February 2, 1995: Vol26n15: Research team lightweight collar to help patients with weak neck muscles

By MARY BETH SPINA
News Bureau Staff
A lightweight collar that provides head support and stability for
those with weak neck muscles caused by neuromuscular disease has been
designed by a research team at the University at Buffalo.
	The patented collar was designed by UB engineering student
Lillian Pascale and Robert Catopovic, a certified prosthetist and
orthotist. Joseph Mollendorf, a professor of mechanical and aerospace
engineering, served as supervising faculty member.
	A prototype was designed for a local patient with myasthenia
gravis as part of work for a course taught by Mollendorf and funded
through a National Science Foundation grant.
	In the course, students are assigned to design and develop
novel and assistive devices for specific individuals who need devices
that help them perform everyday activities.
	"Padded Philadelphia and other types of cervical collars were
not designed for patients with chronically weak neck muscles caused by
diseases such as myasthenia gravis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(Lou Gehrig's Disease)," says UB neurology professor Jerry Chutkow,
the physician who requested that a collar be designed for one of his
patients.
	These patients, whose heads automatically drop forward, with
their chins resting on their chests, need a device that comfortably
provide them with stability to hold their heads up.
	But they also require a device that gives them mobility when
eating and talking, something that is not provided by the Philadelphia
collar.
	 The UB plastic collar features a padded chin support attached
to a unit that curves around both sides of the neck and extends to the
torso, where it is secured with a Velcro strap.
	Lightweight and tailored for the individual wearer, the
flesh-colored device can be worn unobtrusively under clothing, is easy
to clean, and is less bulky and more comfortable to wear than other
cervical collars. A detachable head strap can easily be affixed to the
device to hold the head immobile for individuals who have incurred
temporary neck injuries.
	More than 20 of the prototypes have been made by a Rochester
firm using funds from UB's Invention Commercialization Enhancement
Program.