Adjustment Devices for External Fixators and Related Methods

This device and method for external fixation provides an accurate and relatively painless way for external fixator adjustments to be performed in order to reduce the amount of time spent by patients in physical therapy due to lost range of motion from the broken appendage.

This particular device and method would be extremely useful in the orthopedic sector of the medical field. This device improves the quality of patients' experience during treatment by greatly reducing the amount of pain and discomfort caused by fixator adjustments. It is also advantageous for physicians by enabling measured incremental adjustments.

When bones break or fracture, extra support may be needed to hold them in proper position until healed.  Metal pins of the external fixator are inserted into the fractured bone during an operation.  Typically the fixator remains in the fractured bone for six weeks while the healing progresses.  During this period, joint motion tends to become restricted due to binding of soft tissue to the pins of the external fixator. 

In an attempt to shorten the amount of time a patient spends in physical therapy, an orthopedic surgeon may adjust the fixator throughout the healing period.  This adjustment is generally accomplished using standard carpentry tools, such as screw drivers and box wrenches. 

These tools are effective for making coarse adjustments, but they provide no indication of the amount or rate of change.  Adjustments are therefore arbitrary and painful due to the amount of torque applied directly upon the pins which are embedded in the patient's bone.      

This invention provides the doctor with a way to adjust the external fixator while causing minimal pain and discomfort in the patient.

The technology increases the accuracy of such adjustments by providing the doctor with a way to measure the increments of change over time, while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the treatment.

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