What is claimed is:
1. A restraint and exercise device comprising:
a support body for supporting a portion of a person’s body;
a holder coupled to the support body for restraining a portion of the person’s body to the support body, wherein the holder may be adjusted relative to the height of the person and relative to the support body; and
two or more connections connecting at least a first and second portion of the holder to the support body, said connections each allowing for independent adjustments in the tension of the holder.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to be a restraining device for at least a portion of the lumbopelvic region of the person’s body.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the holder includes a strap.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the holder includes two independently adjustable straps, each of the straps having two or more connections connecting at least a first and second portion of each respective strap to the support body, the connections each allowing for independent adjustments in the tension of the two straps and for the straps to independently adjust relative to the support body.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the support body includes a leg coupled to a support member.
6. The device of claim 5, wherein the support member is able to move along a portion of the length of the leg.
7. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
a harness coupled to the support body and adapted to be placed over a second portion of the person’s body, wherein when the harness is placed over the second portion of the person’s body, the person is able to exercise by moving the second portion of the body.
8. The device of claim 7, further comprising a resilient arm coupled to the harness.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein the harness includes two connectors, each of which is adapted to be connected to the resilient arm.
10. The device of claim 7, wherein the harness includes two connectors, each of which is adapted to be connected to the support body.
11. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
a leg support associated with the support body that is adapted to support the person’s leg.
12. The device of claim 11, further comprising:
a handle associated with the leg support, wherein the leg support is movable and the handle is able to move the leg support.
13. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the connections comprises a ratchet mechanism.
14. The device of claim 1, wherein the connections are angularly adjustable with respect to the support body.
15. The device of claim 1, wherein the independent adjustments can be made to a precision of approximately 12-13 millimeters or less.
16. The device of claim 15, wherein the independent adjustments can be made to a precision of approximately five millimeters or less.
17. The device of claim 1, wherein the support body is oriented in one of a substantially vertical or substantially horizontal position.
18. The device of claim 3, further comprising support pads coupled to at least one of the strap and the support body.
19. The device of claim 3, further comprising a tension gauge for measuring the tension in the strap.
20. An exercise device, comprising:
a support frame for supporting a portion of a person’s body;
a first retaining member coupled to the support frame for tightly securing a first portion of a person’s body against the support frame, wherein the first retaining member has at least two leverage points for adjusting the tightness of the first retaining member about the person’s body, and wherein the first retaining member is of such an elasticity that, when tightly secured over a person’s body, it stabilizes the secured portion of the body against the support frame; and
a second retaining member coupled to the support frame and configured to fit around a second portion of a person’s body, wherein a portion of the second retaining member is made of resilient material such that when the second retaining member is around the second portion of the person’s body, the person is able to exercise by moving that portion of the body.
21. The exercise device of claim 20, wherein the second retaining member includes a resilient arm coupled to a strap of a lesser elasticity than the arm, the strap configured to fit around the second portion of the person’s body.
22. The exercise device of claim 20, wherein the second retaining member includes at least two connectors that are adapted to interchangeably connect a portion of the second retaining member to at least one of the support frame or another portion of the second retaining member.
23. The exercise device of claim 22, wherein the second retaining member has a release for opening and closing the retaining member while the retaining member is coupled to the support frame.
24. The exercise device of claim 20, further comprising:
a third retaining member coupled to the support frame for tightly securing a third portion of a person’s body against the support frame, wherein the third retaining member has at least two leverage points for adjusting the tightness of the third retaining member about the person’s body, and wherein the third retaining member is of such an elasticity that, when tightly secured over the person’s body, it inhibits substantial twisting of the secured portion of the body.
25. The exercise device of claim 24, wherein the first and third retaining members, when tightly secured around the lumbopelvic region of the person, inhibit substantial twisting of the pelvic region.
26. The exercise device of claim 25, wherein the leverage points comprise ratchets and wherein the first and third retaining members comprise belts having buckles intermediate the ratchets.
27. The exercise device of claim 20, wherein the support frame includes a leg and a support surface coupled to the leg.
28. The exercise device of claim 20, wherein the support surface is substantially rectangular and substantially flat.
29. The exercise device of claim 20, wherein the support surface contains a portion that is contoured to accommodate the person’s body.
30. A lumbopelvic restraint device comprising:
a support surface for supporting a person’s lumbopelvic region;
a restraining member for restraining a portion of the lumbopelvic region against the support surface; and
incremental adjustors for making independent, fine-tuned adjustments to the tightness of the restraining member against the portion of the lumbopelvic region from at least two locations along the restraining member, said adjustments being made without release of any tension in the restraining member.
31. The pelvic restraint device of claim 30, wherein the fine-tuned adjustments can be made to a precision of a fraction of a millimeter.
32. The pelvic restraint device of claim 31, wherein at least one of the adjustors comprises a ratchet mechanism.
33. The pelvic restraint device of claim 30, further comprising:
a second restraining member for restraining another portion of the lumbopelvic region against the support surface; and
incremental adjusters for making independent, fine-tuned adjustments to the tightness of the second restraining member against the other portion of the lumbopelvic region from at least two locations along the second restraining member.
34. The pelvic restraint device of claim 33, further comprising:
a base; and
a post that is substantially perpendicular to the base, said post being coupled to the support surface.
35. A method of using an exercise device having a support surface for supporting a portion of a person’s body and a restraining member for restraining the body portion to treat acute or chronic pain andor increase range of motion, said method comprising the steps of:
positioning a portion of the person’s body against the support member;
placing the restraining member over the portion of the person’s body; and
incrementally adjusting the restraining member so as to position and restrain the body portion in any of a number of three-dimensional orientations to lessen the pain.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the restraining member is placed over a portion of the person’s body by a second person.
37. The method of claim 35, wherein the restraining member is placed over a portion of the person’s body by the person positioned against the support member.
38. The method of claim 35, wherein the restraining member is adjusted by the person positioned against the support member.
39. The method of claim 35, wherein the restraining member is adjusted by a second person.
40. The method of claim 35, wherein the restraining member is adjusted so as to restrain the body portion in a substantially pain-free position.
41. The method of claim 35, wherein the incremental adjustments cause the body portion to rotate after it has been at least partially secured against the support member.
42. The method of claim 41, wherein the body portion rotates along at least two different axes.
43. The method of claim 35, wherein one of the ways that the restraining member is adjusted is by making independent adjustments to the tightness of the restraining member from two different portions of the restraining member.
44. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of:
evenly adjusting the tightness of the restraining member from the different portions of the restraining member so as to substantially keep the person’s body restrained in the substantially pain-free position.
45. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of:
adjusting a second restraining member so as to position and restrain the body portion.
46. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of the user performing exercises while the body portion is being restrained from movement.
47. The method of claim 35, wherein the body portion is repositioned into a different three-dimensional position after being initially restrained.
48. The method of claim 46, wherein the body portion is repositioned into a different three-dimensional position after exercises are performed.
49. The method of claim 35 wherein the positioning step comprises positioning at least a portion of the person’s lumbopelvic region against the support member and the incrementally adjusting step comprises adjusting the restraining member so as to position and restrain the portion of the lumbopelvic region in any of a number of three-dimensional orientations.
50. A restraint device comprising:
a support surface for supporting a body region of a user; and
independently and incrementally adjustable restraint members for restraining at least a portion of the body region portion against the support surface, wherein the restraint members allow for the body region portion to be adjusted with six degrees of freedom to a desired position and to be maintained in that position.
51. The restraint device of claim 50, wherein the desired position is a substantially pain-free position.
52. The restraint device of claim 50, wherein the body region is the lumbopelvic region and adjustable restraint members are configured to rotate the user’s pelvis in at least four different directions.
53. The restraint device of claim 52, further comprising adjustors for adjusting the tightness of the restraint members.
54. The restraint device of claim 53, wherein the adjustors are ratchets.
55. The restraint device of claim 54, wherein the adjustors are able to make incremental, independent, fine-tuned adjustments to the tightness of the restraint members.
56. A method of self-treating acute or chronic pain andor increasing range of motion using a mechanical support, said method comprising the steps of having a user:
position a portion of the user’s body against the support;
place a restraining member over the body portion;
incrementally adjust the restraining member so as to position and retain the body portion in any of a number of three-dimensional orientations to lessen the pain; and
perform exercises that direct movement about the restrained body portion.
57. The method of claim 56, wherein the pain is in the lumbopelvic region of the user and the body portion comprises at least a portion of the lumbopelvic region.
58. The method of claim 56, wherein the mechanical support comprises an exercise device and said positioning step comprises positioning a portion of the user’s body against the exercise device.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An infusion pump system for infusion of a predetermined medical solution at a preset reference infusion speed, comprising:
(A) a medical solution container configured to contain a medical solution;
(B) an infusion line via which the medical solution is drawn from the medical solution container;
(C) an infusion pump configured to discharge the medical solution via the infusion line from the medical solution container directly into a body of a patient;
(D) a reference infusion speed storing unit configured to store a reference infusion speed;
(E) a correction coefficient storing unit configured to store a correction coefficient for use in correction of a variation in a discharge speed of the medical solution, the correction coefficient being predefined in accordance with a degree of medical effect of the medical solution;
(F) an infusion speed measurement unit configured to measure an infusion speed of the medical solution flowing through the infusion line;
(G) a discharge speed computation unit configured for discharge speed computation to compute a discharge speed of the infusion pump for infusion of the medical solution at the reference infusion speed, the discharge speed determined with reference to (i) a current discharge speed of the infusion pump, (ii) the reference infusion speed stored in the reference infusion speed storing unit, and (iii) the infusion speed of the medical solution measured by the infusion speed measurement unit;
(H) a discharge speed correction unit configured for discharge speed correction to correct the discharge speed that has been obtained as a result of the discharge speed computation by the discharge speed computation unit, the discharge speed correction being made with reference to (i) the current discharge speed of the infusion pump and (ii) the correction coefficient for the medical solution stored in the correction coefficient storing unit; and
(I) a control unit configured to control the infusion pump to make the infusion pump discharge the medical solution at the discharge speed obtained as a result of the discharge speed correction by the discharge speed correction unit.
2. The infusion pump system according to claim 1, further comprising:
an information input unit into which information on an infusion target into which the medical solution is infused is input;
a medical solution information storing unit configured to store usage and dosage of the medical solution;
an infusion speed range computation unit configured for infusion speed range computation to compute an allowable range of the infusion speed for the medical solution, the infusion speed range computation being made with reference to (i) the information input into the information input unit and (ii) the usage and dosage of the medical solution stored in the medical solution information storing unit; and
a safe operation unit configured to perform a predefined safe operation when the discharge speed corrected by the discharge speed correction unit does not fall within the allowable range of the infusion speed for the medical solution computed by the infusion speed range computation unit.
3. The infusion pump system according to claim 2, wherein the safe operation unit is configured to trigger an alarm.
4. The infusion pump system according to claim 2, wherein the safe operation unit is configured to control the infusion pump to make the infusion pump discharge the medical solution at the discharge speed corrected by the discharge speed correction unit.
5. The infusion pump system according to claim 2, wherein the safe operation unit is configured to halt the infusion pump discharging the medical solution.
6. The infusion pump system according to claim 1, wherein the infusion pump includes a piezoelectric pump unit comprising at least one piezoelectric pump driven by a piezoelectric element.
7. The infusion pump system according to claim 6, wherein the infusion pump includes a plurality of the piezoelectric pump units arranged in parallel with each other; a plurality of entry tubes via which the piezoelectric pump units are individually connected to the infusion line, the entry tubes having a cross section smaller than that of the infusion line; and a bypass tube configured to connect the entry tubes to each other.
8. The infusion pump system according to claim 7, wherein the infusion pump comprises a plurality of groups of the piezoelectric pump units, and the control unit is configured to use different discharge timings to individually control the groups of the piezoelectric pump units.
9. The infusion pump system according to claim 6, further comprising:
a plurality of the medical solution containers each containing a corresponding each of a plurality of the medical solutions;
a plurality of the infusion lines via each of which a corresponding each of the medical solutions is drawn out of the corresponding each of the medical solution containers; wherein the infusion pump includes one piezoelectric pump unit and a plurality of the entry tubes each connecting a corresponding each of the infusion lines to the piezoelectric pump unit, and a plurality of cut-off valves each provided in a corresponding each of the entry tubes and configured to block the medical solution drawn via the infusion line into the piezoelectric pump unit, and the control unit is configured to control opening and closing of the cut-off valves such that predefined amounts of the medical solutions are drawn into the piezoelectric pump unit from corresponding each of the entry tubes.
10. The infusion pump system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit is configured to close one of the cut-off valves when a predefined negative pressure avoidance time has elapsed after opening of another of the cut-off valves.
11. The infusion pump system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit is configured to intermittently open and close at least one of the cut-off valves each provided in corresponding each of the entry tubes.
12. The infusion pump system according to claim 9, further comprising a biometric information input unit into which biometric information is input, the biometric information being measured in the infusion target into which the medical solution is infused, wherein the control unit is configured to open and close a selected one of the cut-off valves on the basis of the biometric information input to the biometric information input unit.
13. The infusion pump system according to claim 1, further comprising a bypass unit configured to discharge the medical solution via the infusion line, the bypass unit bypassing the infusion pump.
14. The infusion pump system according to claim 1, wherein the infusion pump is arranged inside of the medical solution container such that the infusion pump is positioned inward with reference to the medical solution exit portion via which the infusion line is attached to the medical solution container.
15. The infusion pump system according to claim 14, further comprising a cylinder accommodating therein a medical solution container made of a flexible material; and a plunger configured to compress the medical solution container accommodated in the cylinder, the cylinder including an air hole via which an inside thereof and an outside thereof are in communication with each other.
16. The infusion pump system according to claim 1, further comprising a deaerating unit provided downstream of the infusion pump and configured to remove an air bubble in the infusion line.
17. The infusion pump system according to claim 1, further comprising a condition input unit into which condition information is input, the condition information being indicative of a condition of the infusion target into which the medical solution is infused;
an information storing unit connected to the condition input unit via a communications device and configured to store the condition information input into the condition input unit; and
at least one information terminal unit connected to the information storing unit and configured to reference the condition information stored in the information storing unit.
18. An infusion pump system for infusion of a predetermined medical solution within a predefined infusion completion time, comprising:
(A) a medical solution container configured to contain a medical solution,
(B) an infusion line via which the medical solution is drawn from the medical solution container;
(C) an infusion pump configured to discharge the medical solution via the infusion line from the medical solution container directly into a body of a patient;
(D) a correction coefficient storing unit configured to store a correction coefficient for use in correction of a variation in a discharge speed of the medical solution, the correction coefficient being predefined in accordance with a degree of medical effect of the medical solution;
(E) a remaining amount detection unit configured to detect a remaining amount of the medical solution;
(F) a remaining time measurement unit configured to measure a remaining time before the infusion completion time is reached;
(G) a discharge speed computation unit configured for discharge speed computation to compute a discharge speed of the infusion pump for infusion of the medical solution within the infusion completion time, the discharge speed computation being made with reference to (i) the remaining amount of the medical solution detected by the remaining amount detection unit and (ii) the remaining time before the infusion completion time is reached measured by the remaining time measurement unit;
(H) a discharge speed correction unit configured for discharge speed correction to correct the discharge speed obtained as a result of the discharge speed computation by the discharge speed computation unit, the discharge speed correction being made with reference to (i) a current discharge speed of the infusion pump and (ii) the correction coefficient for the medical solution stored in the correction coefficient storing unit; and
(I) a control unit configured to control the infusion pump to make the infusion pump discharge the medical solution at the discharge speed that has been obtained as a result of the discharge speed correction by the discharge speed correction unit.