BIOENGINEERING DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOWER-EXTREMITY ORTHOTIC DEVICES.

Ten orthoses were developed, representing new design concepts which were based on three original prototypes. These concepts are a total departure from conventional brace designs and employ unique applications of engineering principles such as the spiral helix to control the foot and ankle in all planes, while permitting normal ranges of motion; prosthetic alignment and control principles to stabilize a paralytic or structurally unstable knee without resorting to a knee lock; and modern plastics of various types to produce lighter, less obtrusive, noiseless, and more cosmetically pleasing devices as compared to conventional braces. New trends emerged in the course of this study which are common to all orthoses developed. Several of the designs have been developed to a point of general clinical application.