New Robotic Device Helps Patients with Ankle-Foot Disorders

Our feet are certainly just a small part of the entire human body, but don't let them fool you. In each foot alone, there are 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 tendons, muscles and other ligaments working together to help us stand, walk and keep our balance. However, when one is not working properly, things can get a bit complicated. So is true for those suffering from ankle-foot disorders, including drop foot, a paralysis of muscles in the foot that may strike at any age.

Fortunately, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, the University of Southern California, MIT and BioSensics have developed a soft and wearable robotic device that could potentially help those suffering from this and other foot disorders prevent bruising and other issues. 

"The device could be used for short-term ankle rehabilitation as well, for example muscle training and exercise after cast or splint removal," said Yong-Lae Park, assistant professor at the robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University in the US, via The Times of India. 

Background information from the study shows how this active orthotic works with soft plastics and composite materials, along with artificial muscles (PAMs), lightweight sensors and control software to active motion in the ankle and foot.

Researchers attached the device's artificial tendon to four PAMs that work with three muscles in the foreleg as well as one in the back that controls the motion of the ankle. They found that the prototype was capable of generating an ankle range of 27° sagittal motion.

Unfortunately, researchers also found that the device was more difficult to control compared to the exoskeleton, and often required extra sensing to track the position of the foot and its motion.

"Controlling the device using the wearer's motion or muscle intention is our ongoing and future work," Park concluded. 

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