Development of Control Unit for Ankle-Foot Orthosis

In the human body, the ankle joint is the most important part of the body that helps to maintain walking ability. Ankle-foot orthosis is a device used by the patient with foot-drop, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis for their walking assistance. People with stroke or cerebral palsy often face challenges related to walking because of neurological and musculoskeletal impairments. These condition cause muscle weakness, spasticity, balance, gait abnormalities. This is developed to help the people with weaker ankles or weaker muscles to lessen falling and rising and enhance balance. Based on gait phase detection the AFO uses a high torque servo motor to provide ankle movements. It is the active part of the AFO that is moved by on-off control system and that is powered by an ankle sensor, that recognize the phase of gait. The force sensor helps to monitor the pressure distribution during walking and that is monitored via Bluetooth device through mobile apps. This will provide enhanced support and assistance for the user. Then it improves the angle of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion of ankle joint for patients. The proper fitting of the AFO and adjustments in the alignment can help to improve the balance and stability while walking. Proper fitting and alignment help to reduce the risk of falling also contains regular monitoring of the foot pressures. AFO helps to improve the mobility and gait stability while walking. It gives better comfort and perfect fit to the user. Used to enhance the stability and balance and also helps to the early detection of misalignment and pressure issues. Improve the quality of life also it monitors continuously.