Abstract:
A medical treatment system is provided for the treatment of weakened bone structures caused by fractures, osteoporosis, or other bone related ailments using a dynamic motion plate. The medical treatment system utilizes a harness and lifting system to assist in supporting the weight of patients who are unable to remain in an upright posture on the dynamic motion plate for the duration of a treatment cycle.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims priority to a PCT application filed on May 5, 2005 and assigned International Application No. PCT/US2005/015628 which claims priority to a United States provisional patent application filed on May 24, 2004 and assigned U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/573,902; the entire contents of both applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     The present disclosure, generally, relates to medical system for the treatment of weak bone structures and specifically for the treatment of weak bone structures using a dynamic motion plate in conjunction with assisted-standing gear directed at aiding a patient unable to maintain an upright posture for the duration of a treatment cycle.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     Weakened bone structure and improperly healed or slowly healing bone fractures may result in reduced quality of life. Quality of life may be improved for patients with bone fractures by ensuring rapid healing and by inhibiting the loss of bone mineral content (bone mass), and therefore bone strength, associated with fractures. Metabolic bone diseases, such as osteoporosis, also reduce the quality of life.  
         [0006]     Osteoporosis is a pernicious disorder usually, but not exclusively, afflicting elderly women. The osteoporotic state can also be manifested by those who are confined to bed and even to astronauts who are subjected to prolonged weightlessness. Osteoporosis occurs through a decrease in bone mass, which makes the afflicted bones more fragile and more susceptible to breakage.  
         [0007]     The reduction in bone mass from osteoporosis results when destruction outpaces bone formation. The balance between destruction and formation is affected by hormones, calcium intake, vitamin D and its metabolites, weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, age, genetic determinants and especially exercise or other methods of dynamically loading the bone tissue as well as many other factors. Considering the vast array of factors which can compromise the healing process, any form of stimulation that can accelerate, augment and/or ensure the healing process are greatly needed.  
         [0008]     Osteoporosis is not easily determined in its early phases as physical deformity is not yet evident. Because osteoporosis develops progressively, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may avoid a serious condition. Appropriate diet and exercise can be used in early years to prevent the damaging effects of osteoporosis later in life. Methods for maintaining or promoting bone growth are described in numerous patents. For example, McLeod and Rubin, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,806, 5,191,880, 5,273,028 and 5,376,065 collectively describe means and methods for promoting bone growth and preventing bone loss. The method described in the above referenced patents relates to a mechanical vibrational loading of bones to promote growth in a non-invasive procedure. McLeod and Rubin, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,103,806, 5,191,880, 5,273,028 and 5,376,065 are all incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0009]     Mechanical loading on bone tissue at strains of between about 0.5 to about 500 microstrain and induced within a predetermined frequency range can prevent bone loss and enhance new bone formation. Such mechanical bone loading of tissue may be introduced by various system, including vibrating floor plates and chairs, electrical stimulation of muscles, isometric exercises, modulated ultrasound or transducers attached to the skin or external fixation devices to focus energy to the fracture site.  
         [0010]     Elderly patients suffering from fractures or osteoporosis and other patients who may have other physical disabilities and/or impairments may not be able to apply their full weight on to the dynamic motion plate for the full duration of the treatment, especially early on in the treatment process. In these cases, an system is needed to partially support the patient&#39;s mass during treatment while providing adequate loading of the bone tissue to reap the optimal benefits of the treatment. Ideally, such an system would provide adjustments allowing a technician or physician to vary the load placed on the bone tissue.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0011]     The present disclosure provides a medical treatment system for stimulating bone growth in a living vertebrate body (i.e. patient). The system includes a dynamic motion plate, for imparting vibrational motion to the patient. The dynamic motion plate is dimensioned to provide an adequate platform on which the patient is to stand in a natural, essentially upright posture and configured to functionally bear the full mass of the patient, and an assisted-standing gear for providing support to the patient when the patient is unable to bear its full mass on the dynamic motion plate for the duration of the bone growth stimulation.  
         [0012]     The assisted-standing gear includes a harness wearable by the patient. The harness has at least one anchor point and straps for securing the harness in a manner that minimizes painful pressure on the patient when mass of the patient is fully supported by the assisted-standing gear. The assisted-standing gear also provides a lifting system for lifting the harnessed patient. The lifting system is attached to the harness by at least one cable attached to at least one anchor point on the harness.  
         [0013]     A method for stimulating bone growth in a living vertebrate body is also provided by the present disclosure. The method imparts vibrational motion to the patient using a dynamic motion plate dimensioned to provide an adequate platform for the patient to stand on while maintaining a natural, essentially upright posture and configured to functionally bear the full weight of the patient. Additionally, the patient is supported in the event that the patient is unable to bear his/her full weight on the dynamic motion plate for the duration of the bone growth stimulation procedure. Supporting the patient is performed by harnessing the patient, in a manner so as to minimize painful pressure on the patient when the patient is fully supported, and, subsequently, lifting the harnessed patient by at least one cable attached to at least one anchor point on the harness. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an embodiment of an assisted-standing gear configured with a dynamic-motion plate in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of an embodiment of a harness for use in the assisted-standing gear shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the steps of an embodiment of a method treatment using a dynamic motion plate in conjunction with assisted standing gear in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of an additional embodiment of an assisted-standing gear configured as an add-on attachment to a dynamic-motion plate in accordance with the present disclosure; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of an additional embodiment of an assisted standing assembly incorporating a lift system in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a system  100 . The system  100  provides a dynamic motion plate  101  incorporated into a base  102 . The base  102  is equipped with handrails  103  for providing a patient with lateral stabilizing support while the dynamic motion plate  101  is in operation.  
         [0021]     Additionally, a cantilevered pillar  104  is mounted to the base  102 . The cantilevered pillar  104  provides a support for a lifting system  105  consisting of a winch  106 , cable  107  and a connector  108 . The cantilevered pillar  104  and lifting system  105  should provide adequate support, strength and stability to lift patients that may not be able to fully support their weight for the duration of a treatment cycle due to overweight, injury or paralysis. The lifting system  105  may provide a means for varying the percentage of the patient&#39;s mass that is being supported by the cantilevered pillar  104 . Collectively, the cantilever pillar  104  and the lifting system  105  are referred to herein as “assisted-standing gear”.  
         [0022]     Preferably, the winch  106  is an electric stepping motor capable of reeling in specific and controllable lengths of cable  107  thus allowing an operator to accurately control the percentage of mass being supported by the lifting system  105 . A weight sensor  109  may be included as a component of the lifting system  105  to provide an indication of the amount of weight being supported by the lifting system  105 . The accuracy of the weight sensor  109  should preferably be better than ±1 lb.  
         [0023]     The connector  108 , which may be a karabiner or snap-ring type connector, clips onto an anchor ring  204  or other such anchor point on a harness  202  (See  FIG. 2 ) worn by the patient  206 . The harness, preferably a variation of commonly available sit or full-body harnesses, provides support for the patient&#39;s  206  torso and legs when the lifting system  105  is supporting the patient&#39;s  206  weight, thus avoiding discomfort to the patient, while still allowing the patient  206  to reap the benefits of the treatment. The anchor ring  204  is preferably positioned to rest on the mid to upper back of the patient  206  so that when the lifting system  105  is engaged the patient is maintained in an upright or nearly upright posture.  
         [0024]     Generally, sit and full-body harnesses as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,145,027, and 6,050,364, herein incorporated by reference, are used as safety harnesses for climbing and therefore provide the anchor ring at the front of the harness. This anchor position, however, would force a patient into an unnatural and uncomfortable posture during the treatment cycle. By moving the anchor ring to the mid or upper back region, the patient can be supported in a manner that would provide better results from the treatment. The preferred harness  202  would thus have leg support straps  208  attached to leg straps  210  and routed inside the harness  202  to the back, where an end of the leg support strap  208  is attached to the anchor ring  204 .  
         [0025]     Additional upper-body support straps  212  are attached to the upper back portion of the harness  202  at one end and to the anchor ring  204  at the other end. The upper-body support strap  212  is provided with a predefined or adjustable amount of slack in relation to the leg support straps  208 . The slack is necessary so that when the patient is supported by the harness, the leg support straps  208  are loaded before the upper-body support straps  212  are, thus forcing the patient&#39;s legs to take on a slightly seated position, allowing the patients weight to be supported in a more comfortable manner while still maintaining proper posture with respect to the dynamic motion plate. By adjusting the slack of the upper-body support straps  212 , the patient can be placed into more or less of a sitting posture.  
         [0026]     Additional embodiments of the present disclosure may include multiple anchor points on the harness  200  with corresponding multiple connectors  108  attached to either a single cable  107  or each connector  108  to a unique cable  107 . A controller may also be included for providing control of the lifting system  105 , collection and display of data received from any weight sensors, display of elapsed time and/or time remaining in the current treatment cycle, and indicators for alerting an operator of problems that may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment, e.g. the weight being supported by the lifting system  105  has suddenly changed, possibly indicating fatigue of the patient  202 , etc. The controller may provide additional applicable diagnostic tools, such as blood pressure and heart rate monitoring—additional hardware components may be necessary.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  illustrates an embodiment of the process for performing a bone growth stimulation treatment. Initially, the patient&#39;s treatment needs are determined in Step  301 . Step  301  includes determining duration of treatment, proper vibrational frequency, etc. Proceeding to Step  302 , it is determined if the patient will require assistance standing on the dynamic motion plate  101 . A patient may require assistance due to injury, paralysis, excess weight or other medical conditions. Generally, the patient must apply a significant portion of his/her body weight on the dynamic motion plate  101  and maintain a correct upright posture throughout the treatment, which may last for 20 minutes or more.  
         [0028]     If the assistance is necessary, the process proceeds to step  303 , where the patient is placed in a harness  202 . In Step  304 , at least one cable  107  is attached to an anchor point  204  on the harness  202 . The tension on the cable  107  is adjusted until the proper portion of the patient&#39;s weight is supported in Step  305 . The process, subsequently, proceeds to Step  306 , where the treatment is prepared by adjusting the proper settings for the frequency, duration, etc. as determined in Step  301 . Proceeding to Step  307 , the treatment is performed. During treatment, it is preferred that the patient is monitored for inappropriate fatigue, stress, improper posture and other related issues which may impact the benefits of the treatment. Appropriate action should be taken to correct these issues.  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , an additional embodiment of the present disclosure provides for an assisted-standing gear  400  as an add-on to a pre-existing dynamic motion plate. The assisted-standing gear  400  incorporates all the components of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , except for the dynamic motion plate  101 . In the present embodiment, the assisted-standing gear  400  has a base  102  dimensioned to provide stability and a region  401  for insertion of a dynamic motion plate  101 . This region  401  may be configured either as a cutout wherein the dynamic motion plate  101  fits or as a platform, whereupon the dynamic motion plate  101  is placed. Referring to  FIG. 5 , the system  500  provides standing assistance via a user lift system  502  as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,046, herein incorporated by reference. The lifting system  502  provides a supporting harness  504  and back support  506  and is integrated with a dynamic motion plate  508  positioned at the base. Additional supports and braces may be present, such as upper body supports  510 , hip braces  512  and knee braces  514 .  
         [0030]     The described embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive, and are not intended to represent every embodiment of the present disclosure. Various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims both literally and in equivalents recognized in law.