# US 10,945,658 B2 · Systems and methods for early detection of fracture healing

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- Number: US 10,945,658 B2
- Document ID: US10945658B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/956,830
- Filed: 2018-04-19
- Published: 2018-10-25
- Granted: 2021-03-16
- Earliest claimed: 2017-04-19
- Assignees: Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.
- Applicants: Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.
- Inventors: Karen L. Troy; John J. Wixted; Ara Nazarian
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10945658B2

## CPC

- A61B 5/4504: {Bones (A61B5/4547 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/0053: {by applying pressure, e.g. compression, indentation, palpation, grasping, gauging}
- A61B 5/1036: {Measuring load distribution, e.g. podologic studies}
- A61B 5/7275: {Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor}
- A61B 6/032: {Transmission computed tomography [CT]}
- A61B 6/505: {for diagnosis of bone}
- G16H 50/30: for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
- A61B 5/1495: Calibrating or testing of in-vivo probes
- A61B 5/6824: {Arm or wrist}
- G01N 2800/10: Musculoskeletal or connective tissue disorders
- G06T 7/0012: {Biomedical image inspection}
- G06T 2207/30008: Bone
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL

## Abstract

In some embodiments, there is provide a method of analysing a bone fracture, comprising; stabilizing a bone having a fracture including a first support point located distal of the fracture and a second support point located proximal of the fracture; applying a force to an area of the bone having the fracture to cause a displacement of the fracture; imaging the bone during the application of force thereto; and comparing the image of the bone during the application of force to an image of the bone without the application of force to determine the state of the fracture.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A fracture testing system comprising:
an imaging device configured to image a bone fracture in a bone before and after the application of a force thereto;
a fracture testing device comprising:
a base configured to receive an arm of a patient having the bone fracture;
a force application platform, wherein the force application platform is moveable relative to the base along one or more guide rods;
an inflatable force applicator disposed on a side of the force application platform facing the base, such that the force applicator can be positioned in contact with the arm of the patient;
a pump in communication with the force applicator so that the pump can inflate the force applicator to a desired pressure to apply a desired force on the bone fracture,
wherein the fracture testing device is placed relative to the imaging device to enable the imaging device to image a displacement of the bone fracture.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The fracture testing system of claim 1 further comprising a strain gauge or load cell to measure a strain on the bone.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The fracture testing system of claim 1 wherein the force application platform is configured to allow the bone to bend to cause a displacement of the fracture.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The fracture testing system of claim 3 wherein the displacement is between about 82 microns and about 500 microns.

### Claim 5 (depends on 3)

The fracture testing system of claim 3 wherein the displacement is between about 164 microns and about 250 microns.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The fracture testing system of claim 1 wherein the imaging device is High Resolution Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT).