Conference Proceedings
Mechanical design of a lightweight compliant and adaptable active ankle foot orthosis
M Moltedo, T Bacek, K Junius, B Vanderborght, D Lefeber
Proceedings of the IEEE Ras and EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics | IEEE | Published : 2016
Abstract
The ankle joint is the main contributor in providing support to the body, ensuring forward progression and initiating the swing of the leg during the push-off phase of walking. However, its capability can be negatively altered by neuromuscular disorders. In these cases, an active ankle-foot orthosis (AAFO) can greatly enhance the rehabilitation of the affected patients. This paper presents the mechanical design of a lightweight and compliant AAFO, which can be used for rehabilitation purposes. The actuator is bidirectional, thus it can assist the ankle during both dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. With respect to most of the existing AAFOs, the presented one is adaptable to different subjects..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by European Commission's 7th Framework Program BioMot
Awarded by Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology as part of the project MIRAD
Awarded by FWO
Funding Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the European Commission's 7th Framework Program as part of the project BioMot (Grant Agreement number IFP7-ICT-2013-10-611695), by the Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology as part of the project MIRAD (IWT-SBO 120057) and by the FWO grant (no. G026214N).