JP7040742B2 - Upper limb orthotic - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an upper limb orthotic device attached to the upper limb.

In recent years, a therapeutic approach has been studied for training the upper limb paralysis after stroke while using an orthotic device. In upper limb paralysis after stroke, spasticity is often exhibited, and it is often possible to move the finger in the gripping direction but difficult to move the finger in the opening direction. When grabbing or pinching an object, the action of opening the finger is important because the object must first enter within the range of movement of the finger.

In this regard, Patent Document 1 describes a finger training device that can be pulled in a direction in which the wearer's finger is opened. The orthotic device comprises a plurality of superelastic wires, a fastening ring provided at one end of the bundled superelastic wires, and a flexible ring connected to the other end of each superelastic wire via a thread body. It is equipped with. When the user hangs the fastening ring on the thumb and the flexible ring on the other fingers, the fingers other than the thumb are pulled in the direction of opening the hand by the urging force of the superelastic wire.

Utility Model Registration No. 3184390 Gazette

In the orthotic device for finger training described in Patent Document 1, a superelastic wire is stretched in a bow shape on the back side of the hand when worn. Since the superelastic wire stretched in a bow shape is troublesome for the user, it is basically worn only during training such as occupational therapy.

Based on the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an orthotic device for upper limbs that reduces the annoyance of the user while giving the user's finger an urging force in the opening direction.

The present invention relates to a plurality of linear or band-shaped elastic members having a locking portion that can be locked to a finger at the first end, which is an upper limb device worn on the user's hand, and the hand. The support portion is provided with a support portion that is mountable on the back of the hand and supports the second end portion of the elastic member, and the support portion has a first region that covers the back of the hand and a second region that covers the back of the finger. , When the portion covering the fingertip is removed, the first end is supported by the second region, and the second end is attached to the support. It is supported by the portion where the user's wrist is located, and when the support portion is attached to the hand while the locking portion is locked to the finger, all the elastic members are the finger back and the hand back. It is an upper limb device that is configured to be arranged along the line.

The first region and the second region may be integrally connected.
Further, the support portion may be formed of an elastic material.

The upper limb orthotic device of the present invention may further include a second locking portion that is provided in the longitudinal intermediate portion of the elastic member and is locked to the proximal phalanx of the finger.

The upper limb orthotic device of the present invention may further include an adjusting portion configured to be able to adjust the magnitude of the tension generated in the elastic member when the upper limb orthotic device is attached.

According to the upper limb orthotic device of the present invention, it is possible to pull the user's finger in the opening direction while reducing the annoyance of the user.

It is a figure which looked at the state which the upper limb orthotic device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention is attached to a hand is seen from the back side of the hand. It is the figure which looked at the state which the orthotic device for the upper limb was attached to the hand from the palm side. It is the figure which looked at the state which the upper limb orthotic device which concerns on the modification of the upper limb orthotic device is attached to the hand from the back side of the hand. It is a figure which looked at the state which the upper limb orthotic device which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention is attached to a hand from the back side of the hand. It is the figure which looked at the state which the orthotic device for the upper limb was attached to the hand from the palm side. It is a figure which shows typically the structure around the second end of the elastic member in the upper limb orthotic device.

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. FIG. 1 is a view of the upper limb orthotic device 1 of the present embodiment viewed from the back of the hand, and FIG. 2 is a view of the upper limb orthotic device 1 attached to the hand as viewed from the palm side. be. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper limb orthotic device 1 includes an elastic member 10 and a support portion 30 on which the elastic member 10 is supported.

The elastic member 10 is a linear or strip-shaped member, and is stretched in the longitudinal direction to generate tension. The first end 10a of the elastic member 10 is annular and is provided with a locking portion 11 to which a finger can be locked.
Examples of the material of the elastic member 10 include rubber, an elastomer, and a spring.

The support portion 30 is made of, for example, a cloth or an elastomer. The support portion 30 is formed in the shape of a so-called fingerless glove in which the portion covering the fingertip portion (end segment) of a general glove is removed, and the first region 31 covering the back of the hand and the second region covering the back of the finger are removed. 32 and. In the first region 31, the palm side is configured such that a certain region including the central portion is removed and the main portion of the palm is exposed.

Five elastic members 10 are provided corresponding to the five fingers in the hand. In each elastic member 10, the first end portion 10a provided with the locking portion 11 is sewn on the inner surface of the support portion 30 to the portion where the middle phalanx of each finger is located when mounted. It is supported by adhesives and the like. In each elastic member 10, the second end portion 10b opposite to the first end portion is supported on the inner surface of the support portion 30 and at a portion where the wrist is located when mounted.

The operation of the upper limb orthotic device 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.
The user advances the fingertip into the first region 31 of the support portion 30 in the same operation as wearing the fingerless glove, and projects the corresponding finger from the tip opening of the second region 32. Along with this operation, the user's finger passes through the locking portion 11 of each elastic member 10, and the locking portion 11 is locked to the middle phalanx of each finger. Since each elastic member 10 is arranged inside the support portion 30, it is arranged along the back of the finger and the back of the hand when the support portion 30 is attached to the hand.

Since the second end portion 10b of the elastic member 10 is supported by the support portion 30, it does not move relative to the support portion 30. In this state, when the finger of the user's hand to which the upper limb orthotic device 1 is attached bends in the gripping direction, the elastic member 10 extends and tension is generated. The generated tension pulls the finger in the direction of opening the hand through the locking portion 11. As a result, a urging force in the opening direction acts on the user's finger. This urging force assists in the finger-opening movement that occurs prior to the gripping and grabbing movements.

As described above, according to the upper limb orthotic device 1 of the present embodiment, the elastic member can be locked to the five fingers in almost the same operation as wearing the glove, and it is easy to put on and take off. Can be done.

Further, since the elastic member 10 is supported by the support portion 30, when the elastic member 10 is extended, it is suppressed from protruding on the back of the hand or shifting in the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. As a result, it is possible to give a force to the user's finger in the opening direction while reducing the annoyance of the user. Further, it is also prevented that the urging force acting on the finger is attenuated due to the displacement of the elastic member 10 in the width direction, and the effect of the upper limb orthotic device 1 is suitably maintained.

Furthermore, by reducing the annoyance of the user, it is possible to continue wearing it not only during training such as occupational therapy in hospitals, but also in daily life, to extend the actual training time, and to extend the actual training time of the user. It is possible to assist the gripping motion and the grasping motion in daily life. As a result, improvement of training effect and QOL (quality of life) can be expected.

In addition, since a part of the palm side of the first region 31 of the support portion 30 is removed, a part of the user's palm is exposed at the time of wearing. Therefore, the tactile sensation of what is grasped or grasped is not excessively impaired, and the wearing can be suitably continued even in daily life. Moreover, when the support portion is made of an elastic material such as an elastomer, the amount of the elastic material in the support portion is larger on the back side of the palm than on the palm side. It is possible to reinforce the urging force of the upper limbs and enhance the effect of the upper limb orthotic device.

Currently, the upper limb orthotic device is often manufactured by an occupational therapist or the like according to each patient, but the upper limb orthotic device 1 of the present embodiment has a shape similar to that of a general glove and has a simple structure. Therefore, mass production is easy. If the dimensions of the fingers are almost the same, the upper limb orthotic device of the same size can be attached without any problem, so that the versatility is high and it is not necessary to make it for each patient. Therefore, the burden on occupational therapists and the like can be significantly reduced.

In the present embodiment, an example in which an annular locking portion is formed at the end of one elastic member has been described, but instead, one elastic member is shown as in the modified example shown in FIG. By folding back the member 10A at the intermediate portion, the folded-back portion may be used as the locking portion 11A. In this case, both ends of the elastic member 10A in the folded state are the ends of the elastic member 10A, the end on the side where the locking portion 11A is located is the first end 15, and both ends of the elastic member 10A in the state before folding. The end on the side where is located becomes the second end 16.

Further, the first region of the support portion may be configured to cover the entire palm side as well. By doing so, although the above-mentioned effect by removing a part of the palm side cannot be obtained, the finger does not come out from the hole formed by the removal while wearing the upper limb orthotic device. There is another advantage that it can be done smoothly.
As another example of the support portion, a part of the finger pad side region of the second region may be removed.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. In the following description, the same reference numerals will be given to the configurations common to those already described, and duplicate description will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a view of the upper limb orthotic device 101 of the present embodiment viewed from the back of the hand, and FIG. 5 is a view of the upper limb orthotic device 101 attached to the hand as viewed from the palm side. be.
The elastic member 110 in the present embodiment has a second locking portion 111 provided in the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction in addition to the locking portion 11. In the present embodiment, the second locking portion 111 is formed in an annular shape through which a user's finger can be inserted.

In the support portion 30, a dial (adjustment portion) 102 is provided near the second end portion of the elastic member 110. A second end of each elastic member 110 is connected to the dial 102, whereby the second end is supported by the support 30.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the connection portion between the dial 102 and the elastic member 110. The dial 102 has a shaft portion 103 and is rotatably attached to the support portion 30 around the shaft portion 103. In the first region 31 of the support portion 30, a support tube 105 is attached to a portion located near the wrist of the user at the time of wearing so as to be arranged around the wrist. A hole 105a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the support tube 105 at a position corresponding to each elastic member 110. As shown in FIG. 6, the second end portion 110b of each elastic member 110 enters the support tube 105 through the corresponding hole 105a, passes through the support tube 105, and is connected to the shaft portion 103.

The upper limb orthotic device 101 of the present embodiment configured as described above can be worn with substantially the same operation as that of the first embodiment. At the time of attachment, the locking portion 11 is locked to the middle phalanx of the finger as in the first embodiment, and the second locking portion 111 is locked to the proximal phalanx closer to the palm. That is, in the present embodiment, the elastic member 110 is locked to the user's finger at two points, the middle phalanx and the proximal phalanx.

When the user wants to adjust the magnitude of the tension generated by the elastic member 110, the user turns the dial 102. Then, the shaft portion 103 rotates and the second end portion side of each elastic member 110 winds around the shaft portion. As a result, the elastic member 110 is stretched and the tension increases. If the second end side of each elastic member 110 is wound around a predetermined amount shaft portion in the initial state, it is possible to adjust the tension to be weakened by operating the dial 102. As a mechanism for holding the dial 102 at a predetermined rotation position, for example, a known ratchet mechanism or the like can be used.

Also in the upper limb orthotic device 101 of the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to give a urging force to the user's finger in the opening direction while reducing the annoyance of the user.

Further, since the elastic member 110 has the second locking portion 111, the elastic member is locked to the user's finger at two points, and the urging force can be applied in a stable state.
Further, since the dial 102 is provided, the urging force acting on the finger can be adjusted to a suitable size.

In the present embodiment, an example in which one elastic member has a locking portion and a second locking portion has been described, but instead, two long and short elastic members are arranged for one finger. , The locking portion of the short elastic member may be locked to the base of the finger. In this case, if two adjusting parts are provided and a long elastic member is connected to one adjusting part and a short elastic member is connected to the other adjusting part, the urging force acting on the middle phalanx and the urging force acting on the proximal phalanx become independent. It is also possible to adjust by.

Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and the combination of components may be changed within a range that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. Various changes can be made to or deleted from the components.

For example, the locking portion does not have to be made of the same material as the elastic member and may not be a perfect (closed) annular shape as long as it can be locked to the finger.

Further, in the support portion, the first region and the second region may be separated. However, as described above, it is preferable that the first region and the second region are integrated because it is easy to attach and detach.

Further, the elastic member does not have to be arranged corresponding to all five fingers. Depending on the medical condition of the user and the like, the elastic member may be arranged only for one or more specific fingers.

In addition, the application of the upper limb orthotic device of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned stroke. The upper limb orthotic device of the present invention can be suitably applied to other diseases in the nerves and muscles of the fingers, rehabilitation in trauma, and the like.

1, 101 Upper limb orthotic device 10, 10A, 110 Elastic member 10a, 15 First end 10b, 16 Second end 11, 11A Locking part 30 Support part 31 First area 32 Second area 102 Dial (adjustment) Department)
111 Second locking part

Claims (5)

An orthotic device for the upper limbs that is worn on the user's hand.
A plurality of linear or strip-shaped elastic members having a locking portion that can be locked to a finger at the first end.
A support portion that is configured to be attachable to the hand and supports a second end portion of the elastic member, and a support portion.
Equipped with
The support portion is
It has a first area covering the back of the hand and a second area covering the back of the finger , and is like a fingerless glove with the part covering the fingertip removed.
The first end is supported by the second region.
The second end is supported at the site where the user's wrist is located when the support is attached.
When the support portion is attached to the hand while the locking portion is locked to the finger, all the elastic members are configured to be arranged along the finger back and the hand back.
Upper limb orthotic device. The upper limb orthotic device according to claim 1, wherein the first region and the second region are integrally connected. The upper limb orthotic device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is made of an elastic material. The upper limb orthotic device according to claim 1, further comprising a second locking portion provided in the longitudinal intermediate portion of the elastic member and locked to the proximal phalanx of the finger. The upper limb orthotic device according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting portion configured to be able to adjust the magnitude of tension generated in the elastic member when the upper limb orthotic device is attached.

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