Title of Invention

A DEVICE TO PROTECT TWO WHEELER RIDERS FROM INJURY TO THEIR OCCIPITAL-ATLAS-AXIS REGION DURING ROAD ACCIDENTS

Abstract

There are conventional methods to protect the skull and the cervical vertebrae, but none for the protection of their junction. This invention will bridge the gap. Yet it was impossible to do so in isolation. The helmet protects the head and the neck support protects the neck. Our device will then protect the junction. The oval frame with the hollow semicircular tunnel is attached to a helmet. A reciprocally shaped curved piece is attached to the cervical support. These two when assembled will allow railroad movement between the pieces. It provides adequate freedom of rotation of the head and will ensure good field of vision for safe driving. However it totally restricts hyper- extension and hyper-flexion at occipital-atlas-axis complex which is the cause of injury in this anatomical site in road accidents. The novelty of this innovation is the dynamic nature of the support and, its stability. Safety without compromising comfort has been the aim in" this project. By this we have introduced a safety device.

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENTS ACT 1970. (39 of 1970) & The Patent Rule 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICAION (See section 10 & rule 13) 1, TITLE OF THE INVENTION. AN EQUIPMENT TO PROTECT THE OCCIPITO-CERVICAL REGION OF THE AXIAL SKELETON FROM INJURY DURING ROAD ACCIDENTS. 2. APPLICANTS Name Nationality Address Manickanamparambil Joseph Kuruvilla Indian Manickanamparambi Manickanamparambil George Kuruvilla “ Pulimughal Road Manickanamparambil Rosamma Kuruvilla “ Kochi 33 Manickanamparambil Joe Kuruvilla “ PIN- 682033 3. PREAMBLE TO THE DISCRETION COMPLETE The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed Complete specification This invention relates to the design and development of a safety device. In high-speed road traffic accidents fracture of bones, dislocation of joints and tear of ligaments are common. The upper cervical vertebrae and its junction with the base of the occipital bone are vulnerable anatomical sites for such injuries. Our device is mend to prevent injuries in this region during road traffic accidents. The object of this project is the safety and protection of the skeletal complex where rotation of head takes place on the neck. The base of the occipital bone, the atlas vertebra, the axis vertebra and the ligaments that hold them together form one complex anatomical structure functionally. This is the fulcrum where the rotation of the head takes place on the neck. This region is particularly prone to injuries in high-speed road traffic accidents. The damage and injuries to medulla oblongata and the upper cervical segments of the spinal cord are usual consequences of injury to the occipital-atlas-axis complex. This damage to the nervous system that occur secondary to the axial skeletal injury is the most common cause of instant death in very many high-speed road traffic accidents. The injuries to the lower cervical vertebrae and the portion of spinal cord lodged within their arches can be fatal. Such injuries even when they do not kill often leave the injured in great misery. Quadriplegia, paraplegia and the like are not unusual accompaniments in such injuries. Further, relatively trivial collusions of vehicles, if sudden can lead to whiplash type of injury to the neck Background. There had been attempts in the past to reduce the magnitude of injuries in road accidents. The two-wheeler riders are made to wear helmet or some sort of headgear. These devices protect them to a considerable degree from head injuries and to a greater degree from bony and soft tissue injuries of the head and the face. However there is a snag. These devices add an apparently trivial extra weight to that of the head. This marginally increases the danger of injury to the occipital-atlas-axis region of the axial skeleton directly. Indirectly they add to the risk of injury to the medulla oblongata and cervical region of the spinal cord. Two-wheeler riders sometimes wear cervical collar as is done by those who suffer from cervical spondylolysis and cervical spondylosis. This gadget can protect the lower five cervical vertebrae from injury. There is a snag here too. The neck support converts the neck into a single solid column. It altogether sacrifices the flexibility of the neck. This will in effect transfer the force of any impact any where on the neck on to its junction with the head viz. the occipital-atlas-axis complex. The motorcar passengers are advised to wear seat belts. The seat belts prevent the driver and the co passengers from being thrown forwards bodily from their seats. Thus they afford protection to the occupants from being hit against the windscreen. This simple arrangement saves the cabdriver from steering-rod injury. The front passengers get protection from dashboard injuries to their knee joints and the adjacent bones and soft tissues as well. None of these devices or arrangements takes care of injuries to the occipital-atlas-axis complex. The cervical region of the body is the most mobile and the least protected portion of the axial skeleton. The vertebral arches surround the lower portion of the medulla oblongata and the spinal cord. The mechanical integrity of the spinal vertebrae is cardinal for the protection of medulla oblongata and the spinal cord. Its disruption causes damage to the medulla oblongata, the cervical and / or the upper thoracic segments of the spinal cord. . There had never been a serious attempt to devise a contrivance to provide mechanical support to occipitai-atlas-axis complex, a most vulnerable area of skeletal spinal axis and prevent it from damage. The medulla oblongata and upper segments of the spinal cord are lodged and protected in the bony cage formed by the bodies and the arches of the cervical vertebrae. There are technical difficulties in the development of a safety equipment that could prevent damage to the vital structures mentioned above without compromising the freedom of movement of the head over the neck. The difficulties presented, the way we circumvent them, the design of the desired safety device and how that works are detailed. Any rigid support to the head together with neck makes it a single block. Such an arrangement can prevent injuries to the occipital-atlas-axis complex and the cervical region of the axial skeleton. It will protect the medulla obiongata, the cervical and upper thoracic segments of the spinal cord too. But such a device is inconvenient and cumbersome to wear. It is not user-friendly and will not be acceptable to motorists and two wheeler riders. A gross disadvantage of such a rigid support is the near total restriction it imposes on the movements of head and neck together or independently. This will render the vision virtually tubular and the driving absolutely hazardous and quite unsafe. It is impossible to safeguard the integrity and safety of the occipital-atlas-axis complex in isolation. The protection of the anatomically adjacent areas on either side of the occipital-atlas-axis complex has to be ensured before the occipital-atlas-axis complex is itself rendered safe from violence and injury in road traffic accidents. While the helmet takes care of the head, and the neck support looks after the safety of the lower five cervical vertebrae our device when interposed between the helmet and the neck support will protect the integrity of occipital-atlas- axis complex. This in turn will ensure safety of the medulla oblongata and the upper cervical segments of the spinal cord. The work up We have overcome the difficulties without sacrificing safety concerns. Economic viability was also in focus. The result was the invention of this relatively simple device that can be incorporated between two safety gadgets and will provide efficient protection to the occipital-atlas-axis complex. Our device is comfortable to wear and will substantially reduce the danger of instant death. It will prevent the possibility of quadriplegia and similar disabilities to the victims of high-speed road traffic accidents. The device we have designed is a bridge between two protective devices already known and in common use viz. the helmet and the cervical support. This connection bridge is simple in design and easy to make. Its assembly is equally simple. The helmet can be any ordinary helmet. It is fitted on the head in the usual manner by means of straps. However the neck-support needs the following stiff specifications. It has to be a rigid one. It should cover the posterior third of the entire neck. The support has to be concave so that the wearer's neck couid snuggly and comfortably fit into its concavity. This support is itself firmly fixed to an ordinary cervical collar strap with which it can be firmly fixed to the neck of the wearer. Care is taken so that the collar strap and the neck support in effect behaves as a single piece. The design of the connecting bridge. It is made in three parts and then assembled into one. An elongated oval frame with a narrow anterior and a wide posterior is initially made in two parts. When put together it has precisely the same shape as the rim of the helmet. Its size is such that it will just fit well within the rim. The frame has a height of 16 mms and a width of 6 mms throughout. The anterior portion (about two thirds) is solid. The posterior portion (about a third) forms a semicircle. This part is hollow. The outer radius of this semicircle is about 100 mms. The hollow cavity is rectangular in cross-section. It measures 12 /2 mms. It is open towards the centre. This hollow cavity serves as a smooth tunnel for the free movement of an inner piece that fits into the hollow. This inner piece is reciprocally shaped. It fails short in length by one half of the length of the cavity of the posterior portion. The construction and the shapes of the hollow space and the inner piece are such that it will felicitate free railroad type of movement of the inner piece but will not slip out or tilt. The measurements of the cavity and the reciprocally curved piece are such that the inner segment covers only one half of the semicircular hollow tunnel. When the device is worn just as a helmet is worn and the cervical support is fixed to the wearer's neck by means of the neck collar strap the head can still rotate along with the helmet freely for 45 degrees in either direction over the neck whose movement is restricted by lower segment.and the attached cervical support. (The tunnel covers a semicircle but the inner piece covers only a quarter circle.) The cross-section of the posterior portion of the connecting bridge is shown in figure 111 diagramatically.. The hollow can be rectangular or elliptical in cross-section. The rectangular shape is preferred, as that will totally eliminate the chance of any angular tilt or movement. Illustrative figures with measurements of the device are appended. The device as such is firmly fixed to just within the rim of the helmet. The inner piece of the device is firmly fixed to the entire width of the neck support at its upper edge. When assembled this allows free movement of the helmet in a railroad fashion on the inner piece that is fixed to support. The device when worn, the neck support is fastened firmly to the neck by means of a suitable neck collar. This makes the inner piece stationary and allows rotation of helmet and with it the head on the neck, and the neck support. This arrangement guaranties an extent of rotation of the head over the neck equal to that is normally possible and takes place in life by the rotation of the atlas vertebra around the odontoid process of the axis vertebra. At the same time hyper-flexion and hyper-extension types of movement of the head over the neck at the occipital -atlas-axis complex are completely prevented. Thus this safety device guards the integrity of the occipital-atlas-axis complex component of the axial skeleton in road traffic accidents directly and ensures the safety and integrity of the medulla oblongata and the upper cervical segments of the spinal cord. At the same time tree rotation of head is rendered possible in the horizontal plane © Names (i) Manickanamparambil Joseph Kuruvilia (ii) Manickanamparambil George Kuruvilia (iii) Manickanamparambil Rosamma Kuruvilia (iv) Manickanamparambil Joe Kuruvilia The diagrams that follow provide clear idea of construction. All figures are diagrammatic Fig 1. The outline of the device viewed from above. Its anterior two thirds is solid. The posterior third is hollow. It is semicircular in shape It is open towards the center. Fig 11. The inner piece is being introduced into the tunnel. The inner piece is halfway inside the tunnel. The figures III, IV and V are drawn double the actual size Fig 111. The cross-section of the hollow segment separately. The actual measurements of the device are “Height 16 mms. Width 6 mms. The rectangular cavity is 12 mms / 2 mms. The opening of the tunnel is 8 mms wide and opens towards the center. Fig IV. The cross-section of the inner piece. It is reciprocally shaped and is to be fitted into the tunnei like cavity. Fig V. The cross-section of the posterior segment with the inner piece in situ. Fig. VI. The cross-section shewing the helmet with the device inside its rim. The inner piece is attached to the neck support and is separately shown by the side. (Diagramatic) Fig VII The same as Fig VI with the inner piece inside the tunnel. Fig. VIII, The neck support attached to the inner piece of the device

Documents:

0931-che-2006 abstract duplicate.pdf

0931-che-2006 claims duplicate.pdf

0931-che-2006 description (complete) duplicate.pdf

0931-che-2006 drawings duplicate.pdf

931-CHE-2006 CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS.pdf

931-CHE-2006 CORRESPONDENCE PO.pdf

931-CHE-2006 FORM-1.pdf

931-che-2006-abstract.pdf

931-che-2006-claims.pdf

931-che-2006-complete description.pdf

931-che-2006-correspondance -po.pdf

931-che-2006-drawings.pdf

931-che-2006-form 1.pdf

931-che-2006-form 18.pdf

931-che-2006-form 9.pdf