Soft Active Dynamic Brace for Spinal Deformities

Athar Ali, Vigilio Fontanari, Marco Fontana, Werner Schmölz

2021

Abstract

Scoliosis is a 3D deformity of the spine which not only limits the daily activities but in severe cases results in damaging the musculoskeletal, respiratory and nervous system. A conventional way to treat spine deformity is to wear braces. Braces are usually static, rigid and passive and they do not allow the mobility to the spine. This causes the issues of spine stiffness and weakening of the muscles around the spine, which results in other spine complexities such as the flat back. In this study, we have developed a soft active dynamic brace which not only applies the 3D corrective forces but also allow the mobility to the spine. The brace applies the corrective forces using elastic bands, whose tension is being controlled using lightweight twisted string actuation (TSA) mechanism. TSA generates a higher pulling force using low torque motors, which not only reduce the weight of the device but also the metabolic cost.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Ali A., Fontanari V., Fontana M. and Schmölz W. (2021). Soft Active Dynamic Brace for Spinal Deformities. In Proceedings of the 14th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2021) - Volume 1: BIODEVICES; ISBN 978-989-758-490-9, SciTePress, pages 169-174. DOI: 10.5220/0010343300002865

in Bibtex Style

@conference{biodevices21,
author={Athar Ali and Vigilio Fontanari and Marco Fontana and Werner Schmölz},
title={Soft Active Dynamic Brace for Spinal Deformities},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 14th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2021) - Volume 1: BIODEVICES},
year={2021},
pages={169-174},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0010343300002865},
isbn={978-989-758-490-9},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 14th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies (BIOSTEC 2021) - Volume 1: BIODEVICES
TI - Soft Active Dynamic Brace for Spinal Deformities
SN - 978-989-758-490-9
AU - Ali A.
AU - Fontanari V.
AU - Fontana M.
AU - Schmölz W.
PY - 2021
SP - 169
EP - 174
DO - 10.5220/0010343300002865
PB - SciTePress