Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics Ag

Plus Orthopedics Ag

Holger Broers

Thomas Hauri

Bernhard Hauri

Werner Berner

Walter Moser

Peter Ritschl

An appliance () for tensioning ligaments, especially articular ligaments, of a human or animal body, having at least one handle (), the or each handle () being in operative engagement with, in each case, a tensioning element () associated therewith, and with the or each handle () in each case a force indicator (), which indicates a force exerted on a or each tensioning element () associated with the or each handle () on tensioning of one or more ligaments, and a displacement indicator (), which indicates the excursion of the tensioning element () in question from a reference position, and with the or each force indicator () and/or with the or each displacement indicator () there is/are associated at least one marker (A-H), which is arranged to be detected without contact by a measurement value ascertainment system () associated with the appliance (), and also a device (), comprising the appliance (), for ascertaining force-displacement characteristic curves of ligaments, and also a method of ascertaining them.

Device and method for ascertaining the force-displacement characteristic curve of one or more ligaments

A method of finding the position of a mechanical axis running in the longitudinal direction through a limb that is rotatably supported by its first end in a center of rotation that is not fixed and is not accessible for the mechanical determination of coordinates, by means of an optical coordinate-measurement device with an indicator to detect measurement-point coordinates in one rotational position of the limb such that, for each rotational position, a multi-point indicator rigidly attached near the second end of the limb signals several measurement-point coordinates, and, from the sets of measurement-point coordinates detected in a plurality of rotational positions, at least one group is selected that can be assigned to the same site of the center of rotation, and the measurement-point-coordinate sets assigned to this site of the center of rotation are used to calculate the mechanical axis.

Method and apparatus for finding the position of a mechanical axis of a limb

A method of finding the position of a mechanical axis running in the longitudinal direction through a limb that is rotatably supported by its first end in a center of rotation that is not fixed and is not accessible for the mechanical determination of coordinates, by means of an optical coordinate-measurement device with an indicator to detect measurement-point coordinates in one rotational position of the limb, such that, for each rotational position, a multi-point indicator rigidly attached near the second end of the limb signals several measurement-point coordinates, and, from the sets of measurement-point coordinates detected in a plurality of rotational positions, at least one group is selected that can be assigned to the same site of the center of rotation, and the measurement-point-coordinate sets assigned to this site of the center of rotation are used to calculate the mechanical axis.

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Bundesrepublik, Germany

Holger Broers