Air Muscle Powered Ankle Foot Orthotic

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Couper ◽  
Robert Day ◽  
Patrick Renahan ◽  
Patrick Streeter ◽  
Elizabeth DeBartolo
Keyword(s):  
Ankle Joint ◽  
Foot Drop ◽  
Broad Term ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Air Muscle ◽  
Lou Gehrig’S Disease ◽  
Foot Orthotic ◽  
Lou Gehrig's Disease ◽  
Difficulty Walking

Foot drop, a disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, is a broad term used to describe a neurological or muscular-skeletal condition that restricts an individual’s ability to dorsiflex — raise — their foot about the ankle joint. Common causes of foot drop are stroke, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), MS, and injury. Unassisted, an individual with foot drop will have difficulty walking as the affected foot easily catches on obstacles. Foot drop causes clients to drag their toes on each step, greatly increasing the risk of a trip or fall.

A Wearable Gait Monitor and Terrain Prediction System

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Sullivan ◽  
Elizabeth DeBartolo ◽  
Kathleen Lamkin-Kennard
Keyword(s):  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Primary Diagnosis ◽  
Foot Drop ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Prosthetic Device ◽  
Walking Activity ◽  
System 2 ◽  
The Many ◽  
Foot Orthotic ◽  
Difficulty Walking

Nearly one million people in 2009 were discharged from the hospital with stroke as the primary diagnosis [1]. One of the many lasting side effects of a stroke can be foot drop, or an inability to dorsiflex the foot. In order to remedy this, many people wear an ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) post-stroke. Interviews with AFO users revealed that they frequently have difficulty walking on stairs and ramps, because the AFO limits the plantarflexion that is natural in navigating those ground types. An active AFO that adapts to changing ground terrain would provide a more natural gait pattern for these individuals, if it could be designed to respond appropriately to upcoming terrain. In order to respond to terrain, the device must first identify the terrain. This paper outlines a system [2] that simultaneously predicts the type of terrain a user is approaching as they walk, and captures information about that user’s walking activity. Such a system can be used as the control system for an active orthotic or prosthetic device. Additionally, this system can be used as a stand-alone gait and terrain monitor to aid in rehabilitation monitoring in between patient visits with a clinician.

scholarly journals Mimicking Aspects of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and Lou Gehrig's Disease in Rats via TDP-43 Overexpression

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason B Tatom ◽  
David B Wang ◽  
Robert D Dayton ◽  
Omar Skalli ◽  
Michael L Hutton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration ◽  
Lou Gehrig’S Disease ◽  
Lou Gehrig's Disease

scholarly journals Immediate effects of using ankle-foot orthoses in the kinematics of gait and in the balance reactions in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-93
Author(s):  
Rouse Barbosa Pereira ◽  
Lílian Ramiro Felício ◽  
Arthur de Sá Ferreira ◽  
Sara Lúcia de Menezes ◽  
Marcos Raimundo Gomes de Freitas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ankle Joint ◽  
Gait Cycle ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Foot Drop ◽  
Hereditary Neuropathy ◽  
Significant Interaction Effect ◽  
Charcot Marie Tooth ◽  
Charcot Marie Tooth Disease ◽  
Wilks Lambda ◽  
Dynamic Gait Index

The Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is a peripheral hereditary neuropathy with progressive distal muscle atrophy and weakness, mainly in lower limbs, that evolves limiting the gait and balance. The objective of the study was to analyse the immediate effects of using Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO) in the gait's kinematics and balance in patients with CMT. Nine individuals were evaluated by Tinetti scales and Dynamic Gait Index (DGI) and gait's kinematics parameters through the motion capturing system. These evaluations were done before and during the use of AFO. Two-Way repeated analysis of variance was done to try the main or interaction effects related to "orthoses" and "repetition". A significant interaction effect was observed between the gait cycle and use the AFO to the average velocity (Wilks' Lambda=0.156, p=0.030, η2=0.844) like significant main effects in the ankle joint to the gait cycle (Wilks' Lambda=0.091, p=0.008, η2=0.909) and the use of AFO (Wilks' Lambda=0.444, p=0.013, η2=0.556). It was observed a significant change in the DGI scale during the use of AFO (p<0.05). The use of AFO promoted immediate effects on gait kinematics and in balance reactions. The results suggest that the use of AFO is an efficient strategy to stabilize the ankle joint, besides avoiding foot drop in patients with CMT.

Lou Gehrig’s Disease

JAMA ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 313 (4) ◽  
pp. 425
Author(s):  
Michael Collins
Keyword(s):  
Lou Gehrig’S Disease ◽  
Lou Gehrig's Disease

Terrain Characterization Using Modified RANSAC Analysis of Human Gait Data

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Sullivan ◽  
Elizabeth A. DeBartolo ◽  
Kathleen Lamkin-Kennard
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Surface Profile ◽  
Lower Leg ◽  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Test Subject ◽  
Foot Drop ◽  
Human Gait ◽  
Post Stroke ◽  
The Many ◽  
Foot Orthotic

One of the many lasting side effects of a stroke can be foot drop, or an inability to dorsiflex the foot. In order to remedy this, many people wear an ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) post-stroke. One of the many troubles these individuals face is in dealing with obstacles such as stairs and ramps, because the AFO limits the plantarflexion that is natural in navigating these obstacles [1,2]. The end goal of this research is to create an active AFO that adapts to changing ground terrain, providing a more natural gait pattern. This paper presents the first part of this work: a means for identifying terrain in order to control an AFO. This has been accomplished using an infrared (IR) range sensor attached to the lower leg, used to measure the surface profile of the ground just ahead of a test subject. Using a modified RANSAC technique to fit experimental gait data, standardized gait profiles for different terrain have been quantified and shown to be reproducible, indicating the utility of the technique for terrain identification and AFO control.

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