# Design of a Modular Plantar Orthosis System through the Application of TRIZ Methodology Tools
## 3 Results
### Generating a Prototype
Based on the actions dictated by those principles and considering the ideality of the system in terms of the engineering parameters, the inventive principles 1, 13, 17 and 31 called segmentation, inversion, transition to a new dimension, and porous materials, respectively, were selected to guide the design of the system towards the expiration of the proposed technical contradiction. In pursuit of the requirements, the following particular characteristics of the plantar orthosis system to be designed were obtained:  
* System structure:
* Design divided into four independent parts:
* Plantar base, see Figure 1.
* Arch support, see Figure 2.
* Metatarsal button, see Figure 3.
* Rearfoot wedge, see Figure 4.
* System functions:
* The role of each part:
* Plantar base: Lodges inside the user's footwear. * Arch support: Provides support to the mid-foot area. * Metatarsal button: Decreases pressure in metatarsal region. * Rearfoot wedge: Compensates for pronator and supinator movements for axis restoration. * Interaction among system components:
* All parts have a plurality of holes. From the lower face of the arch, button, and wedge, a series of bolts come out to go into the holes in the base, see Figure 5.
* The arch support, metatarsal button and rearfoot wedge are assembled to the plantar base, this last one on its lower side. All parts can be incorporated or only some of them, this will depend on each patient's need, see Figure 6.
* The parts of the system assembled to the plantar base are movable. The arch support has longitudinal movement. The retrocapital button will move transversely and the rearfoot wedge will be inserted in the medial or lateral area. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Generic Parameters**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Generic Parameters that Degrade when Implementing the Improvement**} \\ \cline{2-5}  & \#9 & \#29 & \#32 & \#39 \\
**System** & **Speed** & **Manufacturing Accuracy** & **Manufacturability** & **Productivity** \\ \hline \#12, Form & 35, 15, 34, 18 & 32, 30, 40 & 1, 32, 17, 28 & 17, 26, 34, 10 \\ \#27, Reliability & 21, 35, 11, 28 & 11, 32, 1 & 1, 35, 29, 38 \\ \#35 Adaptability & 35, 10, 14 & & 1, 13, 31 & 35, 28, 6, 27 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Matrix to resolve the technical contradiction presented by the proposed ideal plantar orthosis system. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Principle**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Plantar Orthosis Requirements for Its Design from the Application of the Principle**} \\ \hline \#1, Segmentation & \multicolumn{2}{c}{Sectioned system, divided into independent parts.} \\ \#13, Investment & \multicolumn{2}{c}{System with movable parts that are commonly found fixed in traditional systems.} \\ \#17, Transition to a new dimension & \multicolumn{2}{c}{System that uses assembly of objects and utilizes both sides of certain areas.} \\ \#31, Porous materials & \multicolumn{2}{c}{System that has pores (holes).} \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: General system requirements. Figure 4: Rearfoot wedge seen from the top in a raised plane. Figure 5: Coupling between the arch support and the plantar base as seen from the bottom of the base. Figure 3: Metatarsal button as seen from the top. The previous characteristics guided the design work towards obtaining a plantar orthosis system made up of independent modules related to each other through their coupling to a central module. Each module was designed independently, and its 3D model is shown below:  
Figure 1 shows the central module called the plantar base, which has a plurality of holes equidistant and aligned with each other to attach the remaining modules to it. Figure 2 shows the arch support, which has a plurality of ventilation holes. A series of equidistant bolts protrude from its lower side and are aligned at one end to attach to the upper side of the plantar base and provide longitudinal mobility.