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

Claim 0:
1. An articulated Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) providing tailored dorsi-flexion support for a user's ankle, comprising:
an articulated boot configured to surround an ankle portion of a foot of the user, the articulated boot having an upper boot member and a lower boot member and a hinge component rotatably coupling the upper boot member and the lower boot member and configured to be positioned adjacent the user's ankle to allow dorsi-flexion movement of the user's ankle in a sagittal plane about a hinge axis; and
a planar elongated plate-shaped dorsi-flexion control member formed of a selected material having a predetermined elastic characteristic, the dorsi-flexion control member coupled at an upper portion thereof to the upper boot member and coupled at a lower portion thereof to the lower boot member to provide a predetermined level of resistance to the dorsi-flexion movement, the dorsi-flexion control member having a pair of upper connection points and a pair of lower connection points, wherein the pair of upper connection points are coupled to the upper boot member at a corresponding first upper connection location and a corresponding second upper connection location which are on either side of a rear AFO centerline axis, and the pair of lower connection points are coupled to the lower boot member at a first lower connection location and a second lower connection location which are on either side of the rear AFO centerline, with the first upper connection location and the first lower connection location being on a first side of and equidistant from the AFO centerline, and the second upper connection location and the second lower connection location being on a second side of and equidistant from the AFO centerline, wherein the dorsi-flexion control member bridges a gap between the upper boot and the lower boot, the plate-shaped dorsi-flexion control member configured to conform to an adjacent portion of the boot, wherein the dorsi-flexion control member provides the predetermined level of resistance depending on a thickness of the dorsi-flexion control member and the predetermined elastic characteristic of the selected material, and wherein the dorsi-flexion control member further has a hole in a central portion thereof through which a stop member protrudes from a rear portion of the upper boot member or the lower boot member, wherein the hole extends between points above and below the gap between the upper boot member and lower boot member.