FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to providing apparatus for cast saws, and more particularly, to apparatus for a cast saw temperature safety system and cast saw burn reduction system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Immobilization is considered essential for the proper healing of broken bones and other internal trauma, and immobilization is typically achieved with the use of orthopedic casts. Removal of orthopedic casts is typically difficult by design, so that a cast functions effectively to immobilize the body part that needs to be immobilized. Cast saws are frequently used to remove casts, and oscillating saw blades are preferred, in which the cast saw blade oscillates within a range of typically a few millimeters, reducing the risk of cuts to the patient, provided that any skin contacted by the blade is mobile. If the skin can move with the cast saw blade as the blade oscillates, the skin is unlikely to be cut; if the skin is in a less-mobile region of the body, such as the skin over a bony prominence, the skin is more likely to be cut.

Conventionally, the use of an oscillating saw or non-oscillating saw for cast removal creates a potential for patient discomfort and for iatrogenic injury, such as burns and abrasions resulting from the heat created by frictional forces between the cast saw blade and the cast material. Often, thick casts are required or chosen to immobilize the injured area, and cutting through thick casts heats a cast saw blade and leads to increased risk of burns, as well as abrasions. Casts may be inadequately padded, which also increases the risk of injury after a saw blade has cut through the more rigid exterior cast material. Additionally, dull saw blades and improper user technique of cast saws can lead to second and third degree burns. Saw burns can leave unsightly scars and wound complications. There also exist types of shears for cutting orthopedic casts, but they carry other risks of injury.

Conventional cast saws generally do not provide information on or monitor the temperature of the cast saw blade. In conventional cast saws with oscillating blades, only a relatively small portion of the blade is used as a cutting region at a time. As that portion of the blade dulls, a user may loosen, rotate, and re-tighten the blade to use a sharper portion of the blade as the active cutting region, provided the blade comprises sufficiently distinct cutting regions—not all blades are circular, and some are not intended to be rotated. But, without a temperature indication, the user may not know that the blade is dull or otherwise susceptible to being overheated and should be cooled or rotated or replaced.

With cast saws, a hot blade can indicate that the blade is cutting through thick material, or that the blade is dull, or that when cutting a fiberglass cast, the resin or polymer epoxy typically used with the fiberglass material is sticking to the blade (often because it isn't fully dried). The resin or epoxy can adhere to the blade cutting region, boosting friction between the cast saw blade and the cast. Any of these can lead to a rise in the temperature of the blade, and without temperature information about the blade, the user may not know that the blade needs to be rotated or cooled to reduce the risk of injury to the patient.

Prior art devices exist for removing orthopedic casts, such as types of shears and scissor-type cutting devices, as well as cast saws, including but not limited to models from Stryker, DeSoutter, American Orthopaedic, and Delta-Cast, examples of which are provided in the Information Disclosure Statement accompanying this application, and all of which share the shortcomings of the prior art which the present invention seeks to solve. The prior art does not allow a user to control the motion and oscillation speed of a cast removal saw based on the temperature of one or more cutting regions of a cast saw blade, with the possibility of automatic feedback and programmed modes of operation, or lubrication or coolant, to lower or remove the risk to the patient of burns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets all these needs, by disclosing apparatus for a cast saw temperature safety system that provides monitoring and control of the cast blade for temperature, and by disclosing apparatus for a burn reduction system that lowers the temperature of the cast saw blade at one or more cutting regions of the cast saw blade. The present invention addresses the problem of the prior art with regard to cast saw burns, by providing control of the cast saw blade to keep the temperature of one or more cutting regions of the blade at or below a specified temperature range, and by providing a burn reduction system for cooling the cutting region of the cast saw blade. The present invention may also provide for control over the cast saw blade oscillation speed, because by slowing or speeding the oscillations of the cast saw blade the control system can effectively reduce the frictional forces between the cast saw blade and the orthopedic cast, and thus allow the temperature of a cutting region of the cast saw blade to lower, or allow the temperature to rise if the temperature is below an allowable threshold, providing additional benefits with regard to preventing cast saw burns.

The present invention addresses the problems of the prior art, which do not present apparatus for cast saw blade temperature monitoring and blade oscillation speed control for patient safety, by lowering the risk to the patient of injuries from burns. The temperature information provided by the present invention can indicate that the cutting region of the blade is dull, therefore alerting the user that the blade should be rotated (typically, by loosening, rotating, and re-tightening the blade, with blades which can be rotated). The temperature information may indicate that the blade is cutting thick cast material, or that a resin or polymer epoxy used in the fiberglass cast sticking to the blade, gumming up the blade and making it dull or otherwise unable to cut the cast material, which may suggest other approaches or caution in cutting the cast material.

The present invention addresses the problems of the prior art, which do not present burn reduction systems for lowering and controlling the temperature of the cutting region of the cast saw blade through application of a coolant to reduce the temperature of the cast saw blade, or where the coolant may be a lubricant to reduce friction between the cast saw blade and the cast and thus reduce the temperature of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect, the present invention comprises a cast saw blade, which cast saw blade comprises a plurality of cutting regions; a cast saw arbor, to which cast saw arbor the cast saw blade is attached; a cast saw motor, which cast saw motor is operably connected to the cast saw arbor; a cast saw body enclosing the cast saw motor, and to which cast saw body a plurality of temperature sensors is attached; and a temperature control system, which controls the cast saw motor to oscillate; wherein the plurality of temperature sensors convey temperature information to the temperature control system, which temperature information may comprise a plurality of temperature readings with one or more readings for each of one or more cutting regions of the cast saw blade; and wherein the temperature control system is configured to process the temperature information to determine if the temperature of the cast saw blade at a cutting region of the cast saw blade is at or above a threshold temperature.

In one aspect, the present invention comprises a cast saw blade, which cast saw blade comprises a plurality of cutting regions; a plurality of temperature sensors; a cast saw arbor, to which cast saw arbor the cast saw blade is attached; a cast saw motor, which cast saw motor is operably connected to the cast saw arbor; a cast saw body enclosing the cast saw motor; and a temperature control system, which controls the cast saw motor oscillation rate.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system on the cast saw body.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system is enclosed in the cast saw body.

In one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of temperature sensors is mounted to the cast saw body in a fixed manner.

In one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of temperature sensors is mounted to the cast saw body movably.

In one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of temperature sensors is embedded in the cast saw blade, or is external to and affixed to the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, a connection between the plurality of temperature sensors and the temperature control system is achieved with wires running through the cast saw arbor or external to the cast saw arbor.

In one aspect of the present invention, a connection between the plurality of temperature sensors and the temperature control system is achieved with a wireless connection.

In one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of temperature sensors comprise one or more selected from a list comprising thermocouples, resistive temperature devices, thermistors, infrared radiators, lasers, bimetallic devices, liquid expansion devices, optical sensors, fiber Bragg grating optical sensors or other distributed Bragg reflector, thermowells, resistance thermometer, resistance temperature detectors, digital thermal imaging, infrared temperature measurement, or change-of-state devices.

In one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of temperature sensors convey temperature information to the temperature control system, which temperature information may comprise a plurality of temperature readings with one or more reading for each of one or more cutting regions of the cast saw blade; and wherein the temperature control system is configured to process the temperature information to determine if the temperature of the cast saw blade at a cutting region of the cast saw blade is at or above a threshold temperature.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system is configured to provide one or more warnings regarding the temperature of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the cast saw temperature safety system further comprises an accelerometer, which accelerometer generates a plurality of orientation information.

In one aspect, the present invention comprises a method of controlling the operation of a cast saw temperature safety system, which cast saw temperature safety system comprises a cast saw blade comprising a plurality of cutting regions, a plurality of temperature sensors, a cast saw arbor to which the cast saw blade is attached, a cast saw motor operably connected to the cast saw arbor, a cast saw body enclosing the cast saw motor, and a temperature control system which controls the cast saw motor to oscillate, the method comprising: the cast saw temperature safety system having a temperature threshold for the plurality of cutting regions; the cast saw temperature safety system monitoring temperature information for each of one or more of the plurality of cutting regions; the temperature control system sending a control signal to the cast saw motor; and the temperature control system operating to slow or stop the cast saw blade if one or more of the cutting regions reaches or exceeds a temperature threshold.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system modifies the oscillation speed of the cast saw blade to prevent the cast saw blade from reaching a temperature threshold.

In one aspect of the present invention, a user can set a maximum safe temperature threshold.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system decreases the oscillation speed of the cast saw blade as the cast saw blade temperature increases, based on the temperature information from the plurality of temperature sensors, and the temperature control system increases the oscillation speed of the cast saw blade as the cast saw blade temperature decreases.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system allows the cast saw blade to oscillate at the highest oscillation speed possible without the cast saw blade temperature reaching or exceeding a maximum temperature threshold.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system controls the cast saw blade oscillations to be continuous or intermittent.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system controls the cast saw blade at any of a plurality of discrete oscillation speeds selectable by a user.

In one aspect of the present invention, the temperature control system provides one or more warnings to a user.

In one aspect of the present invention, the cast saw temperature safety system further comprises a plurality of strain gauges, and wherein the temperature control system operating to slow or stop the cast saw blade if one or more of the cutting regions reaches or exceeds a temperature threshold, does not operate to slow or stop the cast saw blade if the one or more of the cutting regions that reaches or exceeds a temperature threshold is not the region that is actively cutting, as determined by a plurality of strain information from the plurality of strain gauges.

In one aspect of the present invention, the cast saw temperature safety system further comprises an accelerometer, and wherein the temperature control system determines that the one or more of the cutting regions that reaches or exceeds a temperature threshold is not the region that is actively cutting based on a plurality of orientation information from the accelerometer.

In one aspect, the present invention comprises a cast saw burn reduction system, comprising: a cast saw blade, which cast saw blade comprises a plurality of cutting regions; a cast saw arbor, to which cast saw arbor the cast saw blade is attached; a cast saw motor, which cast saw motor is operably connected to the cast saw arbor; a cast saw body enclosing the cast saw motor; a coolant; a coolant reservoir; a reservoir cap; a coolant tube, which coolant tube transports coolant from the coolant reservoir to the cast saw blade; a coolant applicator; a coolant pump; a coolant control dial; at least one coolant intake; and a coolant control system, which coolant control system is connected to a plurality of coolant applicators; and wherein the coolant control system is used to cool and/or lubricate the cast saw blade so as to lower the temperature of the cast saw blade at one or more cutting regions of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect, the present invention comprises a cast saw burn reduction system, comprising: a cast saw blade, which cast saw blade comprises a plurality of cutting regions; a cast saw arbor, to which cast saw arbor the cast saw blade is attached; a cast saw motor, which cast saw motor is operably connected to the cast saw arbor; a cast saw body enclosing the cast saw motor; a coolant and coolant components; and wherein the burn reduction system allows for a user to control or cause to be released or applied onto or at the cast saw blade the coolant.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant components comprise one or more of the following; a coolant reservoir, a reservoir cap, a coolant, a coolant tube, a coolant pump, a plurality of coolant applicators, a coolant control dial, and a coolant intake; and wherein the coolant tube transports coolant from the coolant reservoir to the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant may be released at or onto a plurality of locations on the cast saw blade, which locations may be at or near an active cutting region of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the burn reduction system may be programmed to release or apply coolant automatically at or onto a plurality of locations on the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant may be a coolant for evaporative cooling of the cast law blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant may be for convective heat transport away from the cutting region of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant for convective heat transport is blown at and over the surface of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant is a lubricant that serves to lower the temperature of at least one cutting region of the cast saw blade by reducing friction between the cast saw blade and the cast.

In one aspect of the present invention, more than one type of coolant is applied to the cutting region of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant tube may split into one or more branches or segments for each side of the cast saw blade so that the coolant may be applied to one or both sides of the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant tube may comprise a plurality of discrete tubes or items for transport of one or more coolants.

In one aspect of the present invention, the user is able to direct the coolant onto a desired location or locations on the cast saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of coolant applicators comprise a sponge-like material that can absorb, transport, and release a fluid coolant in contact with or in close proximity to the saw blade.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant pump may be a manually actuated component.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant pump may be an electrically actuated component.

In one aspect, the present invention comprises a method of controlling the operation of a cast saw burn reduction system, which cast saw burn reduction system comprises a cast saw blade comprising a plurality of cutting regions, a cast saw arbor to which the cast saw blade is attached, a cast saw motor operably connected to the cast saw arbor, a cast saw body enclosing the cast saw motor, and a coolant control system, which controls coolant application to the cast saw blade, the method comprising: the cast saw burn reduction system having a coolant pump that impels or pushes a coolant through a coolant tube and a plurality of coolant applicators at the cast saw blade; the cast saw burn reduction system having a coolant control dial to control the quantity of the coolant that is applied per actuation of the coolant pump; and the coolant control system operating under the control of a user or programmatically.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coolant pump impels or pushes the coolant from the coolant reservoir.

In one aspect of the present invention, the user may use the coolant control dial to control the aperture of the plurality of coolant applicators, or to control the pressure in the coolant reservoir, or to control the pressure of the coolant pump.

In one aspect of the present invention, the burn reduction system is used in conjunction with a temperature control system and the coolant control system actuates the coolant pump to apply coolant to the cast saw blade when the temperature control system indicates that a temperature information is at or above a certain threshold value for the temperature of a cutting region of the cast saw blade.

These aspects of the present invention, and others disclosed in the Detailed Description of the Drawings, represent improvements on the current art. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description of the Drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

