Quaresma C, Lopes B, Jacinto J, Robalo T, Matos M, Quintão C. OrthoRehab: Development of a New Methodology for the Comparison Study Between Different Types of Ankle-Foot Orthoses in Foot Dysfunction.
Front Digit Health 2021;
2:589521. [PMID:
34713060 PMCID:
PMC8522015 DOI:
10.3389/fdgth.2020.589521]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Foot dysfunction is one of the most likely consequences of rheumatoid arthritis and stroke. It is characterized by severe changes in the gait pattern due to a significant increase in the plantar flexion. Some of these dysfunctions can be compensated by using an ankle–foot orthosis. However, the clinical decision about which orthosis best suits the patient creates a real problem for physicians/therapists.
Purpose: The main goal of this paper is to present a quantitative support tool that can assist the physicians/therapists in deciding which orthosis is most suitable for each subject.
Methodology: In order to achieve such goal, a platform named OrthoRehab was developed, and it was tested in three conditions: without any orthosis and with two different ankle–foot orthoses. The data were acquired in the Gait Laboratory of Rehabilitation Medicine Center of Alcoitão using a VICON NEXUS 1.8.5® motion capture system that allows the capturing of kinematic and kinetic data.
Results: The results reveal that OrthoRehab is a user-friendly, easy to apply tool that analyzes very relevant data for the clinical staff.
Conclusion: The developed decision support tool, OrthoRehab, offers a quantitative analysis and provides insight to which orthosis achieves the best performance in comparison with the patient's gait pattern with no orthosis.
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