Patent ID: 11963897
Assignee: ORTHOTIC CARE SERVICES, LLP
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 6:
7. A dorsi-flexion control member attachable to an articulated Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) which has an upper boot member and a lower boot member which are hingeably coupled to one another to allow articulation about an ankle joint axis and thereby allow dorsi-flexion and plantar-flexion of a user's ankle in a sagittal plane, the dorsi-flexion control member comprising:
a planar elongated plate-shaped main body having a predetermined thickness and an elongate X-shape with a pair of upper arms, a pair of lower arms and a central portion, with the pair of upper arms extending from the central portion and the pair of lower arms extending from the central portion in a direction opposite the pair of upper arms, the central portion having a central aperture therein through which a stop member protrudes from a rear portion of the upper boot member or the lower boot member, wherein the central aperture extends between points above and below a separation between the upper boot member and lower boot member;
wherein the pair of upper arms are configured to be attachable to the upper boot member at a corresponding first upper boot attachment location and a corresponding second upper boot attachment location which are configured to be situated on opposite sides of the sagittal plane, and the pair of lower arms are configured to be attachable to the lower boot member at a corresponding first lower attachment location and a corresponding second lower boot attachment location which are also configured to be on opposite sides of the sagittal plane, and wherein the first upper attachment location and the first lower attachment location are configured to be equidistant from the sagittal plane and wherein the second upper attachment location and the second lower attachment location are configured to be equidistant from the sagittal plane, the plate-shaped main body conforming to an adjacent portion of the AFO;
wherein the main body is formed of an elastic material with a predetermined elastic characteristic, with the elastic characteristic, the predetermined thickness and the elongate X-shape of the main body configured to provide controlled resistance to dorsi-flexion in the sagittal plane in a manner that causes a pair of resistive forces between the upper boot member and the lower boot member to be situated on both sides of the sagittal plane.