Abstract
An orthopedic device with a base body for applying to a body part of a wearer, and at least one electrode for transcutaneously transmitting electrical signals. The at least one electrode features an electrically conductive textile and an electrically conductive polymer, wherein the electrically conductive textile is partially penetrated by the electrically inductive polymer and arranged in such a way that it comes into contact with the body part when the base body is applied.
Claims
1. An orthopedic device comprising: a base body for applying to a body part of the wearer: at least one electrode for the transcutaneous transmission of electrical signals, the at least one electrode comprising: an electrically conductive textile; an electrically conductive polymer; wherein the electrically conductive textile is partially penetrated by the electrically conductive polymer and arranged in such a way that the electrically conductive textile comes into contact with the body part when the base body is applied.
2. The orthopedic device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive textile is a silver textile or a silver-coated textile.
3. The orthopedic device according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive polymer is a silicone, a polyurethane or a thermoplastic polymer, each with electrically conductive particles.
4. The orthopedic device according to claim 3, wherein the particles are metal particles or carbon particles.
5. The orthopedic device according to claim 1, wherein the base body comprises a base body material and the at least one electrode is connected to the base body material, particularly cast or moulded in said by at least one of casting or moulding the at least one electrode in the base body material, or incorporating the at least one electrode into a textile.
6. The orthopedic device according to claim 5, wherein a fixing element is arranged on a side of the polymer facing away from the textile, and the electrode is or can be fixed to the base body by the fixing element.
7. The orthopedic device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one electrode is connected to an electric conductor, which comprises a core made of an electrically conductive polymer and an electrically insulating coating.
8. The orthopedic device according to claim 7, wherein the electrically conductive polymer of the electrode is the same as the electrically conductive polymer of the core.
9. An electrode for an orthopedic device according claim 1.
10. A method for producing an electrode according to claim 9, wherein the electrically conductive polymer either partially or completely hardened or partially or completely cross-linked, and the electronically conductive textile and electrically conductive polymer are placed on top of one another and pressed together using pressure until the electrically conductive polymer partially penetrates the electrically conductive textile.
11. An orthopedic device comprising: a base body configured to be applied to a body part of the wearer; at least one electrode to transcutaneously transmit electrical signals, the at least one electrode comprising: an electrically conductive polymer; an electrically conductive textile partially penetrated by the electrically conductive polymer and arranged to contact the body part when the base body is applied to the body part.
12. The orthopedic device according to claim 11, wherein the conductive textile comprises a silver textile or a silver-coated textile.
13. The orthopedic device according to claim 11, wherein the electrically conductive polymer comprises a silicone, a polyurethane, or a thermoplastic polymer, each with electrically conductive particles.
14. The orthopedic device according to claim 13, wherein the electrically conductive particles are metal particles or carbon particles.
15. The orthopedic device according to claim 11, wherein the base body is made of a base body material and the at least one electrode is connected to the base body material by casting or moulding in the base body material, or being incorporated into a textile.
16. The orthopedic device according to claim 15, wherein a fixing element is arranged on a side of the polymer facing away from the textile, and the electrode is or can be fixed to the base body by the fixing element.
17. The orthopedic device according to one of the above claims, wherein the at least one electrode is connected to an electric conductor, which comprises a core made of an electrically conductive polymer and an electrically insulating coating.
18. The orthopedic device according to claim 17, wherein the electrically conductive polymer of the electrode is the same as the electrically conductive polymer of the core.
19. The orthopedic device according to claim 16, wherein the fixing element includes a positive-locking element, which includes a button or a screw.
20. The orthopedic device according to claim 11, wherein the metal particles include silver, and the carbon particles include soot particles, graphite particles or carbon nanotubes.
Description
[0023] In the following, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in more detail by way of the attached figures: They show
[0024] FIG. 1—the top view and sectional representation of an electrode in a section of a base body of an orthopedic device,
[0025] FIGS. 2-6—schematic representations of different orthopedic devices according to examples of an embodiment of the present invention,
[0026] FIG. 7—schematic sectional representations through embedded electrodes,
[0027] FIG. 8—schematic top views of electrodes and
[0028] FIGS. 9 and 10—schematic sectional representations through electrodes.
[0029] The lower part of FIG. 1 contains a top view of a section of a base body 2 of an orthopedic device according to a first example of an embodiment of the present invention. It is made of a silicone, for example, and comprises an electrode 4 that is connected to an electric conductor 6. FIG. 1 depicts a top view of a side that faces towards the body part of the wearer. The electrode 4 features a conductive textile 8, which comes into contact with the body of the wearer as soon as the base body 2 is arranged on the body part of the wearer. The conductive textile 8 is partially penetrated by a conductive polymer 10, so that an effective mechanical and electrical contact is established between the conductive textile 8 and the conductive polymer 10. The electric conductor 6 is connected to the electrode 4 in a contact region 12.
[0030] The upper part of FIG. 1 depicts a cross-section along the line A-A. The base body 2, in which the electric conductor 6 and the electrode 4 are situated, can be seen. The electrically conductive textile 8 is designed to be pot-shaped. The conductive polymer 10 is situated inside, wherein said polymer comes into contact with the electric conductor 6 in a contact region 12, in which the conductor 6 is bevelled. FIG. 1 does not show the partial penetration of the conductive textile by the conductive polymer.
[0031] FIG. 2 depicts an orthopedic device in the form of a knee support. It has a base body 2, which can be made, for instance, of an elastic textile and may feature thickenings, pads or inserted or integrated padding elements. In the example of an embodiment shown, six electrodes 4 are integrated in the base body 2, each of which is connected to an electric conductor 6. The electric conductors 6 connect the electrodes 4 to an electric control system 14, which is depicted schematically in FIG. 2. The electric control system 14 is configured to further process electrical signals that are sent by the electrodes 4 via the electric conductor 6 to the electric control system 14 and, where applicable, to transfer them to an electronic data processing device. For example, this may occur via cables, not depicted in FIG. 2, which is especially advantageous if the electronic data processing device is arranged in the electric control system 14 or at least on the base body 2 of the orthopedic device. It may be practical, for instance, to further process the electrical signals transmitted by the electrodes 4 in the form of electronic data in the electric control system 14 in such a way that it can be stored in an electronic memory, which is preferably part of the orthopedic device, until it can be read and evaluated. Alternatively or additionally, it is beneficial to allow for a wireless transmission of the electronic data from the electric control system 14 to an electronic data processing device.
[0032] FIG. 3 shows an orthopedic device according to a further example of an embodiment of the present invention in the form of a lower leg prosthesis. The base body 2 is designed in the form of the prosthesis socket on which the electrodes 4 are arranged; these are connected to an electric control system via electric conductors 6, wherein said electric control system is not depicted. A lower leg element 16 and an artificial foot 18 are situated on the base body 2. Via the electrodes 6, myoelectric signals, for instance, can be picked up by an amputation stump that is arranged in the base body 2. These myoelectric signals are directed to the electric control system via the electric conductors 6 and used to control the artificial foot 18.
[0033] FIG. 4 depicts another embodiment of an orthopedic device according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention, which is also designed as a prosthesis; however, here it is designed as a hand or lower arm prosthesis. Here, the base body 2 also forms the prosthesis socket on which the electrodes 4 are arranged; these are connected to the electric control system 14 via electric conductors 6. The electric control system 14 is configured to generate control signals for a prosthetic hand 20 using the electrical signals picked up by the electrodes 4 and to thereby control the functions of the prosthetic hand 20. The orthopedic device shown in FIG. 4 also features a power supply 22 by means of which the electric control system 14 can be supplied with electrical energy.
[0034] FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of an orthopedic device which is designed as a shoulder orthosis. The base body 2 extends across the shoulder region of the wearer 24 and along the arm of the wearer 24 and over the elbow. The base body 2 has a fixing belt 26, which is guided around the torso of the wearer. Electrodes 4 are arranged on both the fixing belt 26, which forms part of the base body 2, and on other parts of the base body 2, such as an upper arm element 28 and a lower arm element 30; said electrodes are connected to the electric control system 14 via electric conductors 6.
[0035] FIG. 6 depicts an orthopedic device in the form of a t-shirt, wherein the base body 2 is the t-shirt itself. Electrodes 4 are arranged on both the sleeves 32 and the rest of the base body 2, wherein said electrodes are also connected to the electric control system 14 via electric conductors 6. The difficulty with this configuration of the orthopedic device is establishing as effective a contact as possible between the electrodes and the skin area of the wearer. This may be achieved, for instance, by way of the cut of the t-shirt, an elastic material or integrated belts.
[0036] FIG. 7 shows four different sectional representations, each through an electrode 4 that is embedded in the base body 2 of an orthopedic device. It comprises a conductive polymer 10, which is connected to an electric conductor 6. The conductive textile 8, which in the two lower sectional representations comprises an opening 34, is situated on the underside of the respective base body 2 in FIG. 7, wherein said underside faces towards the body of the patient or wearer or the orthopedic device. At these points, the conductive polymer 10 comes into direct contact with the skin of the wearer. In the second and fourth representation from the top, the conductive textile 8 is not only situated on the specified underside, but also encloses the conductive polymer 10 on three sides. Specifically, it is also in the contact region between the base body 2 and the conductive polymer 10. At this point, the conductive textile 8 has the specific task of connecting the two polymers which can otherwise only be connected with great difficulty or not at all.
[0037] FIG. 8 contains two electrodes 4, which comprise differently designed conductive textiles 8. It depicts the schematic view from the side of the base body 2, which comes into contact with the skin of the wearer. The upper electrode 4 shown in FIG. 8 features a full-surface conductive textile 8, which comes into contact with the skin of the wearer. The lower representation shows an electrode 4, which features the previously described opening 34, by way of which the conductive polymer 10 comes into contact with the skin of the wearer. Both electrodes are connected via an electric conductor 6.
[0038] The upper part of FIG. 9 depicts the schematic sectional representation through the electrode 4, which corresponds to the uppermost representation in FIG. 7. The lower representation in FIG. 9 represents a more detailed view of the enclosed area. The material of the base body 2, the electrically conductive polymer 10 and the fiber structure of the conductive textile 8 can be clearly seen.
[0039] The sectional representation through the individual fibers 36 is shown. It is clear that the conductive polymer 10 has penetrated approximately halfway into the conductive textile 8. The individual fibers 36 feature microfibers 38, which ensure an effective contact and an effective connection to both the respective polymer of the base body 2 or the conductive polymer 10 and the skin of the wearer.
[0040] FIG. 10 shows a completely different configuration of the electrode 4. It comprises the conductive textile 8, which encloses a layer of conductive polymer 10 arranged on a screw 40. This is guided through the base body 2 of the orthopedic device and secured with a nut 42. Both the screw 40 and the nut 42 are preferably made of metal so as to establish an effective electrical contact. A cable lug 44 is arranged between the base body 2 and the nut 42, wherein said cable lug can be connected to the electric conductor 6.
REFERENCE LIST
[0041] 2 base body [0042] 4 electrode [0043] 6 electric conductor [0044] 8 conductive textile [0045] 10 conductive polymer [0046] 12 contact area [0047] 14 electric control system [0048] 16 lower leg element [0049] 18 artificial foot [0050] 20 prosthetic hand [0051] 22 power supply [0052] 24 wearer [0053] 26 fixing belt [0054] 28 upper arm element [0055] 30 lower arm element [0056] 32 sleeve [0057] 34 opening [0058] 36 fiber [0059] 38 microfiber [0060] 40 screw [0061] 42 nut [0062] 44 cable lug
