Experimental and computational analysis of composite ankle-foot orthosis

Dequan Zou; Tao He; Michael Dailey; Kirk E Smith; Matthew J Silva; David R Sinacore; Michael J Mueller; Mary K Hastings

doi:10.1682/JRRD.2014-02-0046

Back

Experimental and computational analysis of composite ankle-foot orthosis

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Experimental and computational analysis of composite ankle-foot orthosis

Dequan Zou, Tao He, Michael Dailey, Kirk E Smith, Matthew J Silva, David R Sinacore, Michael J Mueller and Mary K Hastings

Journal of rehabilitation research and development, Vol.51(10), pp.1525-1536

2014

DOI: 10.1682/JRRD.2014-02-0046

PMCID: PMC5976490

PMID: 25856154

Files and links (1)

url

https://doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2014-02-0046View

Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Carbon fiber (CF) ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) can improve gait by increasing ankle plantar-flexor power and improving plantar-flexor ankle joint moment and energy efficiency compared with posterior leaf spring AFOs made of thermoplastic. However, fabricating a CF AFO to optimize the performance of the individual user may require multiple AFOs and expensive fabrication costs. Finite element analysis (FEA) models were developed to predict the mechanical behavior of AFOs in this study. Three AFOs, two made of CF composite material and one made of thermoplastic material, were fabricated and then mechanically tested to produce force-displacement data. The FEA models were validated by comparing model predictions with mechanical testing data performed under the same loading and boundary conditions. The actual mechanical testing demonstrated that CF performs better than thermoplastic. The simulation results showed that FEA models produced accurate predictions for both types of orthoses. The relative error of the energy return ratio predicted by the CF AFO FEA model developed in this study is less than 3%. We conclude that highly accurate FEA models will allow orthotists to improve CF AFO fabrication without wasting resources (time and money) on trial and error fabrications that are expensive and do not consistently improve AFO and user performance.

Details

Title: Subtitle: Experimental and computational analysis of composite ankle-foot orthosis
Creators: Dequan Zou - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Tao He - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Michael Dailey - Orthotic & Prosthetic Design, St. Louis, MO
Kirk E Smith - Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and
Matthew J Silva - Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
David R Sinacore - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Michael J Mueller - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Mary K Hastings - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of rehabilitation research and development, Vol.51(10), pp.1525-1536
DOI: 10.1682/JRRD.2014-02-0046
PMID: 25856154
PMCID: PMC5976490
NLM abbreviation: J Rehabil Res Dev
ISSN: 0748-7711
eISSN: 1938-1352
Language: English
Date published: 2014
Academic Unit: Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Biology
Record Identifier: 9984070825302771

Metrics

39 Record Views

30 Times Cited - Web of Science