Colloquia

Samenvatting

The shoulder joint has a large range of motion, but is therefore also one of the least stable joints in the human body. Injuries, a stroke, or joint hypermobility can cause instability and with it partial dislocation of the shoulder also called glenohumeral subluxation (GHS). GHS can cause pain and decrease mobility of the arm which in place can impact the quality of life of the patient as well as decrease the chance of rehabilitation.

There are quite some orthoses and braces on the market that help keep the humeral head in place. However, these braces also limit the movements of the arm which is one of the problems of GHS itself. Hankamp Rehab designed a brace that both kept the arm in place and still allowed for movement of the arm. A first design based on this principle was made and tested with a patient. This proved to be successful although the design was far from complete. Although the arm could be moved again, movements of the torso were impaired, and the design was quite uncomfortable for women.

In this research the orthosis designed by Hankamp Rehab is redesigned focusing on the ergonomics of the design, making sure that it can be worn by the entire target group, as well as keeping manufacturing possibilities in mind. Comfort and mobility were a focus point in this design while still making sure that the orthosis stays functional. Several iterations were made leading to three different concepts of which prototypes were made and tested. From this a final design was made addressing the issues found during testing.

The final design consists of a rigid part that is placed to one side of the body which is held in place by bands around the torso, the waist and over the shoulder. The rigid part helps to reduce the forces on the body as well as distribute them. The connections between the parts can be altered to make sure that the orthosis can be made as comfortable for the user as possible and also to optimize the effect of the orthosis. Different sizes of the parts are available, and some parts can be cut to the required size to make sure that the orthosis is fitting for the entire target group.

The new design of the orthosis can be worn by the entire target group which is fitting for 95% for the population. The orthosis keeps the humeral head in place, but still allows the arm to move almost freely. Next to this also sitting and bending over are still possible with the orthosis to allow wearing the orthosis for an extended period of time. By allowing people with GHS to move their arm again, their quality of life is increased as well as the chance of rehabilitating the arm.