Medical device for applying cyclic therapeutic action to subject's foot

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6585669
  • Patent Number
    6,585,669
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, August 21, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 1, 2003
    22 years ago
Abstract
A medical device for applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's foot, the device including a platform with at least three independently actuable inflatable bladders staggered therealong to solely underlie the subject's heel, his plantar arch and his foot's front portion including its metatarsals and its toes, respectively, whereby a travelling compressive wave can be cyclically applied to his foot's underside only.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention is in the field of medical devices for applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's lower limbs, and in particular to his feet.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




Many subjects suffering from a number of medical conditions including inter alia peripheral arterial and venous disease, hypertension, diabetes and deep vein thrombosis are treated by way of medical devices with one or more inflatable bladders for applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's lower limbs, and in particular to his feet, for urging venous blood flow from his feet and legs to his heart.




Venous blood flow can be urged by stimulation of one or both of two physiological mechanisms, namely, his calf's venous muscular pump and emptying of his foot's venous plexus. Medical devices for stimulating one or both of these mechanisms are illustrated and described inter alia in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,531,074, 3,454,010, 3,683,897, 3,789,836, 4,003,374, 4,696,289, 4,945,905, 4,989,589, 5,117,812, 5,354,260, 5,396,896, 5,443,440, WO 88/09653, DE 30 09 408, and SU 0 1452-523.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device for applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's foot, the device comprising a platform with at least three independently actuable inflatable bladders staggered therealong to solely underlie the subject's heel, his plantar arch and his foot's front portion including his metatarsals and his toes, respectively, whereby a travelling compressive wave can be cyclically applied to his foot's underside only.




The medical device preferably has four inflatable bladders staggered along its platform in a non-overlapping fashion to solely underlie a foot's heel, its plantar arch, its metatarsus, and its toes, respectively. In addition, the inflatable bladders are so dimensioned and the spacing apart therebetween is such that they are substantially co-extensive with a foot's underside. Also, the platform is preferably formed with an arched plantar arch support for permanently supporting a foot's plantar arch and an arched toe support for permanently supporting a foot's toes at their bases. Two basic embodiments of the medical device are envisaged: boot-like footwear designed to look like and be worn as conventional slippers worn in the home thereby precluding a person from having to change footwear for treatment purposes and, a normally flat, one-piece foldable wrap for more extended treatment periods, for example, when a subject is sleeping.




In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device for applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's foot, the device comprising boot-like footwear for accommodating a subject's entire foot, and at least one inflatable bladder permanently disposed in said footwear and being in fluid communication with a pressure source for selectively applying pressure to the foot's underside,




characterized in that said footwear has an externally accessible connector member permanently and directly attached to an exterior surface thereof, said connector member being in permanent fluid communication with said at least one inflatable bladder and in selectively disconnectable fluid communication with said pressure source.




In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device for effecting dorsiflexion of a subject's foot, the device comprising a platform for supporting the subject's foot, and having an inflatable bladder for cyclically elevating the foot's front portion solely relative to said platform from a normal position thereatop whereby the foot's front portion is flexed relative to the foot's remaining portion overlying said platform, said inflatable bladder having a first compartment overlying said platform and a second compartment hingedly connected to said first compartment along a trailing edge of said inflatable bladder directed towards the subject's heel and limiting means for limiting the maximum height of an edge of said second compartment remote from said trailing edge on inflation of said inflatable bladder whereby said inflatable bladder assumes an inflated triangular shaped configuration tapering towards the subject's heel.




The particular design of the inflatable bladder is such that it enables a relatively high maximum height for a relatively small volume as say compared with a generally isosceles shaped inflatable of comparable dimensions, thereby enabling a high cycle rate even with a relatively small compressor.




In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device for effecting dorsiflexion of a subject's foot, the device comprising a platform for supporting the subject's foot, and having a wedge shaped support tapering towards the subject's heel for permanently supporting the foot's front portion in a flexed position relative to the foot's remaining portion overlying said platform; and an inflatable bladder mounted on said support for cyclically elevating the foot's front portion relative thereto from a normal position thereatop.




In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device for applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's foot, the device comprising a platform for supporting the subject's foot, and having an arched planter arch support for permanently supporting the foot's plantar arch; and an inflatable bladder for cyclically elevating the foot's front portion relative to said platform from a normal position thereatop whereby the subject's foot effects a rocking motion about said plantar arch support acting as a fulcrum-like member.




In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit for installation on a wheelchair having a pair of foot supports for supporting a wheelchair bound subject's feet, the kit comprising: a rechargeable battery operated compressor; a pair of medical devices capable of being in fluid communication with said compressor and mountable on a foot support, each medical device capable of applying a cyclic therapeutic action to a subject's foot; and a controller for controlling the operation of the medical devices.




By virtue of the kit of the present invention, a wheelchair bound subject can still undergo his everyday normal activities whilst receiving therapeutic treatment for poor venous blood flow by way of dorsiflexion of his feet and/or application of a traveling compressive wave to his feets' underside.




In accordance with a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical device for effecting plant flexion of a subject's foot, the device comprising a mounting member for mounting the medical device on the subject's leg, an elongated support member attached to said mounting member and downward depending for overlying at least a proximal portion of the foot's anterior surface, an inflatable bladder extending along the underside of said support member, and a resiliently flexible foot restraining member attached midway along said support member for encircling the foot's plantar arch.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in which:





FIG. 1

is a pictorial view of a medical device implemented as boot-like footwear;





FIG. 2

is a transparent pictorial view of the boot-like footwear of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a transverse cross sectional view of the footwear of

FIG. 1

along line III—III in

FIG. 1

with an inflated inflatable bladder for applying pressure to a foot's metatarsal region;





FIG. 4

is an exploded view of the boot-like footwear of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is a top view of a medical device implemented as a normally flat, one-piece, foldable wrap for accommodating a subject's foot;





FIG. 5

is a pictorial view of the foldable wrap of

FIG. 5

accommodating a subject's foot;





FIG. 7

is a schematic side view of the medical devices of

FIGS. 1 and 5

showing modifications thereof;





FIG. 8

is a graph showing a heel-to-toe inflation sequence of the inflatable bladders of the medical devices of

FIGS. 1 and 5

;





FIG. 9

is a pictorial view of a medical device for dorsiflexion of a subject's foot;





FIG. 10

is a perspective view of the inflatable bladder of the medical device of

FIG. 9

;





FIGS. 11A and 11B

are side views of the medical device of

FIG. 9

during operation;





FIG. 12

is a schematic side view of an alternative medical device for dorsiflexion of a subject's bare foot;





FIG. 13

is a schematic side view of another alternative medical device for effecting dorsiflexion of a subject's bare foot;





FIGS. 14A and 14B

are schematic side views of a medical device for effecting a rocking motion of a subject's foot about aplantar arch support;





FIG. 15

is a pictorial view of a wheelchair fitted with a kit for effecting dorsiflexion of a wheelchair bound subject's feet; and





FIGS. 16A and 16B

are side views of a medical device for effecting plantar flexion of a subject's foot.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




With reference now to

FIGS. 1-4

, a medical device


1


is implemented as boot-like footwear


2


designed to accommodate a subject's left foot, the footwear


2


being constituted by a vamp


3


made of fabric-like sheet material and a sole


4


. The vamp


3


has left and right hand vamp halves


6


and


7


stitched together along their common edges except for their uppermost front portion


8


for enabling a subject's foot to be easily inserted into the footwear


2


and withdrawn therefrom. The vamp's heel portion


9


is strengthened by way of a heel patch


11


whilst a flap


12


with Velcro-type hook fasteners


13


for mating with Velcro-type loop fasteners


14


on the right hand vamp half


7


(see

FIGS. 3 and 4

) is provided for fastening the footwear


2


on a subject's foot when accommodated therein.




The flap


12


defines a generally triangular shaped pocket


16


having an aperture


17


adjacent an externally accessible connector member


18


secured to the left hand vamp half


6


towards the footwear's heel portion


9


by way of a tab


19


engaging a buckle-like member


21


provided along one side of the connector member


18


(see FIG.


4


). The connector member


18


is adapted for selective connection to a complementary connector member


22


in permanent fluid communication with a pressure source


23


under the control of a controller


24


. The connector members


18


and


22


are of the quick release self alignment magnetically latched type and have a first pair of magnets


26


A and


26


B at one end thereof and a second pair of magnets


27


A and


27


B at the other end of thereof. The pairs of magnets


26


A,


26


B and


27


A,


27


B are polarized such that the connector member


22


can only be attached to the connector member


18


in a single pre-determined manner.




The pressure source


24


has four outlet ports


28


A-


28


D which are in fluid communication with four ports


29


A-


29


D on the upstream side of the connector member


22


which, on connection of the connector member


22


to the connector member


18


, are in turn in fluid communication with four ports


31


A-


31


D on the downstream side of the connector member


18


which are in turn in fluid communication with four inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D for independently inflating and deflating the inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D in accordance with a pre-determined heel-to-toe or toe-to-heel sequence.




The inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D are adhered to the top side of a platform


33


and are staggered therealong in a non-overlapping fashion for applying pressure to the underside of a foot's toes, metatarsal region, plantar region, and heel, respectively The inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D have laterally extending neck portions


34


A-


34


D directed toward-the left hand vamp half


6


. The neck portions


34


A-


34


D have apertures


35


A-


35


D which are raised relative to the platform


33


and are connected to the four ports


31


A-


31


D via plastic tubes


36


A-


36


D which extend between the juncture between the left hand vamp half


6


and the sole


4


, and through the pocket


16


to the connector member


18


. In this manner, the tubes


36


A-


36


D are normally concealed from view and are so disposed that their presence is not felt by a subject when walking which would otherwise cause him some discomfort.




The platform


33


is interdisposed between a relatively pliable upper sole member


37


and a more rigid lower sole member


38


of an inner sole construction


39


which is in turn interdisposed between the vamp


3


and the sole


4


. The upper sole member


37


is peripherally attached to the vamp


3


and the lower sole member


38


is peripherally attached to an underside of the upper sole member


37


and is initially provided with a lengthwise extending slit


39


through which the platform


33


is inserted into a receiving pocket


41


defined between the upper and lower sole members


37


and


38


(see FIG.


3


).




The footwear


2


looks like conventional boot-like slippers except for the connector member


18


which is unobtrusively disposed on its innermost surface and can be worn instead of them. A subject can readily attach the connector member


18


to the connector member


22


by merely bringing the latter into proximity with the former whereupon the pairs of magnets


26


and


27


effect a tight sealing connection therebetween for undergoing treatment. After the treatment, the connector member


22


can be readily detached from the connector member


18


by displacing his foot away from the former.




With reference now to

FIGS. 5 and 6

, a medical device


50


is similar to the medical device


1


except that it is implemented as a normally flat, one-piece, foldable wrap


51


having a central portion


52


supporting the platform


33


, left and right vamp portions


53


and


54


, and a heel restraining member


56


. The medical device


50


has the same platform


33


with the four inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D disposed thereon, the inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D converging towards neck portions


34


A-


34


D with apertures


35


A-


35


D which in this case are raised above the platform


33


when the wrap


51


is wrapped around a subject's foot to accommodate same. The apertures


35


A-


35


D are fitted with tubes


36


A-


36


D in fluid communication with the connector member


18


for connection to the pressure source


23


. The wrap


51


is normally employed for long treatment periods, for example, when a subject is sleeping, however, by virtue of the arrangement of tubes


36


A-


36


D, a subject having his feet accommodated in wraps


51


can stand up without feeling any discomfort.




With reference now to

FIG. 7

, a medical device


60


is similar to the medical device


10


and differs therefrom in that its platform


33


is formed with an arched plantar arch support


61


of height h


1


for permanently supporting the foot's plantar arch and an arched toe arch support


62


of height h


2


for permanently supporting the foot's toes at their base. The support


61


typically has a maximum height above the platform


33


of between about 0.7 cm and 1.2 cm and preferably about 1.0 cm whilst the support


62


typically has a maximum height of between about 0.3 cm and 0.7 cm and preferably 0.5 cm above the platform


33


. The supports


61


and


62


provide a number of advantages including affording a more comfortable fit in a similar manner to orthopedic inner soles, facilitating the need for a smaller pressure source


23


, and for enabling a more rapid attainment of a predetermined pressure in their associated inflatable bladders


32


C and


32


A




With reference now to

FIG. 8

, the chart shows a heel-to-toe sequence for inflating and deflating the inflatable bladders


32


A-


32


D which in contradistinction to the conventional distal to proximal direction of a travelling compression wave for effecting venous blood return. The heel-to-toe sequence in effect mimics a subject's walking for naturally stimulating his calf's venous muscular pump and his foot's venous plexus.




With reference now to

FIGS. 9-11

, a medical device


70


for effecting dorsiflexion of a subject's foot includes a platform


71


with a heel support


72


, a foot strap


73


and an inflatable bladder


74


. The inflatable bladder


74


is disposed at one end of the platform


71


for solely underlying a foot's front portion, and is connected to a pressure source


76


under the control of a controller


77


for cyclically inflating it from a generally flat configuration (see

FIG. 11A

) to a wedge shaped configuration (see

FIG. 11B

) tapering toward the platform's other end.




The inflatable bladder


74


includes a three section cover


78


having sections


78


A,


78


B and


78


C, the former two being formed as a pouch


79


for receiving a generally square single inflatable cell


81


whilst the latter one is a restraining member for limiting the maximum height of the inflated wedge shape. The inflatable cell


81


is divided into two equal sized compartments


81


A and


81


B by two seams


82


A and


82


B lateral of a central portion


83


enabling fluid communication between the compartments


81


A and


81


B. Each compartment


81


A and


81


B has a rigid member


84


lying thereatop, and the compartment


81


B is provided with an inlet port


86


which also serves to inflate the other compartment


81


A.




With reference now to

FIG. 12

, a medical device


90


is similar to the medical device


70


and also includes the arched plantar arch support


61


for effecting a cyclic dorsiflexion of a subject's foot combined with a rocking motion about the plantar arch support


61


.




With reference now to

FIG. 13

, a medical device


100


is similar to medical device


90


and also includes a wedge shaped support


101


tapering towards a foot's heel for permanently supporting a foot's front portion in a flexed position relative to the foot's remaining portion overlying the platform


72


, thereby facilitating better dorsiflexion which occurs with a more flexed position of a foot's front portion. The support


101


subtends an included angle α of about 30° relative to the platform


72


, and has a simple inflatable member


102


disposed thereon for effecting cyclic dorsiflexion of the subject's foot combined with a rocking motion about the plantar arch support


61


.




With reference now to

FIGS. 14A and 14B

, a medical device


110


has a platform


111


with an arched plantar arch support


112


and a pair of inflatable bladders


113


and


114


disposed lateral thereto and in fluid communication with a pressure source


116


under the control of a controller


117


for effecting a rocking motion of a subject's foot about the plantar arch support


112


by way of the cyclic alternate actuation of the inlation bladders


113


and


114


for respectively elevating the foot's heel relative to the platform


111


whilst the foot's front portion is thereatop and elevating the foot's front portion relative to the platform


111


whilst the foot's heel is thereatop, thereby effectively rendering dorsi-plantar flexion of the subject's foot for facilitating emptying of the foot's venous plea and activating his calf s venous muscular pump to pump venous blood from the subject's foot and leg towards his heart. The support


112


typically has a maximum height h


3


above the platform


111


of between about 1 cm and about 3 cm and preferably about 2 cm.




With reference now to

FIG. 15

, a wheelchair


120


having left and right foot supports


121


A and


121


B is fitted with a medical system


122


for effecting dorsiflexion of a wheelchair bound subject's feet. The medical system


122


includes a rechargeable battery operated compressor


123


, a controller


124


and two medical devices


126


A and


126


B. The compressor


123


and the controller


124


are carried on a rack


127


and the medical devices


126


A and


126


B are respectively mounted on the wheelchair's foot supports


121


A and


121


B whereby the medical system


122


is fully portable and therefore does not preclude the subject from continuing his everyday activities.




With reference now to

FIGS. 16A and 16B

, a medical device


130


for plantar flexion of a subject's foot has a mounting member


131


for mounting the medical device


130


on a subject's leg. A support member


132


is substantially rigidly attached to the mounting member


131


for disposition along most of the subject's foot's anterior surface. An inflatable bladder


133


extends along the underside of the support member


132


, and is in fluid communication with a pressure source


134


under the control of a controller


136


. A resiliently flexible foot restraining member


137


attached about midway along to the support member


132


encircles the subject's foot's plantar arch whereupon cyclic inflation and deflation of the inflatable bladder


137


effects cyclic plantar flexion of the subject's foot thereby facilitating emptying of his foot's venous plexus and activating his calf's venous muscular pump to pump venous blood from the subject's foot and leg towards his heart.




Various modifications and changes may be made in the configurations described above that come within the spirit of the invention. The invention embraces such changes and modifications coming within the scope of the claims appended hereto. For example, an inflatable bladder disposed under a foot's plantar arch can be divided into two inflatable bladders respectively disposed under a plantar arch's medial portion and its lateral portion. The medical devices


90


,


100


,


110


can also be provided with a heel support


72


, and a foot strap


73


. The wheelchair


120


can be provided with a medical system for applying any suitable cyclic action to a subject's feet by way of one of the medical devices described herein.



Claims
  • 1. A method for facilitating blood circulation in a subject's lower limb, the method comprising:providing a shoe having a plurality of inflatable chambers arranged to underlie a patient's foot; coupling an inflating system to the plurality of inflatable chambers using a self-aligning, quick-release connector; and cyclically inflating and deflating the plurality of inflatable chambers to actuate passive motorical mechanisms and motivate physiological actuation of active motorical mechanisms to facilitate blood circulation in the lower limb.
  • 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the self-aligning, quick-release connector couples the inflating system to the plurality of inflatable chambers using first and second magnetically coupled members.
  • 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling the inflation and deflation of each one of the plurality of inflatable chambers.
  • 4. The method of claim 3 wherein controlling the inflation and deflation comprises specifying a sequence with which the plurality of inflatable chambers are actuated.
  • 5. The method of claim 1 wherein cyclically inflating and deflating the plurality of inflatable chambers further comprises:providing a predetermined pressure profile for each one of the plurality of inflatable chambers; and simulating motor activity of the foot by inflating and deflating the plurality of inflatable chambers to apply pressure to different portions of the foot responsive to the pressure profiles.
  • 6. The method of claim 5 wherein simulating motor activity comprises simulating walking activity.
Priority Claims (3)
Number Date Country Kind
126462 Oct 1998 IS
128328 Feb 1999 IS
130000 May 1999 IS
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Continuations (2)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/364017 Jul 1999 US
Child 09/935256 US
Parent 08/902967 Jul 1998 US
Child 09/364017 US
Continuation in Parts (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 08/660139 Jun 1996 US
Child 08/902967 US