Ligament end-feel simulator
The [Ligament End Feel Simulator] has the sole purpose of teaching athletic training students and other medical professionals what laxity of the anterior cruciate ligament feels like without the need for a live injured patient to be present. The novelty of the present invention comes from the non-existence of the present invention in the athletic training profession. Although a person not knowledgeable in the art can look at the present invention and recognize it as being a knee; the average person and even most medical professionals will not know that the device is meant to be used in conjunction with the Lachman manual special test.
1. A Ligament End Feel Simulator for teaching injury evaluation techniques for the anterior cruciate ligament including the Lachman special test, comprising in combination:
A simulated human form including the knee, said knee containing a base, stationary arm, internal box, internal elevator, and movement arm, said stationary arm is mounted to the internal box and base of the device by two separate screws, one which inserts at the rear of the stationary arm which mounts the stationary arm to the base, and the other which inserts at the rear of the internal box and fastens into the front of the stationary arm, said internal elevator is fastened to the internal box by a pair of rails and guides, said internal elevator is fastened to the movement arm by a hinge mounted to the bottom of the internal elevator, said movement arm is mounted to the base by a separate hinge located at the front of the base.
2. The ligament end feel simulator according to claim 1 where said knee is a cross section of an human knee and has lengthwise dimensions.
3. The ligament end feel simulator according to claim 1 where said stationary arm simulates the femur of an adult, where said stationary arm and internal box simulate the patellar femoral joint of the human knee, where said internal elevator and movement arm simulates the tibia and tibiofemoral joint of the human knee.
4. The ligament end feel simulator according to claim 3 where said internal elevator is mounted within the internal box, said guides and rails which allow the raising and lowering of the internal elevator within the internal box simulating the anterior translation of the tibia on the femur.
5. The ligament end feel simulator according to claim 4 where said rails and guides are fastened to the inner portion of the internal box.
6. The ligament end feel simulator according to claim 1 where said simulator mimics, duplicates, replicates, or imitates the anterior translation of the tibia on the femur with the intent of providing educational information on the degree of laxity of the anterior cruciate ligament.