Biomechanical design of a new SCKAFO (Stanse-Control-Ankle-Knee-Foot-Orthosis)

Abstract

The main goal of this research work is to design and a new dynamic Stance Control Knee Ankle Foot Orthosis (SCKAFO) to support people with gait disorders, namely from patients with quadriceps femoris muscular weakness. It is expected that this new orthotic device have a superior performance when compared to those currently available, and aspects such as weight, cost and type of actuation will play a crucial role. A bibliographic and field research is presented and computational models have been developed in order to analyze the human gait in different scenarios, with and without orthosis. The computational models allow the evaluation and quantification of biomechanical parameters, such as knee angle during human gait, foot-ground reaction forces and metabolic cost. A new SCKAFO orthosis will be designed and built taking into account several performance aspects such as geometrical, kinematical, dynamical, material, ergonomical and biomechanical. Finally, some patients with relevant knee pathologies that affect the human gait will be selected, with the intent to perform clinical and medical tests and validate the concepts and solutions proposed.