Experimental comparisons of passive and powered ankle-foot orthoses in individuals with limb reconstruction. 2018

Elizabeth Russell Esposito, and Kelly A Schmidtbauer, and Jason M Wilken
Center for the Intrepid, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center, JBSA Ft, Sam Houston, TX, USA.

Ankle-foot orthoses (AFO) are commonly prescribed to provide functional assistance for patients with lower limb injuries or weakness. Their passive mechanical elements can provide some energy return to improve walking ability, but cannot restore plantar flexor push-off. Powered AFOs provide an assistive torque about the ankle to address the limitations of passive devices, but current designs have yet to be implemented on a large scale clinically. To compare passive AFOs to a new untethered, powered AFO design in a clinical population with lower limb reconstruction. A crossover study design, conducted on three individuals with lower limb reconstruction, compared gait mechanics at a standardized speed (based on leg length) in 4 AFO conditions: 1. None (shoes only), 2. Blue Rocker (BR, Allard, USA), 3. Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis (IDEO), and 4. PowerFoot Orthosis (PFO BionX Medical Technologies, Inc.). The PFO was a custom, battery-powered device whose damping and power were capable to being tuned to meet patient needs. Subjects performed biomechanical gait analysis and metabolic testing at slow, moderate and fast speeds. Dependent variables included total limb power (calculated using a unified deformable segment model), mechanical work, mechanical efficiency, ankle motion, net metabolic cost across three speeds, and performance measures were calculated. Effect sizes (d) were calculated and d > 0.80 denoted a large effect. Net positive work (d > 1.17) and efficiency (d > 1.43) were greatest in the PFO. There were large effects for between limb differences in positive work for all conditions except the PFO (d = 0.75). The PFO normalized efficiency between the affected and unaffected limbs (d = 0.50), whereas efficiency was less on the affected limb for all other conditions (d > 1.69). Metabolic rate was not consistently lowest in any one AFO condition across speeds. Despite some positive results of the PFO, patient preferred their daily use AFO (2 IDEO, 1 BR). All participants indicated that mass and size were concerns with using the PFO. A novel PFO resulted in more biomimetic mechanical work and efficiency than commercially-available and custom passive AFO models. Although the powered AFO provided some biomechanical benefits, further improvements are warranted to improve patient satisfaction.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067190 Exoskeleton Device Device designed to wear externally to support muscular skeletal system in various movements such as RANGE OF MOTIONS; WEIGHT-BEARING; GAIT; and LOCOMOTION. Robotic Exoskeleton,Device, Exoskeleton,Devices, Exoskeleton,Exoskeleton Devices,Exoskeleton, Robotic,Exoskeletons, Robotic,Robotic Exoskeletons
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D016512 Ankle Injuries Harm or hurt to the ankle or ankle joint usually inflicted by an external source. Ankle Sprains,Injuries, Ankle,Syndesmotic Injuries,Ankle Injury,Ankle Sprain,Injuries, Syndesmotic,Injury, Ankle,Injury, Syndesmotic,Sprain, Ankle,Sprains, Ankle,Syndesmotic Injury
D061826 Foot Orthoses Devices used to support or align the foot structure, or to prevent or correct foot deformities. Foot Arch Supports,Foot Orthosis,Foot Orthotic Devices,Orthotic Insoles,Orthotic Shoe Inserts,Arch Support, Foot,Arch Supports, Foot,Device, Foot Orthotic,Devices, Foot Orthotic,Foot Arch Support,Foot Orthotic Device,Insert, Orthotic Shoe,Inserts, Orthotic Shoe,Insole, Orthotic,Insoles, Orthotic,Orthoses, Foot,Orthosis, Foot,Orthotic Device, Foot,Orthotic Devices, Foot,Orthotic Insole,Orthotic Shoe Insert,Shoe Insert, Orthotic,Shoe Inserts, Orthotic,Support, Foot Arch,Supports, Foot Arch
D018409 Foot Injuries General or unspecified injuries involving the foot. Injuries, Foot,Turf Toe,Foot Injury,Injury, Foot,Turf Toes
D018592 Cross-Over Studies Studies comparing two or more treatments or interventions in which the subjects or patients, upon completion of the course of one treatment, are switched to another. In the case of two treatments, A and B, half the subjects are randomly allocated to receive these in the order A, B and half to receive them in the order B, A. A criticism of this design is that effects of the first treatment may carry over into the period when the second is given. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed) Cross-Over Design,Cross-Over Trials,Crossover Design,Crossover Studies,Crossover Trials,Cross Over Design,Cross Over Studies,Cross Over Trials,Cross-Over Designs,Cross-Over Study,Crossover Designs,Crossover Study,Design, Cross-Over,Design, Crossover,Designs, Cross-Over,Designs, Crossover,Studies, Cross-Over,Studies, Crossover,Study, Cross-Over,Study, Crossover,Trial, Cross-Over,Trial, Crossover,Trials, Cross-Over,Trials, Crossover

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