attached to a motor 90. This drives an eccentric disk 92, in which a pin 94 is inserted If the eccentric disc 92 now rotates, the pin 94 moves on a circular path. This circular movement causes a slide 95, in which the pin 94 is guided, to move back and forth, the slide in turn being guided in guide rails 96 and 97 The movement of the carriage 95 causes a tensile force on one of the ropes 80a and 80b, respectively. The ropes are guided over rollers 98a, 98b, 99a, 99b, 100a and 100b (not shown) and then each pull over a hook 101a or 101b on the knee cuffs the patient's knees into an extension

Plastic-covered foam pads 102a and 102b protect the back of the patient's knees from injury in the extension and push the knees back in the direction of flexion when the ropes 80a and 80b are relieved. The pads are located on a plate 108 which has guide tubes 109a and 109b on each side with locking screws 1 10a and 1 10b

A tensioning device 103a or 103b is attached to each of the ropes 80a and 80b, with which the ropes can be adjusted in length. This allows the pull on the hooks 101a and 101b to be adjusted so that the patient's knees are moved by the movement of the Eccentric disc 92 can be stretched into an extension

Velcro straps can be used as knee cuffs, with which the patient's knees can be attached to the hooks 101 a and 101 b, similar to that described in FIG. 6 Fig. 8B shows the eccentric drive to Fig. 7 in supervision. The motor 90 with the gear 91 can be seen, on which the eccentric disk 92 is located. Various holes 93 are provided in this so that the pin 94 can be inserted into the eccentric disk 92 on different radii Stroke length of the knee movement can be adjusted to different sizes by the different positions of the pin 94 in the holes 93. Rollers 104 to 107 are attached to the slide 95, which support the plate in the guide rails 96 and 97. The two ropes 80a and 80b attached

In contrast to the first exemplary embodiment, a much simpler control unit is required here, since the motor can simply rotate and the extension or flexion of the leg results automatically. The control unit only controls the speed of the motor 90 and thus determines the frequency of the movement on the patient's leg In the first exemplary embodiment, the control unit must always switch the drives from an upward movement to a downward movement and vice versa when the end positions are reached

Fig. 9 shows the foot mechanism 83 to Fig. 7 in a perspective view. On the lower side of a plate 120, a square tube 121 a and 121 b is firmly connected to it. These serve as a guide for the foot mechanism on the rails attached to the leg part Therapy to be screwed in the correct place with the fixing screws 122a and 122b. A bracket 123 is attached to the plate 120, at the upper end of which a second bracket 124 is attached. On both sides of the bracket 124 there is a footplate 125a and 125b, respectively, which are located can be rotated around a bearing at the attachment point on the carrier 124. A lever 126a and 126b (not shown) are attached to each of the foot plates, which are connected to one another via a steel cable 127.This steel cable 127 runs over a roller 128 and serves as a reciprocation mechanism if a foot plate follows printed below, the other moves up under footplates 125a and 125b there is a spring 129a or 129b, which is tensioned on a plate 130a or 130b.If one of the foot plates is pressed down from the patient's leg (extension), the other leg is automatically bent by the reciprocation mechanism straight leg a weight on the patient's sole (afferenter Input)

The patient's leg can be fixed with a cuff 1 31 a or 1 31 b, which are connected to the foot plate 125a or 125b via a connecting part 132a or 132b. This stabilizes the side so that it does not tip to the side when bent. A heel holder 133a or 133b protects the patient's foot from sliding off the footplate 125a or 125b

With the active standing table according to the invention, it is possible to control the movement sequence of all joint planes (hips, knees, feet) of the patient's lower extremities in a physiological pattern (kinematics and kinetics) that is as similar as possible to walking. The most important movement sizes for successful localization therapy (Triggering locomotive activity) are the hip joint extension and the weight load of the sole of the foot during the extension phase of the leg. Both parameters can be individually adjusted to the needs of the patient with the active standing table described here

In addition, the active standing table can be adapted to the individual size differences of the patients

With locomotion therapy on the active standing table, success can be achieved because training can be started very early, even if the patient is not yet allowed to be raised

Claims

Claims:

1 device for a locomotion therapy for the rehabilitation of para- and hemiparetic patients, comprising a standing table adjustable in height and inclination, a fastening belt with holders on the standing table for the patient, a drive mechanism for the leg movement of the patient, consisting of a knee part and a foot part, characterized in that the standing table has a head part (10) which can be adjusted to a leg part (8), which results in an adjustable hip extension angle (ß2) for which an adjustment mechanism (21) is provided that the knee part (13) and foot part (14) are arranged on rails (15) on the leg part (8) so that the foot part (14) has a foot mechanism that serves to determine the force on the sole of the foot during knee extension and that a control unit is provided for the sequence of movements

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that two linear drives (24a, 24b) are provided in a knee mechanism for the knee drive, which extend or flex the patient's legs

3 Device according to claim 1, characterized in that an eccentric drive (81) is provided in a knee mechanism for the knee drive, which alternately extends one of the legs and that the legs through the pads (102a, 102b) of the knee mechanism and a reciprocating mechanism located on the foot part - bend again (126a, 126b, 127 1 28)

4 Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the foot mechanism can generate a weight in the extended phase of the leg, two springs (67a, 67b, 129a, 129b) being arranged for the generation of this weight

5 Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the hoof extension angle (ß2) has a value of 0-20 ° and preferably 12 °

6 Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the knee part (13) and the foot part (14) on two rails (15a, 15b) are displaceable and the active standing table can thus be adjusted to the size of the patient, with all positions Have markings by means of which the determined settings are reproduced

7 Device according to one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that a snap coupling (71, 72, 72 ') is attached to the knee part (13), which disengages at a tensile force of 150-200 N, preferably 180 N, and so on protects the knees from overload

8 Method for operating a device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the knee part (13) and the foot part (14) are adjusted on the standing table, in order thereby to adapt the drive to the leg length of the patient that an extension of the Hip joint via the hoof extension angle (ß2) and an angle of inclination (ß1) are specified so that with the knee mechanism on the knee part (13) and with the foot mechanism located on the foot part (14), a patient's legs are moved, which is brought about by the patient an afferent input or sensory information to the spinal cord, generated in a similar way to normal walking, that weight is generated during knee extension on the sole of the foot, and that the drives for the movements are controlled by a controller that controls physiological walking similar movement pattern of the legs

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the amount of movement is changed by the control unit or by the position of the pin (94) on the eccentric disc (92)

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the speed of the leg movement is varied

1 1 Method according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the weight force acting on the sole of the foot in the extended phase of leg movement is set via adjustable springs (67a, 67b).

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 1 1, characterized in that the positions of the knee and foot part are read at markings, held and reconstructed.