Orthopaedic splinting system
AssigneeOnbone Oy
InventorAntti Pärssinen
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Abstract
A composite material in the form of a linear structure having a width, a length and a thickness, the composite material having a first component formed by a polymer and a second component formed by a reinforcing material, wherein the first component is a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group of biodegradable polymers and mixtures thereof, and the second component is platy wood particles. The composite material being formable at a temperature of about 50 to 70° C. and being capable of being employed as a blank for an orthopedic splint.
Claims18
A method for forming a removable exo-skeletal device on a portion of a body of a human or animal, the method comprising the steps of;
- shaping a composite material to a desired linear form,
- heating the linearly shaped composite material in a heating device to a temperature high enough to soften the composite material yet not so high as to be harmful to skin of the human or animal,
- arranging the softened composite material on a desired portion of the body of the human or animal so that it conforms to a desired three-dimensional contoured exo-skeletal shape,
- cooling the contoured exo-skeletal composite material to a temperature approximating an ambient temperature such that the contoured exo-skeletal composite material resumes a same rigidity as the shaped linear composite material prior to heating,
- wherein the composite material is formed from a homogenous mixture of a first and second component,
- the first component comprising a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group of biodegradable polymers and mixtures thereof, and
- the second component comprising platy wood particles in which a ratio of a thickness of the platy wood particles to the smaller of a width or a length of the platy wood particles is between 1:2 and 1:500.
A method for shaping a composite material to snugly fit against a part of a body of a mammal, comprising:
- providing the composite material in a form of an essentially planar blank having a first component formed by a polymer and a second component formed by a reinforcing material, wherein
- the first component comprises a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group of biodegradable polymers and mixtures thereof, and
- the second component comprises platy wood particles in which a ratio of a thickness of the platy wood particles to the smaller of a width or a length of the platy wood particles is between 1:2 and 1:500.
- heating the blank to a temperature in a range of 50 to 70 ° C. to convert the composite material into a manually formable state,
- applying the material against a target part of the body to make the composite material take up the form of the target part, and
- cooling the composite material to a temperature of less than 45 ° C. to make the composite material rigid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.