Brace Yourself: Redesigning the Charleston Back Brace

Figure 8. King type five curve. There is a double thoracic curve that
passes over the sacrum. This is treated the same way as the type 4
(Ralph Hooper et al. 2003).
Once the patients x-ray has been closely examined and classified as one of
the King types, the patient will be called in for another appointment. The mold of
their torso will be made with stockinettes. Measurements of the patient will also be
taken and markings will be placed on the cast, which will be filled with plaster
afterwards. The plaster will be taken to the workshop and fixed (if needed) before
having the plastic heated and placed on it. Once the brace is completed, the patient
will come in for a fitting before taking the brace with them (Ralph Hooper et al.,
2003). An x-ray of the patient with the brace on is taken of them in the supine
position to make sure it functions correctly. If the brace is incorrect, a new one has
to be made. About 1 out of 20 braces have to be remade due to error and incorrect
function (personal communication). The main source of error is due to the use of
educated guessing of when and where the forces are applied and how much
pressure is used (personal communication).
X-Rays
Philips Digital Diagnost, V 2.0, is an x-ray machine used in medical offices. It
has a moveable vertical stand, height adjustable table that includes a ceiling
suspension system and uses a wireless portable detector. It can cover vertical,
horizontal, and cross lateral positions of a patient. The x-ray dose that is emitted
from the machine to digitally capture the image is low and does not greatly
endanger the patient’s health (“Digital diagnost”, n.d.).
The camera captures the image and wirelessly transports it through a
network system. The image can be accessed through IDX Imagecast, an online
program that allows the medical practitioners, or orthopedic doctors, to observe the
x-ray and calculate Cobb angles.