Therapeutic manipulation device

Abstract

A manipulation device is programmable with different parameters associated with different manipulation exercises for different types of simulated patients. A measuring system determines the success or failure for any of the programmable manipulation exercises and tracks specific results that precisely track how close a student comes to specific target force values. This allows a student to more accurately track performance improvements and more effectively focus practice sessions on problem manipulation techniques. The measurement system not only measures the time and force values associated with the manipulation exercises but also measures angular displacement of the manipulation apparatus during the manipulation exercise. This allows the student to not only determine if a proper amount of force was applied during the manipulation exercise but also to determine if the force was maintained in the same direction and angle.

1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a housing including an elongate body and an elongate reciprocating body adapted to fit into the cavity of the elongate body;   a biasing member adapted to fit within the axial cavity of the elongate body and further adapted to bias the elongate reciprocating body to a first position relative to the axis of the cavity;   a sensing device disposed in the elongate body configured to generate signals identifying changes in the angle of the housing; and   a processor configured to identify an angular displacement of the housing during application of a therapeutic manipulation force according to the signals generated by the sensing device.