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RING-PEN (Tm)
US Patent No 5391010
If you write
a lot and for a long time with a cylindrical pen - no
doubt there is a blister on your middle finger. You may
ask any student or journalist - they will tell how their
hand hurts and grows numb after speedy or continuous
writing.
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You may ask elderly people and they will tell you how
difficult it is to hold the pen while writing. The joints
ache and the fingers' flexibility is not the same as it
used to be. The handwriting is unstable.
What happens when somebody writes for a long time, works
on a keyboard, or engraves or cuts with a knife? When
work activities and hobbies require repetitive wrist or
finger motion, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can occur (In the
past, CTS was called writer's cramp).
In today's modern post-industrial society, the potential
for development of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is everywhere.
In fact, 25% of all computer operators, and those who
write a lot (students, secretaries, bookkeepers, etc.)
reportedly are inflicted with CTS and those estimates
could increase to 50% by the year 2000. Many treatments
are available to alleviate CTS, but most only deal with
the symptoms and are reactive to the problem. Only 23% of
all carpal tunnel patients are able to return to their
profession following surgery, and 36% of all carpal
tunnel patients need unlimited medical treatment (See Fig).
CTS is a debilitating disease that has produced a lot of
pain.
Also known as tardy median nerve palsy, CTS is a
mechanical malfunction of the hand and wrist, stemming
from repetitive movement that shortens the size of the
thenar muscles in the hand and wrist. This shortening of
the thenar muscles causes CTS because it puts adverse
stress on the median nerve.
How does repetitive stress develop? In the beginning, one
feels numbness and tingling in the hands, a sensation
similar to hitting one's funny bone, except the pain
stays around constantly. Not only is the pain constant,
but it gets progressively worse. Setting on slowly at
first, the pain awakens one at night. Then, with
continued repetitiveness, it happens with alarming
frequency. The pain continues to progress until one is
unable to move the wrists.
Statistics: This year, an estimated one in eight U.S.
workers will suffer from repetitive stress injuries, with
a total cost to industry of $100 billion. OSHA estimates
that repetitive stress accounts for 60 percent of all
workplace injuries. Carpal tunnel syndrome is spreading
across the U.S. in epidemic proportions, with 8 million
Americans currently affected.
Is it possible to avoid CTS or
prevent its onset in old age?
Yes it is. If there is no need to
squeeze a pen while writing, there is no static
finger muscle tension.
Is it possible to make the writing
process fast and easy while the pen is stable in
the hand ?
Yes, it is. If the center of gravity
of the pen coincides with the point of support,
minimal efforts are applied to control it.
And is it possible to join all these
features in one writing device?
Yes, it is. All these features are
in the RING-PEN.
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