A body joint stabilizing apparatus for adaptively damping a body movement, comprising: a receptacle, wherein the receptacle is filled with a shear-thickening medium, a tensioning body that is movable relative to the receptacle, wherein the tensioning body is connectable to a body region of the user that is movable relative to another body region of the user, on which the receptacle is fastenable, an effector body that is displaceably arranged in the receptacle and provided for an interaction with the shear-thickening medium, and a connection element for transmitting forces between the receptacle and the tensioning body, wherein the receptacle, the tensioning body and the effector body are connected to one another by way of the connection element, wherein the to connection element is guided via at least one deflection means for the purposes of dividing the force acting on the connection element.

A glove used in sports such as football, soccer, basketball, volleyball, snowboarding or motorcycle riding or work such as construction or heavy machinery operation that includes stiffening components attached on top of each finger portion of the glove and anchored beyond the base knuckle on top of the glove to prevent the fingers from hyper-extending or jamming and creating a protective exoskeleton for the entire hand while minimally affecting the degree of freedom and range of motion for the fingers. Each stiffening component is comprised of multiple slits or hinges as well as a sliding swivel pivot hinge which allow the stiffening components to bend in unison with each finger but lock in place to form a solid element and prevent the fingers from hyper-extending when the finger and its accompanying stiffening component are straightened.

Wearable assistive jamming apparatus and related methods are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes a frame to be worn about a body part of a user and a jamming actuator carried by the frame. The example apparatus includes an electrode to deliver electricity from an electrical source communicatively coupled to the electrode to a muscle of the user. In the example apparatus, the jamming actuator is to transition from a flexible state to a substantially rigid state in coordination with the delivery of the electricity to the electrode to support the body part.

Medical devices and methods are presented for protecting a limb, e.g., an arm, of a patient during a medical procedure. The medical devices and methods utilize a plurality of longitudinal sealed fluid pockets to thermally insulate and cushion an extremity of a limb. The plurality of longitudinal sealed fluid pockets is incorporated in a protective body that is shaped to wrap around the extremity when the medical device is deployed. The protective body has at least one access opening to provide access through the protective body to one or more corresponding portions of the extremity. Access panels may be formed into the protective body to allow portions of the extremity to be covered or uncovered and used with left or right limbs. Other devices and methods are presented.

The present invention relates to a limb orthosis, in particular a knee orthosis, comprising a strap system, wherein a strap as a first section of the strap system is routed in such a manner that the strap crosses over in a first crossover region and that a strap as a second section of the strap system is routed in such a manner that the strap crosses over in a second crossover region.

A finger brace device is disclosed herein. The finger brace device can comprise a first hinge component configured to connect a proximal component configured to fit around at least a first portion of a finger near a wrist, to an intermediate component located at a central portion of the apparatus, wherein the proximal component is located at a lateral portion of the apparatus. Also disclosed is a second hinge component configured to connect the intermediate component of the apparatus to a distal component. Furthermore, a ball and socket joint is configured to allow a broad range of motion between the proximal component of the apparatus and the plate component.

A brace for augmenting movement of a user's limb about a joint includes an upper arm having an engaging portion for engaging against the user's limb above the joint, and an attachment portion, a lower arm having an engaging portion for engaging against the user's limb below the joint, and an attachment portion, the lower arm being pivotable relative to the upper arm, at least one compression element disposed in fixed relation to at least one of the upper and lower arms, and a substantially inelastic tensioning element affixed to the other of the upper and lower arms over at least one tensioning element tensioning member such that a user applies a force to move the brace to a loaded position in which the at least one compression element is loaded and upon removal of the applied force the at least one compression element applies a restoring force to urge the brace out of the loaded position, the at least one compression element comprising a hydraulic tension spring disposed in fixed relation to at least the other of the upper and lower arms, comprising a pair of cylinders mounted within a frame, each cylinder having a sealed portion defining a liquid containment space, for each of the pair of cylinders, a piston comprising a piston rod, the piston rod comprising a compressing portion having a smaller diameter than the cylinder and extending axially through a hydraulic seal into the liquid containment space, and an external portion accessible from outside the liquid containment space, one of the cylinder and the piston being fixed relative to the frame and the other of the cylinder and the piston being movable axially relative to the frame, a guide for maintaining the movable one of the cylinder and the piston oriented axially relative to the frame, and a compression element tensioning member bearing against the movable one of the at least one cylinder and the piston, for compressing the at least one cylinder relative to the piston, whereby when the frame is fixed in place and tension is applied to the tensioning element tensioning member, the compressing portions of the piston rods intrude further into the liquid containment space, compressing the hydraulic fluid and loading the spring.

A device for enclosing a finger includes a protective shell having an opening for receiving the finger. The protective shell defines an interior cavity that is sized and shaped to allow extension and flexion of the finger within the shell.

A hand orthosis having a cuff for fixing the hand orthosis to a wrist joint or a lower arm of a wearer of the hand orthosis, at least one support brace that extends radially or ulnarly next to a hand of the wearer in the direction of an extension of the lower arm, at least one carrier element arranged on the support brace, and a functional element detachable fixed to the carrier element.

A hand orthosis having a cuff for fixing the hand orthosis to a wrist joint or a lower arm of a wearer of the hand orthosis, at least one carrier element, and at least one hand support element that can be fixed to the carrier element. The hand support element includes a contour that is designed to be symmetrical to a longitudinal axis of the hand support element and includes a thumb support area on both sides of the longitudinal axis.