Predicting Clinical Outcomes Using a Physical Platform to Simulate Orthoses with Different Characteristics

Ankle-foot orthoses (AFO's) are a tool commonly prescribed by healthcare practitioners to address gait and balance disturbances due to weakness, spasticity, or poor lower-limb muscle control. The selection of a suitable AFO is a time-consuming, iterative process that depends largely on the experience of the orthotist, who must take into consideration a patient's gait pattern, body mass, and activity level. To facilitate the selection of AFO's with characteristics that are optimized on a subject-by-subject basis, we propose the use of the ExoBoot developed by Dephy Inc as a platform to simulate the mechanical characteristics of different AFO's and assess which AFO design is best-suited for a given individual. The Dephy platform is uniquely suited to the task because it is equipped with sensors, real-time data logging, and precisely controlled torque delivery. Hence, the platform is capable of providing real-time kinematic data which can be used as an aid in selecting optimal AFO parameters.