Abstract
Patients with diabetes often desperately need ankle foot orthotics (AFO) to perform daily activities. In Indonesia, experienced shoemakers employ manual procedures and follow the prescriptions given by a doctor or orthopaedic technician. This process remains traditional in that each pair of AFO is handmade, not precise, and is time consuming. This article describes the development of the design process and fabrication of a new AFO product for patients with diabetes based on a computer aided reverse engineering system (CARESystem). The reverse innovative design approach method discussed in this paper sought to achieve the best shoe last. The results also shows a functional test with highly satisfactory results. The shape of the shoe fit the standard AFO and the first patient experienced comfort for the 4-week long testing period. This article proves that the CARESystem technology successfully reduced the time for both the design and fabrication of the AFOs by 64%.
Highlights
Diabetes is a growing health problem around the world
The paper has presented a new method using computer aided design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), and a CNC tool to design and manufacture shoe lasts for ankle foot orthosis, as well as the fabrication of a new ankle foot orthotics (AFO), for patients with diabetes
Regarding clinical conditions in Indonesia, available commercial software or academic protoypes remain unused because AFOs continue to use conventional technology and are handmade
Summary
Diabetes is a growing health problem around the world. WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that by 2030, more than 334 million people will suffer from diabetes (see Bernabeu et al, 2013; Davia et al, 2011, www.who.int/diabetes), while in 2009, diabetes affected 220 million people. Diabetes is a lifelong condition that seriously affects a person’s quality of life. The progress of medical treatments for curing diabetes has resulted in a considerable lengthening of life expectancy for many sick people.
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