Non-Invasive Fracture Stabilizing Orthosis

Description (excerpt)

This is a Continuation-in-Part of PCT international application PCT/US2023/032452 filed on 12 Sep. 2023 and claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 63/405,527 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on 12 Sep. 2022, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention is directed to a non-invasive fracture stabilization orthosis. The stabilization orthosis may help stabilize a limb with a bone fracture, for example, tibia and fibula bone fractures. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION There is a need for a non-invasive fracture stabilization orthosis that can be used for prolonged care, for example, in an austere environment or an environment in which medical help is not immediately available. Prolonged care may have several deleterious impacts on a medical or military unit. For example, leg bone fractures require vehicle transport, and evacuation may take days during which teams must remain mobile. The use of a litter for an injured person may take four people to carry, thereby removing five people from essential tasks. Furthermore, litter carry teams result in concentrating personnel in one area and are more exposed to adversarial threats. Thus, there remains a need for a fracture stabilization orthosis that can enable increased independent mobility for injured people having bone fractures. SUMMARY OF INVENTION The invention provides in a first embodiment a fracture stabilization orthosis comprising a fabric or fabric wrap and a plurality of struts, each strut insertable into a sleeve or pocket on the fabric or fabric wrap. The fabric or fabric wrap is shaped so that when it is wrapped around a limb it forms a frustum. The invention provides in a second embodiment further to any of the previous embodiments an orthosis in which the fabric or fabric wrap comprises an elastic material. The invention provides in a third embodiment further to any of the previous embodiments an orthosis in which each strut comprises two or more layered sheets of material. The invention provides in a fourth embodiment further to any of the previous embodiments an orthosis in which each strut comprises aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber laminate, fiberglass laminate, or KEVLAR® laminate. The invention provides in a fifth embodiment further to any of the previous embodiments an orthosis further comprising two pieces of foam on an inner surface of the fabric or fabric wrap, so that when the orthosis is wrapped around a lower leg, each foam piece rests along an opposing side of the tibia crest. The invention provides in a sixth embodiment further to any of the previous embodiments an orthosis in which the frustum has a pitch of about 0.6 to about 0.7, for example, about 0.66. The invention provides in a seventh embodiment further to any of the previous embodiments an orthosis further comprising a footplate connected to a bottom of the fabric or fabric wrap. The footplate may be foldable to substantially cover a top surface of a foot. The invention provides in a first method embodiment a method of stabilizing a fracture comprising providing a fracture stabilization orthosis according to any of the previous embodiments and wrapping the fracture stabilization orthosis around a limb of a person having a bone fracture. The bone fracture may be a tibia or fibula bone fracture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fracture stabilization orthosis according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flat front perspective view of a fracture stabilization orthosis according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a fracture stabilization orthosis according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view of a fracture stabilization orthosis showing a strut comprising layered sheets or strips being insertable into a po