Untitled record

Application filed March 27, 1885. Serial No. 160,187. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Joseph'AV. Batter· shall, of Attleborough, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have iu5 vented a new and .useful Method of Making Surgical Corsets, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, formingapart of this specification.

io The object of my invention is to produce a rigid corset which shall not only support the bodies of persons suffering from spinal or other deformities, but which shall also remedy such deformities by continued and gradually15 increasing pressure upon abnormal prominences.

To the above purpose my invention consists in the method of making the corset, the same consisting in taking a cast of the deformed 20 body with the projecting deformity cut off and the abnormal depressions filled in, then winding strips of narrow webbing, cloth, or other material around the cast, gluing the layers together, and inserting light strips of 25 metal between the layers, and, after drying and varnishing, removing the corset from the cast by cutting the corset down the front or back.

In the said drawing, in which the figure 30 illustrates a perspective view of my improved corset, A designates the sides and back of the device. These are formed of strips of narrow webbing, cloth, or other suitable material, which have been wound in layers over a cast 35 of the deformed body, but from which cast the projecting deformity has been cut off and the abnormal depressions have been filled in. In this way the corset is made symmetrical, and when applied to the deformed body will exert 40 a constant pressure upon the deformed parts, so that in case of spinal deformity the vertebrae will be gradually rotated back into their normal position. Glue is applied between the layers of material, and light strips of metal 45 are also inserted between the layers for the purpose of increasing the strength and sup- | porting capacity of the corset. The corset is now varnished, and after having been dried is removed from the cast by cutting down the front or back or both. 50

Lacing-cords D may be attached to the back of the corset in the usual manner, so that by gradually tightening the lacing the pressure upon the deformed parts may be gradually increased. 55

B B designate two metal crutches, which are each provided with a stem, δ, by means of which the crutches are attached to the corset beneath the arm-pits of the wearer. These crutches are each adjusted by means of a 60 binding-screw, C, passing- into the corset and through one of a series of holes, δ', which are formed iu the stems δ.

Thus it will be seen that the corset acts not only as a support for the deformed body, but 65 also as a means for forcing the deformed parts back into their normal places. In this latter respect my improved corset differs from all other surgical corsets heretofore devised, inasmuch as snch previous forms, generally 70 made from plaster-of-paris, merely acted as supports and prevented any remedy of the deformity.