KAFO Design Considerations
A good KAFO compensates for the biomechanical deficits of each patient by providing control at the ankle and the knee. A physical examination is needed to quantitively measure the biomechanical losses of each joint in order to develop a detailed, custom-designed prescription. The orthosis should interfere with the joint motion as little as possible while effectively correcting abnormal ambulation.
When choosing the materials of an orthosis, we need to take into consideration the cost, weight, safety, and functional reliability of the materials. To minimize the weight of the final product, we have several options: thermoplastics are tough and somewhat flexible; carbon fibers are thin, stiff, and lightweight; aluminum alloys are lighter than steel but subject to fatigue failures; titanium alloys provide strength that is similar to steel but is almost as light as aluminum.
The design of the orthosis should be structurally sound, functionally reliable, and also user-friendly (easy to put on/take off). We've learned from our research that KAFOs with an anterior opening are easier to put on than brim-style KAFOs (both quadrilateral brim-style and M-L brim-style). Also, to making donning easier, the thigh/femoral shell and the calf/tibial shell should be open on the same side (although the KAFO is structurally more stable if they're open on opposite sides). In other words, the two shells should both have posterior openings or both anterior openings.
(Click here to read more about different KAFO designs)
With regard to the metal bars connecting the thigh and calf shells, a single, lateral bar provides sufficient support for toddlers since they have small body weight and low activity level.
Click here to view the source
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Weekly Update
12/02/2015
During the past week, our group had been trying to do research and find a mentor who will help us along the way. We are waiting to hear from Dr. Jan Grudziak, a pediatric orthopedic specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Information about a newly designed KAFO brace with a different mechanism will be updated under "Types of KAFO".
Tomorrow, we are heading to TechShop for our first vacuum forming class. Hopefully, the class will inform and inspire us to create a brace with the help of the vacuum forming machine.
02/08/2016
Check out newest information on our 2nd CAOC meeting and the third iteration pics under their corresponding tabs.
03/08/2016 Techshop Presentation
To get feedback and critique from professionals, we presented our project at Techshop.
Ratchet?? Transmitter???
03/12-3/27 SPRING BREAK
To build the fourth iteration of our KAFO model, we obtained a 3D leg scan of a four-year-old girl who's not affected by the disease. This time instead of drawing a generic shape of the KAFO, we horizontally sliced the leg and used the "LOFT" feature to create the brace so that it is contoured to the leg scan. The results are promising -- the shape of the KAFO turn out to be a lot more organic than our last iteration and is also much thinner.
04/01 PRSEF
Today we presented our project at the Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair and won two awards: a four-year scholarship at Harrisburg University and a Naval Science Award from the Office of Naval Research. At this point we have a functional prototype built upon Karen's leg scan, but we have yet to finish building the latest model based on our teacher's 4-year-old daughter's leg. The Arduino microcontroller now has an LED light which turns on when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is beyond the threshold values (too high or too low). Our next step is to add straps to the brace and incorporate the pressure sensor into our design.
04/07/2016
Today we finalized our plan for our project for the STEM Symposium on May 19th. Our goals are:
-have our teacher's daughter try on our KAFO and walk in it to get relevant data (i.e. pressure data)
-attempt printing with different materials and different densities
-show display of data (on computer or LCD screen or phone)
During the past week, our group had been trying to do research and find a mentor who will help us along the way. We are waiting to hear from Dr. Jan Grudziak, a pediatric orthopedic specialist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Information about a newly designed KAFO brace with a different mechanism will be updated under "Types of KAFO".
Tomorrow, we are heading to TechShop for our first vacuum forming class. Hopefully, the class will inform and inspire us to create a brace with the help of the vacuum forming machine.
02/08/2016
Check out newest information on our 2nd CAOC meeting and the third iteration pics under their corresponding tabs.
03/08/2016 Techshop Presentation
To get feedback and critique from professionals, we presented our project at Techshop.
Ratchet?? Transmitter???
03/12-3/27 SPRING BREAK
To build the fourth iteration of our KAFO model, we obtained a 3D leg scan of a four-year-old girl who's not affected by the disease. This time instead of drawing a generic shape of the KAFO, we horizontally sliced the leg and used the "LOFT" feature to create the brace so that it is contoured to the leg scan. The results are promising -- the shape of the KAFO turn out to be a lot more organic than our last iteration and is also much thinner.
04/01 PRSEF
Today we presented our project at the Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair and won two awards: a four-year scholarship at Harrisburg University and a Naval Science Award from the Office of Naval Research. At this point we have a functional prototype built upon Karen's leg scan, but we have yet to finish building the latest model based on our teacher's 4-year-old daughter's leg. The Arduino microcontroller now has an LED light which turns on when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is beyond the threshold values (too high or too low). Our next step is to add straps to the brace and incorporate the pressure sensor into our design.
04/07/2016
Today we finalized our plan for our project for the STEM Symposium on May 19th. Our goals are:
-have our teacher's daughter try on our KAFO and walk in it to get relevant data (i.e. pressure data)
-attempt printing with different materials and different densities
-show display of data (on computer or LCD screen or phone)
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