Title: Recent advances on ankle foot orthosis for gait rehabilitation: a review

Authors: Jitumani Sarma; Nitin Sahai; Dinesh Bhatia

Addresses: Department of Biomedical Engineering, North East Hill University, Shillong, 793022, India ' Department of Biomedical Engineering, North East Hill University, Shillong, 793022, India ' Department of Biomedical Engineering, North East Hill University, Shillong, 793022, India

Abstract: Since the early 1980s, hydraulic and pneumatic device are used to explore methods of orthotic devices for lower limb. Over the past decades, significant development has been made by researchers in rehabilitation robotics associating assistive orthotic device for the lower limb extremities. The aim in writing this review article is to present a detailed insight towards the development of the controlled ankle foot orthosis (AFO) device for enhancing the functionality of people disabled by injury to the lower limb or by neuromuscular disorders such as multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, etc. Different types of approaches towards design, actuation and control strategies of passive and active AFOs are analysed in this article considering gait rehabilitation. In currently available commercialised ankle foot orthotic devices for lower limb, to overcome the weakness and instability produced by drop foot and to follow natural gait is still a challenge. This paper also focuses the impact of active control of AFO device mainly to enhance the functionality of lower limb reducing the deformities. Researchers have put in huge amount of efforts in terms of modelling, simulating and controlling of such devices mainly for gait rehabilitation with kinematic and dynamics analysis.

Keywords: foot drop; ankle foot orthosis; gait; dorsiflexion; plantarflexion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2020.107711

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2020 Vol.33 No.2, pp.159 - 173

Received: 12 May 2017
Accepted: 13 Sep 2017
Published online: 10 Jun 2020 *

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