Abstract:
An orthesis with a base plate designed to fit the body of an orthesis wearer enables improved handling and storage. The base plate being provided on at least one side with a fastening mechanism for rigid connection with a separate extension piece for enlarging the base plate and the extension piece to be connected to the base plate. The extension piece also provided with a similar fastening mechanism, such that multiple extension pieces may be connected together.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This patent application claims priority from German Patent Application No. 10 2007 019526.7, filed on Apr. 23, 2007, entitled “ORTHOSIS/ORTHESES”, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The invention relates to an orthesis with a dimensionally stable base plate designed to fit the body of an orthesis wearer. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Ortheses having bas plates are known in a variety of configurations. The base plate can be any plate which fits flat on the body of the orthesis wearer by way of appropriate fastening means. For example, a ventral base plate is located in the waist region, with a fastening strap encircling the body in this waist region. A dorsal back board can also be provided, which is looped round by the fastening strap or which has fastening mechanisms for the corresponding ends of the fastening strap, so that the fastening strap encircles the body together with the back board. 
         [0004]    A principal field of application of such an orthesis is a hyperextension orthesis, in which at least another support board projects away from the base plate in the direction of height, therefore upwards and/or downwards, attached stably to the base plate. For a complete hyperextension orthesis an upper sternal board and a lower symphitic board cooperate ventrally with the back board to form a triangular support. A function of the base plate is to act as a fastening element for the fastening strap and both ventral boards. This type of hyperextension orthesis is known for example from DE 39 28 628 C1. Such ortheses are available in a number of sizes to enable them to fit body contours and provide a comfortable fit for the orthesis using base plates of various sizes. If a base plate is too narrow the fastening strap will cut too much into the tissue of the patient, while a base plate which is too wide will result in an unsteady fit. In the case of known ortheses, the base plate and the boards include a metal part and a padded lining. To make up different sizes of the orthesis base plates of various sizes must therefore be kept in stock. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    An of the present invention is to design an orthesis such that it enables improved handling and storage. In one embodiment, an orthesis of the of the present invention includes a base plate being on at least one side with a fastening mechanism for dimensionally stable connection with an extension piece enlarging the base plate.  
         [0006]    Depending on whether there are no extension pieces or one, two or three of them, etc. arranged on the base plate, fitting the base plate to the body contour, or to the respectively required function of the orthesis, can be carried out without base plates of different sizes being required for each separate size. If the base plate, for example in the direction of width, has ends of a length-adjustable fastening strap encircling a body on both sides, then by widening the base plate the extension pieces help it fit on the respective body contour. The connection made according to the invention between the base plate and the fitted extension pieces is likewise dimensionally stable, and thus sets the required dimensional stability against the tractive force of the fastening strap to prevent the fastening strap from undesirably cutting into the tissue of the patient. 
         [0007]    To form several different sizes of the resulting base plate, it is effective if the extension piece is likewise provided at its free edge with a fastening mechanism. The fastening mechanism provides a positive connection to another dimensionally stable extension piece to enlarge the base plate. In this way the abovementioned multiple stepped enlargements can be completed. 
         [0008]    In another embodiment of the invention, the fastening mechanism has an attachment with a stepped recess and the set extension piece grips under the stepped recess with a corresponding stepped recess to form a partially flat contact between attachment and extension piece. Thus, in the direction of attachment, a stop of the extension piece rests on a stop of the attachment. This produces a highly dimensionally stable connection, made structurally rigid by the flat contact of the extension piece on the attachment of the base plate. The rigidity of the connection does not oppose the connection between base plate and extension piece and/or between extension pieces for fitting the body shape of the orthesis wearer. Rather, the pieces are designed to tilt about a limited angle and exhibit a certain elasticity, so that they can be tightened on the body for example by the tractive force of a fastening strap, but they also provide a sufficiently large resistance against deformation so as not to press too much into the tissue of the orthesis wearer. 
         [0009]    When the extension piece is in the assembled state, a locking pin arranged perpendicularly in the region of the flat contact preferably engages in a corresponding recess to form the positive connection in the direction of width. For example, the locking pin can be guided into the recess by a tilting motion of the extension piece relative to the attachment, resulting in the locking pin being snap-locked in the recess. This produces a stable connection which can be made by simply setting and snap-locking the extension piece on the corresponding attachment of the base plate or a previous extension piece. 
         [0010]    To form the orthesis, the base plate may include at least one calotte set in the direction of height. Use of the inventive orthesis as hyperextension orthesis with a symphitic board and a sternal board is preferred. Both the sternal board and the symphitic board are preferably arranged height-adjustably on the base plate. For this purpose one rail is preferably formed from two tubes, attached to a U-shaped end in the material of the board. Height adjustment is done by shifting the tubes with the board and by corresponding suitable fastening means of the base plate. 
         [0011]    The present invention can be utilized with a variety of support plates to enlarge or reduce the size of the base plate by the addition or removal of extension pieces, and in particular the back board of the hyperextension orthesis. Base plates can be widened by extension pieces in a preferred exemplary embodiment. But they can also be designed in different heights, in that extension pieces, which exhibit the width of the back board, are positioned to increase the length of the back board in the direction of height and thus produce a spinal support of varying length. 
         [0012]    The inventive orthesis preferably has a base plate, which is designed fully as an injection-moulded plastic part. The extension pieces are accordingly also solid injection-moulded plastic parts, preferably without any metal reinforcement. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0013]    The invention will now be explained in greater detail by way of an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the diagram, in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a first exemplary embodiment of an inventive orthesis designed as hyperextension orthesis; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective partial illustration of a base plate and an unmounted extension piece; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is the illustration according to  FIG. 2  with the extension piece tilted relative to the base part for assembly; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the proximal faces of the parts according to  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  shows the parts according to  FIG. 3  during the assembly procedure; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  shows the parts according to  FIG. 5  in the assembled state; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a schematic illustration of a second exemplary embodiment of an orthesis designed according to the invention as hyperextension orthesis; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a schematic illustration of a third exemplary embodiment of an orthesis designed according to the invention as a hyperextension orthesis. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]    The perspective illustration of  FIG. 1  of a hyperextension orthesis shows a ventral base plate  1 , to which a sternal board  2  is attached upwards and a symphitic board  3  is attached downwards in the direction of height. The height position of the sternal board  2  can be adjusted, in that the sternal board  2  is attached to a rail array formed by two tubes  4  and can be shifted relative to the base plate  1 . The base plate  1  has a set screw  4 ′ for fixing the tubes  4  connected to the sternal board  2  at a preferred height. The symphitic board  3  likewise is correspondingly height-adjustably fixed on a rail array, formed by two parallel tubes  5  fixable with a set screw  5 ′. The tubes  4 ,  5  in each case both running parallel to one another emerge as legs of a tube bent into a U-shape, whereby the U-shaped end of the arrangement is fixed in the relevant board  2 ,  3 . 
         [0023]    The base plate  1  has two attachments  6  pointing away from one another in the direction of width. Fixed to these attachments  6  are drive belts  9 . A fastening strap  7  provided to loop around the body of a patient in the waist region has at its end a firmly mounted fastener  8 . The fastener  8  can be pushed to different positions on the drive belt  9  as the patient requires, so as to thus create various peripheral tensions. 
         [0024]    The orthesis comprises a back board  10  by which the fastening strap  7  can be pressed against the back of the patient in the chest and lumbar vertebrae region. 
         [0025]    To adapt the orthesis to different waist girths, an extension piece  11  connects to the attachment  6  of the base plate  1 , which is configured with an attachment  12  corresponding to the attachment  6 , so that a further extension piece  11  etc. can be set onto the extension piece  11 . In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , three extension pieces  11  are set on both sides of the base plate  1  in each case, which, as explained in greater detail hereinbelow, are connected to one another positively and provide a dimensionally stable widening of the base plate  1 . The last extension piece  11  is designed as an end piece  11 ′, which is designed on the distal surface with a grooved guide  13  for guiding the fastening strap  7 . 
         [0026]      FIGS. 2 to 6  illustrate the structural design of the base plate  1  and the (same) extension pieces  11 .  FIGS. 2 and 3  show a perspective view of the distal sides of the base plate  1  and an extension piece  11 . On the attachments  6 , the base plate  1  has outwardly open grooved depressions  14 , in which the ends of the fastening strap  7  are fastened by means of an associated lock  8 . The attachments  6  taper conically outwards in width and terminate in an edge  15  forming a stop. Underneath, thus proximally from the edge  15 , a tongue  16  extends out over the edge  15  in the direction of width. 
         [0027]      FIG. 4  shows that on the proximal side, a tongue  16  continues a section  17  of the attachment  6 . On the proximal side, the attachment section  17  extends gradually from the material of the attachment  6 , such that in the direction of height on both sides of the section  17  it comprises a stepped recess  18 , by which a contact surface  19  is formed set back and stepped on both sides of the section  17  relative to the surface of the section  17 . A locking pin  20  extends from the contact surface  19  in each case. 
         [0028]    The extension piece  11  has a forked end, whereof a recess  21  is designed with a contour corresponding to the outer contour of the tongue  16 . The recess  21  is delimited by two webs  22 , which have on their distal surface a stepped transition line  23 , whereof the progression corresponds to, and thus complements, the progression of the stepped recess  18  of the attachment  6 . Through the stepped transition  23  each web  22  has a stepped set-back contact surface  24 , which is designed to contact the corresponding contact surface  19 . The contact surface  24  is provided with an opening  25  for receiving the locking pin  20 . The webs  22  are connected to one another on the far side of the recess  21  by a base body  26 , which has on its distal top side a grooved recess  27  in the direction of width and which serves as guide for the fastening strap  7 . 
         [0029]    As  FIG. 4  shows, the base body  26  has on its proximal side a central stepped recess  28 , serving to receive the tongue  16  of the attachment  6  protruding out over the stop edge  15 . The tongue  16  is provided with a snap-in cam  29  which engages in a corresponding depression  30  in the stepped recess  28  in the assembled state. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  also shows that, as with the attachment  6 , the base body  26  of the extension piece  11  is provided correspondingly with a fastening mechanism of contact surface  19  and locking pin  20  as well as with a tongue  16 . Thus, the extension body  11  can be snapped in identically with a further extension body  11 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  shows that locking of the extension body  11  on the attachment  6  of the base plate  1  takes place by the extension piece  11  being tilted proximally and in this position being moved to the attachment  6  such that the contact surface  24  lies opposite the contact surface  19 . In the process, the stop edge  15  of the attachment  6  lies on a corresponding stop edge  31  of the base body  26 . When the extension piece  11  is tilted back into the position flush with the attachment  6 , the locking pins  20  engage in the openings  25  of the extension piece  11 . At the same time, this results in engagement of the snap-in cam  29  of the tongue  16  in the depression  30  of the stepped recess  28  of the extension piece  11 . Both locking versions can be designed to snap-lock, creating a connection positive in the direction of width both via the locking pins  20  and via the snap-in cam  29 . Through corresponding dimensioning, for example of the snap-in cam  29  and depression  30 , the connection can be tilted and/or configured elastically about an axis perpendicular to the direction of width about a limited angle, producing an automatic fit on the body contour of the orthesis wearer. In the direction of traction of the fastening strap  7 , there is also a dimensionally stable connection made based on the nesting contact surfaces  19 ,  24  on both sides (in the direction of height) of the attachment  6 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  shows the extension piece  11  nearing the assembly position.  FIG. 6  shows the extension piece  11  set positively flush and dimensionally stable after being tilted back with the attachment  6  of the base plate  1 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 6  also shows that another identically designed extension piece similarly can be connected to the extension piece  11 . Thus, the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 1  can be readily created with a base part  1  widened by three extension pieces  11 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 7  shows a second exemplary embodiment of an inventive orthesis, configured as a hyperextension orthesis and differing from the first exemplary embodiment, shown in  FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the back board  10  has a fastening mechanism for affixing attachment pieces  11 , so that also the width of the back board  10  can be similarly adjusted, as can the width of the ventral base plate  1 . 
         [0035]    Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the third exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8  contains the modification, whereby the back board  110  is designed as base plate which can be enlarged in the direction of height. For this, extension pieces  111 , extending over the entire width of the back board  110 , can be connected to the back board  110 . In this way, the respective length of a spinal support can be set by the back board  110 . In this embodiment, it is particularly significant that the extension pieces  111  are designed to tilt relative to the base part of the back board  110  and relative to one another about a limited angle. Thus, the fit can be made to the contour of the spine, and yet the required support is ensured. As with the widening of the sides, the extension made by means of at least one extension piece  111  is closed by an end piece  111 ′. 
         [0036]    It is also conceivable, of course, to combine the width-adjustable back board  10 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , with the back board  110  that can be enlarged in the direction of height. Thus, the back board  110  can be enlarged by extension pieces  11 ,  111  in the direction of both width and height.