Patent ID: 8361003
Filing Date: 2013-01-29
Classification: A61B,A61F

Abstract:
1. A method for diagnosis of an underlying cause of back pain in an individual comprising identifying an individual experiencing back pain, fitting a garment on the individual, the garment including a series of expandable segments configured to overlay groups of vertebrae along sacral region of the individual's spine and over opposite lateral sides of the anterior superior iliac spine, the garment including an array of actuators carried within the expandable segments that can be controllably enlarged to press against adjacent bone structures to move and orient vertebrae, muscles, and nerves of the spine, the garment, expandable segments, and actuators being made of material that does not substantially interfere with diagnostic imaging, placing the individual wearing the garment in an imaging field, operating the actuators to enlarge the expandable segments overlying the sacral region and the opposite lateral sides of the anterior superior iliac spine to stress the sacroiliac joint from two directions, diagnostically imaging the spine during operation of the actuators, observing an incident of back pain during operation of the actuators, and correlating the incident of back pain to the diagnostic image to diagnose an underlying cause of back pain in the individual by identifying one or more movements of particular bone or bones and which orientation of the spine causes the back pain.