Ielapi A, Vasiliauskaite E, Hendrickx M, Forward M, Lammens N, Van Paepegem W, Deckers J P, Vermandel M, De Beule M
Institute Biomedical Technology (IBiTech)-bioMMeda, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, Block B, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
SIM vzw, Technologiepark 935, 9052, Zwijnaarde, Belgium.
BMC Res Notes. 2018 Sep 5;11(1):649. doi: 10.1186/s13104-018-3752-4.
The purpose of this study was the construction of a new semi-automated experimental setup for the evaluation of the stiffness of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) around an axis aligned to the anatomical ankle joint during the second rocker of the gait. The setup, developed in close collaboration with the orthopedic device company V!GO NV (Wetteren, Belgium), allows measurement of plantarflexion and dorsiflexion in the sagittal plane for a maximal range of motion of 50° (- 25° plantarflexion up to 25° dorsiflexion) in a non-destructive way.
The mechanical properties of four 3D printed AFOs are investigated, based on the ranges of motion derived from the gait assessment of the patients when they walked with their AFO. The reliability of the stiffness measures was studied by the evaluation of the test-retest repeatability and the intra-tester and inter-tester variability. These studies revealed that the ankle stiffness can be measured with high reliability (ICC = 0.94-1.00). The obtained outcomes indicate that the experimental setup could be applied to measure the ankle stiffness of any topology of AFOs and, in the future, help finding the correlation with the information coming from the gait assessment of the patients.
本研究的目的是构建一种新的半自动实验装置，用于评估在步态的第二个摇摆期围绕与解剖学踝关节对齐的轴的踝足矫形器（AFO）的刚度。该装置是与骨科设备公司V!GO NV（比利时韦特伦）密切合作开发的，能够以无损方式测量矢状面内的跖屈和背屈，最大运动范围为50°（从-25°跖屈到25°背屈）。
基于患者佩戴AFO行走时步态评估得出的运动范围，研究了四种3D打印AFO的力学性能。通过评估重测重复性以及测试者内和测试者间的变异性，研究了刚度测量的可靠性。这些研究表明，踝关节刚度可以高度可靠地测量（组内相关系数=0.94-1.00）。获得的结果表明，该实验装置可用于测量任何拓扑结构AFO的踝关节刚度，并在未来有助于找出与患者步态评估信息之间的相关性。
