JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Brain or central nervous system injuries often lead to impaired walking ability, and traditional ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) can improve gait but is cumbersome to produce and difficult to meet individual needs. In recent years, 3D printing technology has shown potential for assistive device manufacturing due to its high efficiency and accuracy, but clinical research in AFO is still limited.

Objective:

Individualized AFO was created using 3D scanning and printing technology, and a nine-week training program was used to test its effect on improving stroke patients' walking speed, balance, and gait.

Methods:

This study, 20 stroke patients were recruited to wear 3D AFO to test lower limb function, walking speed, and balance. Methods include the "Walking Speed Test (GST)", "Borg Balance Scale (BBS)" and "Stand Up Walking Test (TUG)" to measure the clinical effect of patients wearing AFO.

Results:

Patients wearing 3D AFO walked significantly faster and performed better than those with conventional AFO versus those without AFO. Statistical analysis showed that the improvement in the withdrawal period reached a significant level (Z = 2.64, p < 0.01) and the observer confidence of the Borg balance scale reached 90.45%. Besides, the gait cycle was shortened to 9.8 seconds, and the walking speed was increased to 0.79 m/s, which effectively enhanced the patient's gait stability and walking ability.

Conclusions:

The experimental results showed that 3D AFO could effectively improve the walking speed and gait compensation of stroke patients. In the future, the influence of long-distance testing and the friction coefficient between different materials and the ground on adaptability can be discussed.