Beijing Shijitan Hospital to Transfer Core Patent for Geriatric Postoperative Mobility Aid at RMB 60,000

Recently, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, released a public notice on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, proposing to transfer its “An Orthopedic Nursing Walking Aid Device”The invention patent has been assigned to Dingxing Shidai (Beijing) Management Consulting Co., Ltd. The assignment fee is¥60,000. The inventors of this achievement areWang Yangand his team。

Image from the official website of Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University

“An Orthopedic Nursing Walking Aid Device"The core innovation of this invention patent is the dual-support switching between handheld and underarm modes, which reduces upper limb load and enhances walking safety. It is equipped with a flip-up emergency seat; by sliding and rotating the support block, a resting position can be quickly formed to meet temporary rest needs. The device features adjustable width and one-click folding for storage. The axillary pads are cushioned to improve comfort. With its stable structure and easy operation, it effectively addresses the pain points of traditional walkers, such as single-mode support, lack of resting functionality, poor adaptability, and inconvenience in portability. It is suitable for patients after orthopedic surgery, the elderly, and those with weak muscle strength, demonstrating strong applicability in both clinical and home settings."

Currently, traditional orthopedic ambulatory aids still exhibit numerous limitations in both clinical rehabilitation and home use, failing to adequately meet the practical needs of postoperative orthopedic patients, the elderly population, and individuals with muscle weakness. The specific pain points are primarily manifested in the following aspects:

Single support pattern, excessive upper limb load.Traditional walkers and canes provide support solely through handgrips, relying entirely on upper limb strength for weight-bearing. This design is highly unfavorable for patients following orthopedic surgery, the elderly with frailty, and those with muscle weakness, often leading to arm soreness and unstable force application, thereby significantly increasing the risk of falls and secondary injuries during ambulation.

No emergency rest function; rehabilitation scenarios are limited.Most products on the market are not equipped with resting seats. When patients feel fatigued or physically uncomfortable during rehabilitation exercises, they are unable to take a break on site and must force themselves to continue. This can easily exacerbate the burden on the affected area, potentially leading to disease relapse or accidental falls.

Fixed, non-adjustable dimensions result in poor population adaptability.Most walker frames come in fixed sizes, with width and height that cannot be flexibly adjusted. This makes it difficult to accommodate patients of different heights and body types, or to adapt to changes such as postoperative limb swelling, significantly compromising comfort and support stability.

Bulky and rigid structure, inconvenient for storage and transportation.The overall design features a non-foldable rigid frame, which is bulky and space-consuming, making it extremely inconvenient for storage in hospital wards, home storage, outdoor carrying, and intra-hospital transport, resulting in poor usage flexibility.

Insufficient safety and comfort, with high operational difficulty.Some underarm support designs may cause local compression, friction-induced redness and swelling, or even pressure ulcers; their adjustment mechanisms are cumbersome and complex, making it difficult for elderly patients or those with limited mobility to adjust them independently, resulting in low safety and poor user experience.

To address the aforementioned pain points, this patented orthopedic nursing ambulation aid has been innovatively optimized from multiple dimensions, including structure, function, and ergonomics, forming five core technical advantages to comprehensively en-Enhancing the Safety, Comfort, and Practicality of Assistive Rehabilitation:

Dual-support mode significantly reduces upper limb dependence.This patent features a handheld grip and an arc-shaped cushioned axillary support, allowing flexible switching between arm support and underarm support. This design effectively reduces reliance on upper limb strength, significantly enhancing walking stability and usage safety. The height of the axillary support can be steplessly adjusted via a screw mechanism with dual positioning nuts, enabling precise adaptation to patients of different heights and various postoperative positional requirements.

Emergency Rest Seat: Providing Immediate Rest Support.A flip-up seat panel is installed in the middle of the third crossbar. To achieve horizontal locking, simply release the buckle, slide down, and rotate the support block, quickly assembling a stable and reliable resting platform to promptly alleviate patient fatigue and address sudden discomfort. When not in use, the seat panel can be stored vertically and secured with an elastic loop and hook, occupying no space and not impeding normal walking.

Flexible and adjustable sizing for universal fit.The horizontal section adopts a combined structure of sleeves, telescopic rods, and locking nuts, allowing free adjustment of the support width to perfectly accommodate patients of different body types and adapt to postoperative physical changes such as limb swelling. A semi-circular curved section is reserved on the bracket to ensure smooth passage of the screw rod, enabling a snag-free and interference-free adjustment process.

Foldable All-in-One Design, Portable and Easy to Store.The vertical section of the stand adopts a combined structure consisting of a fixed part and a folding part, paired with elastic locking pins and a through-slot quick-lock mechanism, enabling one-touch folding. This design significantly reduces the overall volume, facilitating daily storage, portability for travel, and efficient turnover in hospital wards.

Combining safety and comfort for better clinical application.The curved underarm support is covered with a soft padding layer that conforms to the human body, reducing local pressure and skin friction. It features a multi-point positioning structure comprising slide grooves, T-shaped support blocks, and buckles, ensuring overall stability and preventing loosening. The equipment’s mechanical design is well-balanced and rational, effectively lowering the risk of lateral tipping, thereby enhancing safety and providing a more comfortable user experience.

The field of intelligent rehabilitation and ambulation assistance is rapidly advancing toward intelligence, lightweight design, human-machine collaboration, and comprehensive scenario coverage. A range of high-end ambulation and rehabilitation devices representing cutting-edge technological trends has emerged both domestically and internationally.

Ottobock's Flagship Intelligent Bionic Knee Joint Genium® X4 ZhenNiu® X4, equipped with the OPG3.0 system, it precisely captures movement and automatically adjusts to adapt to complex scenarios such as steep slopes, short steps, and ascending or descending stairs. It supports full-scenario modes including alternating stair climbing, weighted backward walking, variable-speed walking, short-distance running, and cycling detection, ensuring natural and fluid motion. The product features IP68 protection, allowing use in various water environments; it supports customized sports modes such as golf and skiing, along with personalized casings. Combined with sensor-based magnetic fast charging and long battery life, it balances intelligence, protection, customization, and convenience, significantly enhancing mobility freedom and quality of life.

Boling Brain-Computer Interface (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd.'s brain-computer interface upper limb rehabilitation exoskeleton,Boling Brain-Computer Interface, dedicated to the design, development, and application of rehabilitation training and assistive devices for individuals with post-stroke hemiplegia, specializes in intelligent rehabilitation technologies based on brain-computer integration. By extracting electroencephalographic (EEG) signals to interpret patients’ intentions, the system drives exoskeleton devices to perform corresponding movements. Beneficiaries include, but are not limited to, patients with upper limb functional impairments resulting from stroke, incomplete spinal cord injury, and other central nervous system disorders.

Hangzhou Chengtian Technology Development Co., Ltd.'s EasyGo Exoskeleton Walker, a purely mechanical structure that requires no electrical power. By utilizing the rotation of gears and racks to mimic tendon structures, it simulates the energy storage and release processes inherent in human tendon movement, thereby achieving unlimited operational endurance. Weighing less than 2 kilograms—comparable to a cotton coat—the device is straightforward to don. Elderly users can independently put it on at home in just 15–20 seconds.