Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
  • A63B23/00—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for particular parts of the body
  • A63B23/02—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for particular parts of the body for the abdomen, the spinal column or the torso muscles related to shoulders (e.g. chest muscles)
  • A63B23/0244—Exercising apparatus specially adapted for particular parts of the body for the abdomen, the spinal column or the torso muscles related to shoulders (e.g. chest muscles) with signalling or indicating means, e.g. of incorrect posture, for deep-breathing exercises

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a device intended to be applied to a person to detect and memorize certain postures such as exaggerated flexion and extension of the trunk. This allows this person to improve their body awareness and thus prevent one of the main causes of back pain: exaggerated movements forward and backward of the trunk when standing.
• Back pain is one of the major pathologies of our society.
• the sedentary lifestyle leads to a loss of our kinesthetic (good) sense, which no longer allows us to feel precisely the physiologically permitted postures.
• Concerning the back it is estimated that 80% of the population presents in their life a failure and back pain. The discomfort and the expenses caused by these back pains are worrying and require more than ever a preventive policy reinforced with technical means.
• patent WO 96/17548 refers to a housing applied at the level of the wearer's spines. When the latter bends, the pressure exerted by the thorns on the support zones of the device makes it possible to crush a kind of switch and, thus, to trigger an alarm. The areas concerned are therefore obviously restricted and the movements of everyday life quickly move the case, which is then no longer effective.
• Document WO 90/07360 describes an apparatus, one face of which is intended to be pressed against the body. Part of this face is cut to form a control plate. When this plate is pressed beyond a determined threshold, it activates a vibration generator constituting an alarm Touch. The setting of the trigger threshold is however difficult and does not correspond precisely to certain postures.
• the present invention provides an inexpensive device capable of signaling poor posture of the wearer, the detection threshold being able to be precisely defined by a therapist. In addition, its installation and use do not interfere with the daily movements of a normal user.
• the invention relates to a device intended to be applied to a person to detect bad postures, that is to say postures with pathological risk, characterized in that it is placed on a segment of the body and includes:
• the inclinometer used is an accelerometer.
• the device has an interface which makes it possible, by means of push-buttons, to store the two limit values of the angle of inclination in the computer.
• the signaling means advantageously comprise, on the one hand, a light and / or acoustic and / or vibrating alarm and, on the other hand, a memory readable from the outside comprising a plurality of registers assigned to successive time slices grouping a plurality of cycles, the computer then being programmed to record, in each of these registers, either the exceedances of the front and rear limit values observed in each of the cycles of the current time slice, or the maximum value overshoots of the front and rear limit values observed during this time period.
• said cycles and said time slots have a duration of 100 ms and 15 minutes respectively.
• FIG. 1 is, in a ⁇ a side view and, in b, a front view of a person equipped with the device according to the invention and occupying different characteristic postures;
• - Figure 2 is a block diagram of the device;
• FIG. 1 b Figure 3 is a logic diagram summarizing the operating principle of the device.
• the device according to the invention installed on the sternum of a wearer. It is held in place by a chest belt 12 produced by means of an elastic band, the length of which is adjustable by a loop.
• the device housing includes an interface 14 comprising:
• a switch 16 enabling the appliance to be switched on or off
• FIG. 1a is a side view of the wearer in different positions. The angle made by the device 10, relative to the vertical, when it is applied against the sternum, will be called ⁇ .
• the wearer In the center, the wearer stands straight, heels, buttocks, shoulder blades and head resting against a vertical, which corresponds to a reference posture for the trunk.
• the angle ⁇ then has the reference value ⁇ o.
• the therapist determines the front limit, corresponding to an angle ⁇ -i , from which repeated overshoots would be harmful over time.
• the device 10 essentially comprises an inclinometer 26 providing a signal representative of the angle of inclination ⁇ , a microprocessor 28 for receiving and processing this signal, an EEPROM type memory 30 associated with the microprocessor, the interface 14, already mentioned, and a connector 32 making it possible to connect the microprocessor and the memory to a computer 34.
• the inclinometer 26 is, in fact, an accelerometer, such as that marketed under the reference ADXL202EB by the firm Analog Device. It produces a voltage proportional to the sine of the angle of inclination ⁇ .
• the microprocessor is, for example, the PIC16F873 model from Microchip clocked at 32 kHz.
• the use of the device according to the invention implies that its microprocessor 28 has previously recorded the limit angles ai and ⁇ 2 .
• the operation can be carried out with a therapist who invites the person to lean forward or backward until reaching the position that the practitioner considers as limit. At this point, the therapist need only press the two buttons 18 and 20 simultaneously and, for example, press the button 18 or the button 20 so that, respectively, the angle ai or the angle ⁇ 2 is stored in the microprocessor 28. Since this technique is well known to those skilled in the art for many fields of application, it will not be described here in more detail.
• the microprocessor 28 is programmed to observe the behavior of the wearer in 15-minute increments and, within each tranche, cyclically carry out the operations shown in FIG. 3. Typically, the cycle period is 100 ms.
• the first operation 36 is the measurement of the angle ⁇ from the signal delivered by the inclinometer 26.
• the system determines, at 38, whether ⁇ is less than i or greater than ⁇ 2 .
• the system increments by one unit, at 44, the memory register 30 assigned, for the period of 15 minutes in progress, to the accounting, as the case may be, of exceeding the front limit or the rear limit.
• the next operation is, then, at 46, the activation of the alarms 22 and / or 24 and / or 25 which signal the wearer of a posture error. The cycle therefore ends.
• the wearer is in a stable posture (because, for example, he lace his shoes,) and that it is therefore useless to annoy him more by leaving the alarms in action.
• the system then deactivates the alarms at 50 and the cycle ends.
• the alarms are not stopped but, on the contrary, the signals transmitted go on amplifying.
• the device according to the invention can remain for several days (except the night when the device is paused) on the person and thus record, every 15 minutes, the number of exceedances , forward or backward, posture limits set by the therapist.
• the computer 34 can provide, in the form of a table or graph, the number of threshold crossings, forwards and backwards, intervened by 15-minute periods throughout the observation period, with, in addition, breaks. This histogram is very useful for specifying the etiology of the condition and teaching what preventive measures should be considered.
• the system could provide the maximum value for exceeding the front and rear limit values, for each reference time slot.
• the microprocessor it is possible to program the microprocessor so that the wearer is warned when he approaches, typically, within four degrees, the front and rear limits.
• the alarms emit a different signal (for example, weaker) than that emitted in the event of an overshoot.
• the wearer and the therapist it is useful for the wearer and the therapist to be able to deactivate the alarms while keeping the recording system active. This can be done by a long press on the button 16 which deactivates them, and by a long press on the other button 18 which reactivates them.
• This description has been given without limitation and the device can also be installed on other parts of the body, for example an arm or a leg, under certain particular therapeutic conditions.
• the invention can be adapted to monitor the inclination of the patient when he leans to one side or the other.
• two inclinometers can be combined to warn the patient if the limit positions defined in the four directions are exceeded.
• the histogram will show the actual use of the device by the wearer.
• the memory of a larger size, could no longer record the number of exceedances, but all the angle values at a determined frequency, which will make it possible to detect that the device was removed without the pause being activated.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Neurology (AREA)
• Orthopedic Medicine & Surgery (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
• Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)
• Rehabilitation Tools (AREA)
• Diaphragms For Electromechanical Transducers (AREA)
• Illuminated Signs And Luminous Advertising (AREA)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging Apparatus (AREA)
• Analysing Materials By The Use Of Radiation (AREA)
• Geophysics And Detection Of Objects (AREA)
• Fire Alarms (AREA)
• Length Measuring Devices With Unspecified Measuring Means (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (2)

Family Applications Before (1)

Country Status (7)

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Family Cites Families (10)

• 2002
  • 2002-06-07 EP EP02405460A patent/EP1369146A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2003
  • 2003-05-27 AU AU2003229225A patent/AU2003229225A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-05-27 AT AT03724758T patent/ATE306972T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-05-27 DE DE60301966T patent/DE60301966T8/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-05-27 EP EP03724758A patent/EP1511540B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-05-27 US US10/518,744 patent/US20050237209A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-05-27 WO PCT/CH2003/000332 patent/WO2003103780A1/fr not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-05-27 CA CA002485637A patent/CA2485637A1/fr not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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