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US 7,008,389 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for stabilizing pelvic ring disruption
AssigneeLegacy Emanuel Hospital & Medical Health Center
InventorsJames C. Krieg, William B. Long, Steven M. Madey, Michael Bottlang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for stabilizing a fractured pelvis in an emergency using a sling having a buckle designed to automatically lock the circumference of the sling at a tension level that has been predetermined to be effective for stabilizing a fractured pelvis without excessive or potentially damaging compression.
Claims21
An apparatus for stabilizing a fractured pelvis comprising
- a belt including a strap and a buckle, the strap having a plurality of holes, the buckle including a base portion having one or more pins projecting from the base portion, the one or more pins being dimensioned to fit in the holes of the strap, a slide portion having a contact surface, the slide portion being mounted over the one or more pins and being moveable relative to the base portion, the slide portion being spring-biased toward a non-engaging position in which the one or more pins do not project beyond the contact surface of the slide portion allowing the strap to slide freely over the contact surface until sufficient force is applied to the slide portion so that it moves toward the base portion causing the one or more pins to project beyond the contact surface of the slide portion and engage one or more holes in the strap, thereby fixing the circumference of the belt at a preselected tension level.
An apparatus for reducing a fractured pelvis comprising
- a buckle device,
- a first strap portion configured to encircle at least about ¾ of a person's pelvis, the first strap portion having a first end and a second end, the buckle device being attached to the first strap portion near the first end, and
- a second strap portion having a first end and a second end, the first end of the second strap portion being configured for adjustable overlapping hook and loop attachment to the second end of the first strap portion, the second end of the second strap portion having a first handle portion, wherein the buckle device has a second handle device, so that the apparatus can be approximately sized for a particular person by first adjusting the extent of overlap of the second end of the first strap portion with the first end of the second strap portion, followed by tightening the apparatus to a predetermined tension level by pulling the first and second handles in opposite directions.
A method of stabilizing a fractured pelvis comprising
- placing a belt around the greater trochanteric region of a person's fractured pelvis, the belt having a buckle device including one or more pin structures that remain concealed under a contact surface until sufficient force is exerted against the contact surface to make the one or more pins available for engaging one or more holes in a strap portion of the belt,
- pulling the strap portion against the contact surface until the one or more pins emerge from the contact surface and engage one or more holes in the strap portion, thereby automatically setting the belt at a tension level that has been predetermined to substantially stabilize a fractured pelvis without excessive compression.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.