LU502025A1

LU502025A1 - Graphene physiotherapy elbow pad

Info

Publication number: LU502025A1
Application number: LU502025A
Authority: LU
Inventors: Meili Wang; Cunyi Fan; Yun Qian; Jialin Song; Zhiwen Yan
Original assignee: Shanghai Sixth Peoples Hospital
Priority date: 2021-05-10
Filing date: 2022-05-06
Publication date: 2022-11-10
Also published as: WO2022237496A1; CN113262398A; LU502025B1

Abstract

The invention provides a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad, comprising a high-elastic elbow pad body, having a surface layer, a middle layer, and an inner layer in contact with skin; a retractable heating module, arranged inside the middle layer and used for performing a heating physiotherapy on an elbow; a temperature control module, arranged inside the middle layer and used for controlling the retractable heating module to perform the heating physiotherapy on the elbow within a preset temperature interval; a sweat absorbing member, detachably arranged at one surface, in contact with the skin, of the inner layer; and a fixing member, arranged on the surface layer and used for surrounding and fixing the high-elastic elbow pad body to an elbow joint. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided in the present invention has an advantage of solving the problem that heating materials are difficult to stretch when joints of other elbow heating physiotherapy products move is solved, and the heating function of the graphene heating filaments is more excellent; an intelligent temperature control system can effectively prevent the overheating problem in the physiotherapy process; and the sweat absorbing member can solve the problem of sweat in the physiotherapy process, and the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad is more comfortable to use.

Description

DESCRIPTION GRAPHENE PHYSIOTHERAPY ELBOW PAD

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION À, Field of the Invention The invention relates to technical field of physiotherapy medical equipment, and more particularly, to a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad.

2. Description of the Related Art An elbow joint strain is a common disease in orthopaedic surgeries, and it is characterized by elbow soreness and pain caused by non-acute injury. Its pathology mainly includes lateral epicondylitis, medial epicondylitis, olecranon bursitis, and so on. Common causes of elbow joint strain are long-term improper posture, excessive use of the elbow joint or trauma, such as hit on the elbow joint. Conservative treatment 1s still considered as the mainstay of treatment of such disease. It mainly comprises closed-up needle injection and follow-up physiotherapy rehabilitation. Of note, continuous physiotherapy is particularly important, which has advantages of non-invasive, non-traumatic, continuous curative effects and prevention of elbow joint strain recurrence. Therefore, people pay more attention to physiotherapy of chronic elbow injury. For physiotherapy of strained elbow joints, it is usually necessary to wear an elbow pad on an elbow. However, the existing elbow pads are mainly designed for protection against injuries during sports or working period, and elbow pads with physiotherapy function are not available now. In such case, patients usually use traditional physiotherapy instruments instead. However, the traditional physiotherapy instruments are not designed for elbow joint physiotherapy, and the wearing experience 1s poor. Moreover, the traditional physiotherapy mstruments generally use heating resistance wires, which have poor heating effect and are difficult to achieve an intelligent control of temperature. In addition, sweat produced by physiotherapy will also affect the user experience of the physiotherapy device.

The heating principle of graphene is based on the characteristics of single-layer graphene. First of all, graphene 1s a material exhibiting the highest thermal conductivity observed so far. Graphene has extraordinary heat conductivity properties. Îts total effective conversion rate of electrical and thermal energy is over 99%. The superconductivity of the special graphene ensures stable heating performance. Graphene heating pads and other products are available now in the market. Such products use graphene instead of traditional resistance wires for heating, which 1s more practical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Given that the foregoing problems exist in the prior art, the present invention provides a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: The invention provides a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad, comprising: a high-elastic elbow pad body, having a surface layer, a middle layer, and an inner laver, wherein the inner layer 1s in contact with skin; a retractable heating module, arranged inside the middle layer and used for performing a heating physiotherapy on an elbow; a temperature control module, arranged inside the middle layer and used for controlling the retractable heating module to perform the heating physiotherapy on the elbow within a preset temperature interval; a sweat absorbing member, detachably arranged at one surface, in contact with the skin, of the inner layer; and à fixing member, arranged on the surface layer and used for surrounding and fixing the high-elastic elbow pad body to an elbow joint; wherein the retractable heating module comprises: a plurality of graphene heating filaments for heating physiotherapy; a plurality of elastic members, wherein the plurality of graphene heating filaments are arranged to surround the plurality of elastic members and are extensible and contractible accompanying with the extension and flexion of the plurality of elastic members; a first control unit, connected to the plurality of graphene heating filaments and the temperature control unit, and configured to control the plurality of graphene heating filaments to be turned on or off; and a first power supply connected to the first control unit and the plurality of graphene heating filaments.

Furthermore, cach of the plurality of elastic members may be an ultra-fine spring metal wire, which is coiled in a “Z” shape and is stretched and elongated.

Furthermore, the plurality of graphene heating filaments may be bent and surround the ultra-fine spring metal wire; the plurality of graphene heating filaments are provided with a plurality of fixed points, the plurality of fixed points are bonded and fixed to a middle point between comers of the “Z” shape formed by the ultra-fine spring metal wire. Furthermore, the temperature control module may comprise: a plurality of temperature detection components for detecting temperature information in the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad and sending the temperature information; an analog-to-digital conversion unit, connected to the plurality of temperature detection components, and configured to receive the temperature information and convert the received temperature information into a signal and send the signal; a second control unit, connected to the analog-to-digital conversion unit and the first control unit, and configured to receive the signal and send a control

> LU502025 signal to the first control unit; and a second power supply, connected to the plurality of temperature detection components, the analog-to-digital conversion unit and the second control unit.

Furthermore, the temperature control module may further comprise a remote control unit, connected to the second control unit and the second power supply, and configured for remotely controlling the temperature interval.

Furthermore, the each of the plurality of temperature detection components may be a temperature sensor and be made of graphene. Furthermore, the surface layer and the inner layer may be three-dimensionally woven from polyurethane nanofibers and have elasticity. Furthermore, a method for preparing the polyurethane nanofiber may comprise the steps of: Step |, using tetrahydrofuran and N N-dimethylformamide as a solvent to dissolve polyurethane, then to prepare a polyurethane solution, and stirring the polyurethane solution at a uniform speed to prepare a uniformly mixed suspension; Step 2, performing electrospinning by using the suspension, so as to prepare a polyurethane nanofiber membrane; Step 3, cutting the polyurethane nanofiber membrane into pieces, adding tert-butanol, rotating and stirring the pieces to break the pieces, and dissolving the pieces into a solution, and then Ivophilizing the solution; and

Step 4, soaking the lyophilized solution in glutaraldehyde to carry out cross-linking, continuing to perform lyophilization process to prepare the polyurethane nanofiber.

Furthermore, the sweat absorbing member may be a replaceable sweat absorbing patch.

Furthermore, the replaceable sweat absorbing patch may be made of a blended fiber of cotton and spandex.

Furthermore, the fixing member may comprise: a fixing belt, arranged on one side of the surface layer; and a fixing ring, arranged on the other side of the surface layer; the high-elastic elbow pad body surrounds the elbow, and the fixing belt passes through the fixing ring to fix the high-elastic elbow pad body on the elbow.

Furthermore, the middle layer may comprise a plurality of compartments, each of the plurality of compartments is provided with a graphene heating filament, an elastic member and a temperature detection component, respectively.

The technical solution has the following beneficial effects when compared with the prior art: The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by the present invention is made of a high-elastic elbow pad body.

The high-elastic elbow pad body has a surface layer and an inner layer connected with each other, and a

/ LU502025 middle layer is formed therebetween. The middle layer is provided with a retractable heating module and a temperature control module, and the inner layer is provided with a replaceble sweat absorbing patch. Due to the fact that the high-elastic elbow pad body is three-dimensionally woven from high-elastic polyurethane nanofibers, the high-elastic elbow pad body facilitates the movement of the elbow joint and 1s thus suitable for wearing; a retractable heating system works to solve the problem that heating materials are difficult to stretch when joints of other elbow heating physiotherapy products move. No matter how the elbow pad is stretched, the heating module can be stretched and deformed accordingly without affecting the heating function. In addition, the heating function of the graphene heating filament is better than that of the traditional resistor, and the graphene heating filament has advantages of fast heat conduction and stable temperature; an intelligent temperature control system can effectively prevent the overheating problem of sweat in the physiotherapy process; the replaceable sweat absorbing patch can solve the problem of accumulation of sweat in the physiotherapy process, and the graphene physical therapy elbow pad is more comfortable to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by an embodiment of the present invention, when wearing on an elbow:

Figure 2 1s a schematic diagram showing a structure of an inner laver of a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a middle layer of a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by an embodiment of the present invention: Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a retractable heating module of à graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing a temperature control module of a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

In the accompanying drawings: 10, high-clastic elbow pad body; 11, surface layer; 12 inner layer; 13, middle layer; 14, fixing member; 141, fixing belt; 142, fixing ring; 15, sweat absorbing member; 20, retractable heating module; 21 graphene heating filament; 22, elastic member; 23, first control unit; 24, first power supply, 30, temperature control module; 31, temperature detection component; 32, analog-to-digital conversion unit; 33, second control unit; 34, second power supply; 35, remote control unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention provides a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad. The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments, however, the invention is not limited thereto.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the invention provides a graphene physiotherapy elbow pad, comprising a high-elastic elbow pad body 10, a retractable heating module 20 and a temperature control module 30. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad body 10 comprises a surface layer 11, a middle layer 13, and an inner layer 12, wherein the inner layer 12 is a layer which is in contact with skin. The surface layer 11 and the inner layer 12 are an integral structure, and a hollow structure, that is, the middle layer 13, is formed between the surface layer 11 and the inner layer 12, and the retractable heating module 20 and the temperature control module 30 are both arranged in the middle layer.

The surface layer 11 and the inner layer 12 were three-dimensionally woven from polyurethane nanofibers and have elasticity. The polyurethane nanofibers used in the present invention were prepared by the following method: the polyurethane nanofibers were prepared with an electrospimning equipment SS-2535H, Ucalery . Tetrahydrofuran and N,N-dimethylformamide were used as a solvent, and polyurethane (10514005, WEICON) was dissolved in the solvent at a ratio of 3:1 to prepare a 10% polyurethane solution. The prepared 10% polyurethane solution was stirred at 800 rpm for 48 hours with a magnetic stirrer (81-2, Shanghai Sile Instruments Co, Ltd.) to prepare a well-mixed suspension.

Then electrospinning was performed at a room temperature of 24°C with a voltage of 12 kV was applied, a recetving distance of 13 om, a spinning solution flow rate of 0.3 mm/min. Finally, polyurethane nanofiber membranes were prepared after the electrospinning process was carried out for 6 hours. The nanofiber membranes were cut into pieces with a size of lem X lem using a cutting die. The pieces were added to a beaker containing 100ml of tert-butanol, and the nanofiber membranes were smashed by a high-speed homogenizer at 12,000 rpm for 15 minutes. The solution was introduced into a cylindrical mold with a diameter of 3 mm, and a length of 35 cm, and the cylindrical mold 19 containing the solution was placed in a freezer dryer for 48 hours until it was completely lvophilized. Next, it was soaked in glutaraldehyde for 10 minutes for cross-linking. It was rinsed with deionized water, and then lyophilized for 48 hours to obtain a 3D nanofiber woven material for three-dimensionally weaving the high-elastic elbow pad body 10. The polyurethane fiber prepared by the above preparation method had a nanostructure, so that the high-elastic elbow pad body 10 prepared by weaving had better elasticity.

As shown m Figure 4, a retractable heating module 20 can be configured to perform a heating physiotherapy on an elbow. It comprises a plurality of graphene heating filaments 21, a plurality of elastic members 22, a first control unit 23, and a first power supply 24. Each of the plurality of elastic members 22 is an ultra-fine spring metal wire, which was coiled in a “Z” shape and is stretched and elongated. The plurality of graphene heating filaments 21 are bent and surround the ultra-fine spring metal wire; the plurality of graphene heating filaments are provided with a plurality of fixed points, the plurality of fixed points are bonded and fixed to a middle point between corners of the “Z” shape formed by the ultra-fine spring metal wire by using polytetrafluorcethylene. In this way, the graphene heating filaments 21 can be bonded to and cross-linked with the elastic members 22. The plurality of graphene heating filaments can be stretched and retracted accompanying with the extension and flexion of the elastic members 22. When the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad is worn on the elbow, since the elbow is a curved surface, the graphene physiotherapy elbow 19 pad will be flexed and deformed when the arm is flexed and stretched. Since the plurality of graphene heating filaments 21 can be flexed and deformed accompanying with the extension and flexion of the plurality of elastic members 22, the heating function of the retractable heating module 20 may not be affected when the elbow pad is flexed and deformed. In addition, a patient does not have to keep the arm stretched all the time when he/she uses the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad provided by the present invention, which brings the patient a comfortable experience.

The first control unit 23 is connected to the plurality of graphene heating filaments 21 and the temperature control module 30, and controls the graphene heating filaments 21 to start heating or stop heating under the control of the temperature control module 30. The first power supply 24 is connected to the first control unit 23 and the graphene heating filaments 21, and provides power thereto.

As shown in Figure 5, the temperature control module 30 is arranged inside the middle layer 13 and is used for controlling the retractable heating module 20 to perform the heating physiotherapy on the elbow within a preset temperature interval. The temperature control module 30 comprises a plurality of temperature detection components 31, an analog-to-digital conversion unit 32 and a second control unit 33 and second power supply 34. The plurality of temperature detection components 31 are arranged inside the middle layer 13 for detecting temperature information in the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad and sending the detected temperature information to the analog-to-digital conversion unit 32; the analog-to-digital conversion unit 32 is connected to the plurality of temperature detection components 31, and is configured to receive the temperature information and convert the received temperature information into a signal and send the signal to the second control unit 33; the second control unit 33 is connected to the analog-to-digital conversion unit 32 and the first control unit 23, and compares the signal with a preset temperature interval, and sends the control signal to the first control unit 23. The second power supply 34 provides power for the plurality of temperature detection components 31, the analog-to-digital conversion unit 32 and the second control unit 33.

The temperature control module 30 1s configured to be activated together with the retractable heating module 20, so as to control the temperature of the retractable heating module 20. In particular, the pluralitv of temperature detection components 31 detect temperature information in the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad and send the detected temperature information to the analog-to-digital conversion unit 32 for converting into a signal, and send the converted signal to the second control power supply 33. The temperature information corresponding to the signal is compared with a preset temperature interval. For example, the temperature interval may be 37°C-39°C. If the temperature is less than 37°C, the second control unit 33 sends a control signal to the first control unit 23 to activate the graphene heating filaments 21 for heating. If the temperature is greater than 39°C, the second control unit 33 sends 19 a control signal to the first control unit 23, so that it stops heating of the graphene heating filaments 21 to cool down, thereby avoiding overheating of the retractable heating module 20. If the temperature is excessively high, the patient may feel uncomfortable, and thus the effects of the physiotherapy cannot be achieved as expected.

The middle layer may comprise a plurality of compartments, each of the plurality of compartments is provided with a graphene heating filament 21, an elastic member 22 and a temperature detection component 31, respectively. The heating physiotherapy is carried out separately in each compartment, and the temperature detection component 31 can detect the temperature in each of the compartments and control the temperature, making the effects of the heating physiotherapy more uniform and stable.

The temperature control module 30 further comprises a remote control

+4 LU502025 unit 35, the remote control unit 35 1s connected to the second control unit 33 and the second power supply 34 and is configured for remotely controlling the temperature interval. The remote control unit 35 can set APPs in an intelligent terminal, for example, a smart phone or a smart watch, the intelligent terminal is wirelessly connected to the temperature control module 30, wherein the wireless connection may refer to Bluetooth connection, local area network connection or WIFI connection. The remote control unit 35 can adjust the preset temperature interval, for example, the temperature can be adjusted to a range from 39°C to 41°C or to a range from 35°C to 37°C. Temperature can be adjusted according to different users’ needs to meet the needs of heating physiotherapy at different temperatures.

À sweat absorbing member 15 is provided on one surface, in contact with skin, of the inner layer 12. The sweat absorbing member 15 is a detachable, replaceable sweat absorbing patch; the replaceable sweat absorbing patch consists of 96% cotton and 4% spandex. The sweat absorbing patch can effectively absorb sweat of the elbow skin in the heating physiotherapy process, making the physiotherapy process more comfortable. The sweat absorbing member 15 is bonded to the inner laver 12 and it is replaceable, so it is more hygienic.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a fixing member 14 is arranged on the surface layer 11. The high-elastic elbow pad body 10 is a piece of sheet, and when it surrounds and fits to an elbow joint, the fixing member 14 can fix the high-elastic elbow pad body 10 on the elbow.

The fixing member 14 comprises a fixing belt 141 arranged on one side of the surface layer 11 and a fixing ring 142 arranged on the other side of the surface layer 11. One side of the fixing belt 141 is provided with a loop surface of a hook and loop fastener, and the other side thereof is provided with a hook surface of a hook and loop fastener.

The high-elastic elbow pad body 10 surrounds and covers the elbow, and the fixing belt 141 passes through the fixing ring 142, and the loop surface of the hook and loop fastener 1s bonded to the hook surface of the hook and loop fastener, so that the high-elastic elbow pad body 10 is fixed to the

190 elbow.

A plurality of fixing members 14 are provided.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, three fixing members 14 are provided.

The three fixing members 14 are respectively arranged at one end of the high-elastic elbow support body 10 closer to an upper arm, at an elbow joint, and at one end closer to a lower arm.

Such an arrangement makes the fixing of the high-elastic elbow support body 10 more stable.

The present invention solves the problem that the elbow joint physiotherapy instrument cannot flexibly extend and flex accompanying with the extension and flexion of the elbow joint.

In addition, it is equipped with a temperature control module 30 to facilitate the user to use the physiotherapy instrument when he/she is at work or at rest.

The replaceable sweat absorbing patch 15 can be removed and cleaned, so as to improve the user experience, The essence of the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad relieving elbow

+6 LU502025 joint strain lies in improvement of elbow microvascular circulation. Common causes of elbow joint strain are long-term improper posture, excessive use of the elbow joint or local ligament, tendon, muscle tissue tension and stiffness caused by trauma, such as hit on the elbow joint, resulting m microcirculation occlusion, poor local metabolism, and accumulation of inflammatory factors. If those symptoms are not relieved, the patient will experience elbow soreness and pain over a period of time. After graphene filaments are arranged in the elbow pad for local lasting and relaxing hyperthermia, local contracture microvessels can be expanded, stuff ligaments, tendons, and muscle tissues get relaxed, local circulatory resistance is reduced, blood flow is increased, and backflow of a iymphatic capillary net in the elbow joint increases and accelerates, and the exudate spreads, thereby accelerating the absorption of local inflammatory factors and reducing the stimulation of inflammatory factors to local nerves of the elbow joint, thereby relieving the patient's soreness and pain. The long-term use of the present invention can achieve the effect of gradually improving the symptoms of elbow joint strain.

The above descriptions are only the preferred embodiments of the invention, not thus limiting the embodiments and scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art should be able to realize that the schemes obtained from the content of specification and drawings of the invention are within the scope of the invention.

Claims

v LU502025 CLAIMS

1. A graphene physiotherapy elbow pad, comprising a high-elastic elbow pad body (10), having a surface layer (11), a muddle layer (13), and an inner layer (12), wherein the inner layer (12) ts in contact with skin; a retractable heating module (20), arranged inside the middle layer (13) and used for performing a heating physiotherapy on an elbow; a temperature control module (30), arranged inside the middle layer (13) and used for controlling the retractable heating module (20) to perform the heating physiotherapy on the elbow within a preset temperature interval; a sweat absorbing member (15), detachably arranged at one surface, in contact with the skin, of the inner layer (12); and a fixing member (14), arranged on the surface layer (11) and used for surrounding and fixing the high-elastic elbow pad body (10) to an elbow joint; wherein the retractable heating module (20) comprises: a plurality of graphene heating filaments (21) for heating physiotherapy; a plurality of elastic members, wherein the plurality of graphene heating filaments (21) are arranged to surround the plurality of elastic members (22) and are extensible and contractible with the plurality of elastic members (22); a first control unit (23), connected to the plurality of graphene heating filaments (21) and the temperature control unit (30), and configured to control the plurality of graphene heating filaments (21) to be turned on or off; and a first power supply (24), connected to the first control unit (23) and the plurality of graphene heating filaments (21).

2. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim !, wherein each of the plurality of elastic members (22) is an ultra-fine spring metal wire, which is coiled in a “Z” shape and is stretched and elongated.

3. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 2, wherein the plurality of graphene heating filaments (21) are bent and surround the ultra-fine spring metal wire; the plurality of graphene heating filaments (21) are provided with a plurality of fixed points, the plurality of fixed points are bonded and fixed to a middle point between comers of the “Z” shape formed by the ultra-fine spring metal wire.

4. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 1, wherein the temperature control module (30) comprises: a plurality of temperature detection components (31) for detecting temperature information in the graphene physiotherapy elbow pad and sending the temperature information; an analog-to-digital conversion unit (32), connected to the plurality of temperature detection components (31), and configured to receive the temperature information and convert the received temperature information into a signal and send the signal; a second control unit (33), connected to the analog-to-digital conversion unit (32) and the first control unit (23), and configured to receive the signal and send a control signal to the first control unit (23); and a second power supply (34), connected to the plurality of temperature detection components (31), the analog-to-digital conversion unit (32) and the second control unit (33).

5. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 4, wherein the temperature control module (30) further comprises a remote control unit (35), connected to the second control unit (33) and the second power supply (34), and configured for remotely controlling the temperature interval.

6. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 4, wherein the each of the plurality of temperature detection components (31) is a temperature sensor and is made of graphene.

7. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 1, wherein the surface layer (11) and the inner layer (12) are three-dimensionally woven from polyurethane nanofibers and have elasticity.

8. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 7, wherein a method for preparing the polyurethane nanofiber comprises the steps of: Step 1, using tetrahydrofuran and N N-dimethylformamide as a solvent to dissolve polyurethane, then to prepare a polyurethane solution, and stirring the polyurethane solution at a uniform speed to prepare a uniformiy mixed suspension; Step 2, performing electrospinning by using the suspension, so as to prepare a polyurethane nanofiber membrane; Step 3, cutting the polyurethane nanofiber membrane into pieces, adding tert-butanol, rotating and stirring the pieces to break the pieces, and dissolving the pieces into a solution, and then [yophilizing the solution; and Step 4, soaking the lyophilized solution in glutaraldehyde to carry out cross-linking, continuing to perform lyophilization process to prepare the polyurethane nanofiber.

9. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim |, wherein the sweat absorbing member (15) is a replaceable sweat absorbing patch; the replaceable sweat absorbing patch 1s made of a blended fiber of cotton and spandex.

10. The graphene physiotherapy elbow pad of claim 1, wherein the fixing member (14) comprises: a fixing belt (141), arranged on one side of the surface layer (11); and a fixing ring (142), arranged on the other side of the surface layer (11);

A LU502025 the high-elastic elbow pad body (10) surrounds the elbow, and the fixing belt (141) passes through the fixing ring (142) to fix the high-elastic elbow pad body (10) on the elbow.