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Use of gait simulation in the evaluation of a spring-loaded knee joint orthosis for Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients

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Abstract

Conventional knee-ankle orthoses are still widely used in the management of lower-extremities instabilities. Often, these supporting devices maintain the leg in extension during gait and contribute to an increase in postural lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis. This paper presents a new dynamic knee-ankle orthosis equipped with a spring-loaded knee mechanism which provides a more natural and comfortable gait by allowing knee flexion while insuring knee stability during stance. A mathematical model of the dynamic joint is proposed and a nonlinear optimisation technique is used to determine its parameters. A simulation of the dynamic joint behaviour over a gait cycle is presented and its main characteristics are clinically verified in a prototype fitted bilaterally to a Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    P. Allard, P. S. Thiry & G. Drouin

  2. Pediatric Research Center, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    P. Allard, M. Duhaime & G. Drouin

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sainte-Justine Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    M. Duhaime

Authors
  1. P. Allard
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  2. M. Duhaime
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  3. P. S. Thiry
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  4. G. Drouin
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Allard, P., Duhaime, M., Thiry, P.S. et al. Use of gait simulation in the evaluation of a spring-loaded knee joint orthosis for Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 19, 165–170 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02442710

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02442710

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