US 12,324,759 B2
Brace for a body joint and method of manufacturing thereof
Seok Po Phillis Teng, Singapore (SG); Chor Hiong Tee, Singapore (SG); Pui Wah Kong, Singapore (SG); Anthony Bert, Singapore (SG); and Kah Fai Leong, Singapore (SG)
Assigned to NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, Singapore (SG)
Appl. No. 17/052,506
Filed by NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, Singapore (SG)
PCT Filed May 2, 2019, PCT No. PCT/SG2019/050247
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 2, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/212417, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 7, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 10201803671X (SG), filed on May 2, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0236319 A1, Aug. 5, 2021
Int. Cl. A61F 5/01 (2006.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 80/00 (2015.01)
CPC A61F 5/01 (2013.01) [B33Y 10/00 (2014.12); B33Y 80/00 (2014.12)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A brace for a body joint between at least two portions of a body, the brace comprising:
at least two anchor regions, wherein a first of the at least two anchor regions is configured to hold the brace to a first of the at least two portions of the body, and a second of the at least two anchor regions is configured to hold the brace to a second of the at least two portions of the body; and
a mechanical metamaterial region between the at least two anchor regions, the mechanical metamaterial region comprising a mesh structure, the mesh structure comprising a plurality of links and nodes forming repeating shapes, the plurality of links and nodes being integrally printed to form the mechanical metamaterial region as a one-piece structure, wherein each node fixedly connects two or more links, wherein each node is a point which the two or more links are fixed to each other at the point, wherein the mechanical metamaterial is configured to have a two-stage elastic deformation profile along a main tension direction, the two-stage elastic deformation profile comprising a first stage which crossover to a second stage at a predetermined strain threshold of the mesh structure, wherein the first stage of the elastic deformation profile is of a higher compliance than the second stage of the elastic deformation profile, wherein the predetermined strain threshold of the mesh structure of the mechanical metamaterial region matches an upper limit of a functional range of motion of the body joint such that the mesh structure is operating in the first stage of the two-stage elastic deformation profile within the functional range of motion of the body joint and the mesh structure is operating in the second stage of the two-stage elastic deformation profile beyond the upper limit of the functional range of motion of the body joint.