Patent Publication Number: US-2010117436-A1

Title: Adjustable adduction stabilizer

Description:
FEDERAL RESEARCH STATEMENT 
     None. 
     CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a wheel chair for carrying a patient, and more specifically to an attachment for a leg rest of a wheelchair that will secure a patient&#39;s leg to the leg rest. 
     2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     A wheelchair includes a leg rest for each foot of a patient being carried in the wheelchair. Some patients are so incapacitated that they cannot control their legs or feet such that they stay in place on the leg rest. A patient&#39;s foot may slide off from the leg rest and rub against the floor or get caught in the wheelchair frame or wheels and cause serious injury. Without such a restraint, a person in the wheelchair must voluntarily and consciously maintain her leg upon the leg rest during transport. Or, the patient&#39;s legs must be tied to the leg rest during transport, and thus restraining the leg to the leg rest. 
     One prior art reference, U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,984 issued to Sickels on Feb. 4, 1975 and entitled LEG-SUPPORTED-AND-RETAINING DEVICE ATTACHABLE TO AN ELEVATABLE LEGREST OF A WHEEL CHAIR, is shown in  FIGS. 1-3  and discloses a leg supporting and retaining device  10  that is removably attached to a frame  30  of a wheelchair  20  and adjacent to the leg rest panel  22  and the footrest panel  24  that acts to hold the patient&#39;s leg from sliding in a sideways direction from the footrest panel.  FIG. 2  shows the prior art leg supporting and retaining device  10  that includes a minor curved portion  14  that snaps onto a tubular member  23  of the wheelchair  20 , a flat body portion  12  and a major curved portion  16 .  FIG. 3  shows the patient&#39;s leg  31  rested on the leg rest panel  22  and the foot resting on the foot rest panel  24 . The major curved portion  16  prevents the leg from sliding toward the inward direction. The Sickels patent is incorporated herein by reference. 
     One major problem with the prior art leg supporting and retaining device of the Sickels patent is the device is formed from a non-breathable sheet material that will cause skin irritation and bacteria growth in the patient&#39;s leg if it remains against the surface for a long period of time. Another problem with the Sickels patent is that the device is stiff and fixed in its shape so that it cannot be adapted to different sizes and shapes of legs. Still, another problem with the Sickels patent device is that it does not retain the patient&#39;s leg in both sideways directions. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide for a wheelchair that will retain a patient&#39;s leg on the leg rest in both sideways directions. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide for a wheelchair that will retain a patient&#39;s leg against the leg rest while allowing for the leg to breathe so as not to cause skin irritation or bacteria growth. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide for a wheelchair that includes a leg rest that can be varied is size and shape so as to fit different sized legs. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide for a leg supporting and retaining device that can be easily secured onto a wheelchair to retain a patient&#39;s leg from sliding off in both sideways directions. 
     The present invention is an adjustable adduction stabilizer that is readily attachable to an elevating leg rest of a wheelchair that is made from a breathable material that includes a front portion that can wrap around the patient&#39;s leg to secure the leg to the leg rest panel in all three directions. The adjustable adduction stabilizer is formed of orthoplast material with holes formed it is to provide for a breathable device. The adjustable adduction stabilizer includes two holes for Velcro straps that are used to secure the stabilizer to the leg rest frame of the wheelchair. The stabilizer is also formed from a thermoplastic material so that the shape can be reconfigured with a heat gun so fit any sized and shaped leg. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a leg supporting and retaining device of the prior art. 
         FIG. 2  shows the prior art leg supporting and retaining device of  FIG. 1  secured in place on a wheelchair. 
         FIG. 3  shows a leg being supported on a leg rest panel using the prior art leg supporting and retaining device. 
         FIG. 4  shows the leg supporting and retaining device of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The adjustable adduction stabilizer (leg supporting and retaining device) of the present invention is shown in  FIG. 4  and is used on a wheelchair similar to the prior art leg supporting and retaining device shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the adjustable adduction stabilizer  40  includes a narrow constricted portion  41 , a minor curved portion  42 , a flat body portion  43  that rests against the leg rest panel of the wheelchair, a major curved portion  44  and a wide constricted portion  45  which forms a S-shaped curved when looking at the cross section. The wide constricted portion  45  wraps over the front of the leg to retain the leg against movement away from the leg rest panel  22  and curves slightly inward toward the leg rest panel  22  to hold the leg against sideways movement outward from the wheelchair. As in the prior art device, the minor curved portion  41  is sized to wrap around the tubular member of the wheelchair, but unlike the prior art device is held in place by Velcro straps. The stabilizer is so shaped that it can be used on both the left side leg rest and the right side leg rest as in the prior art device. 
     The stabilizer  40  includes slots  46  formed around the two side that form the minor curved portion in which the Velcro straps pass through to enable the Velcro straps to tightly secure the stabilizer  40  to the tubular member. The stabilizer also includes holes  47  formed in the material in the locations at least where the stabilizer would come into contact with the leg so as to allow for the leg to breathe when the stabilizer  40  is wrapped around the patient&#39;s leg. 
     The adjustable adduction stabilizer  40  is made from orthoplast, a medical material, which is a thermoplastic material. As such, the shape of the stabilizer can be changed to fit different sized legs by using a hand held heat gun on the stabilizer to deform it into the desired shape. The stabilizer  40  can be reshaped off from the patient by visual observation and then, after it has solidified, placed onto the patient&#39;s leg or leg&#39;s. The stabilizer device can be shaped to bend inward toward the leg rest panel  22  so that the patient&#39;s leg will not slide sideways away from the major curved portion  44  when it is hardened again. Then, because the stabilizer device is not too rigid, it can be bent open so that it can be fitted around the leg and then allowed to bend back into place so that the wide constricted portion  45  wraps over the front of the leg far enough to restrain the leg in both sideways directions. 
     The universal stabilizer is readily attachable to the elevating leg rest of the wheelchair. The stabilizer supports and retains the leg without restraining it, eliminating adduction from occurring yet allowing elevation of the leg rest to take place if needed. The adjustable adduction stabilizer  40  is made of the orthoplast material which universally and easily fits the elevating leg rest by its configured S-shape and removable elastic Velcro straps. The material allows the skin of the patient&#39;s leg to breathe and rest comfortably in the stabilizer  40  against the leg rest of the wheelchair.