Apparatus and method for measuring an anatomical angle of a body

Abstract

An apparatus ( 20 ) for automatically measuring an anatomical angle of a body, the apparatus ( 20 ) comprising aligning means ( 23 ) for aligning an axis ( 22 ) of the apparatus ( 20 ) with anatomical landmarks of the body, sensing means ( 30 ) for sensing an orientation of the axis ( 22 ) while the axis is aligned with the landmarks, and processing means ( 40 ) for processing the sensed orientation. The sensing means ( 30 ) comprises a magnetometer ( 32 ) and an accelerometer ( 31 ), and the aligning means comprises a pair of lasers.

1 . A pocket-sized goniometer having at least a first laser arm and a second laser arm; the goniometer substantially embodied in a housing provided with a digital display for display of anatomical angles. 
     
     
         2 . The goniometer of  claim 1  wherein the goniometer comprises aligning means for aligning an axis of the goniometer with anatomical landmarks of the body,
 sensing means for sensing an orientation of the axis of the goniometer while the axis is aligned with the landmarks, and 
 processing means for processing the sensed orientation. 
 
     
     
         3 . The goniometer of  claim 1 , wherein the processing means is able to process a sensed first orientation of the axis and a sensed second orientation of the axis to determine an angle between the axis in a sensed first orientation and the axis in a sensed second orientation. 
     
     
         4 . The goniometer of  claim 2 , wherein the sensing means includes a tilt sensor for sensing the tilt of the axis, and a magnetic sensor for sensing the direction of the axis relative to a magnetic field. 
     
     
         5 . The goniometer of  claim 4 , wherein the tilt sensor is able to sense the pitch and roll of the axis. 
     
     
         6 . The goniometer of  claim 4 , wherein the tilt sensor is an accelerometer. 
     
     
         7 . The goniometer of  claim 4 , wherein the magnetic sensor is a magnetometer. 
     
     
         8 . The goniometer of  claim 3 , wherein the goniometer also comprises another aligning means for aligning another axis of the goniometer with other anatomical landmarks of the body, the aligning means are able to be pivoted relative to each other so as to vary an angle between the axes, and the processing means is able to process the sensed orientation to determine the angle between the axes. 
     
     
         9 . The goniometer of  claim 2 , wherein each aligning means is a light source. 
     
     
         10 . The goniometer of  claim 9 , wherein the light source is a laser. 
     
     
         11 . The goniometer of  claim 1 , wherein the goniometer also comprises a display for displaying the measured angle. 
     
     
         12 . The goniometer of  claim 1 , wherein the goniometer also comprises at least one switch for allowing a user to control the operation of the goniometer. 
     
     
         13 . A method for measuring an anatomical angle of a body, the method comprising the steps of:
 aligning an axis of a goniometer with anatomical landmarks of the body;   sensing an orientation of the axis while the axis is aligned with the landmarks; and   processing the sensed orientation to provide a digital display of the angle, and   wherein the goniometer comprises at least a first laser arm and a second laser arm; the goniometer substantially embodied in a housing provided with a digital display for display of the anatomical angle.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the sensing step comprises sensing a first orientation of the axis and sensing a second orientation of the axis; and the processing step comprises, processing the first sensed orientation and the second sensed orientation to determine an angle between the axis in the sensed first orientation and the axis in the sensed second orientation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein each orientation is sensed by sensing the tilt of the axis and the direction of the axis relative to a magnetic field. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the tilt of the axis is sensed by sensing the pitch and roll of the axis. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the method also comprises the step of aligning another axis with other anatomical landmarks of the body by varying an angle between the axes, and the processing step comprises processing the sensed orientation to determine the angle between the axes. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein each aligning step comprises aligning a light beam with the landmarks. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the light beam is a laser beam. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . (canceled)