Assistive Technology for Patient with Congenital Foot Deformity

Abstract

An assistive technology (AT) is any item, equipment or product used to increase, maintain or improve the functional capabilities of people with disabilities. The aim of this study was to design and develop two ATs in order to assist the needs of a male student from Universidad de Monterrey experiencing gait dysfunction and pain due to a congenital foot deformity preventing him from normal performance. These ATs included personalized orthopedic insoles to improve the participant’s posture and stability as well as two ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) to reduce the pain he presented. In order to design the orthopedic insoles, it was necessary to scan the participant’s feet; this was achieved using the photogrammetry technique. For the design of the AFOs, anthropometric measurements of the lower limbs were taken in order to modify a predefined 3D human model and obtain a digital model of the lower limbs. Both devices were manufactured using 3D printing technology. In order to analyze the participant’s progress and validate the effectiveness of the ATs, we developed a methodology for movement analysis based on the marker-less motion capture system Kinect 2. Data obtained was imported into Matlab in order to calculate lower limb joint angles and compare gait before and after using the ATs. Significant improvement was seen in the participant’s gait after two weeks of using the ATs. Moreover, we were able to demonstrate that the use of orthopedic insoles improved participant’s posture based on the correct alignment (180°) of the heel with the ankle. We believe these posture improvements could further impact on participant’s gait performance. Therefore, we expect a significant improvement on participant’s gait after constant use of both ATs developed.