Patent ID: 7270644

Claim:
An ankle-foot orthosis, comprising: a monolithic structure having inner and outer surfaces spaced by a variable thickness and consisting (1) a footplate having a line of progression extending from a heel portion to a middle portion to a toe portion of the footplate, the footplate including at least two superimposed and discrete structural layers including a plurality of fibers impregnated with a polymeric material, each having a different length and extending along at least a segment of a length of the footplate, the footplate defining regions with different thicknesses and stiffness, and (2) a resilient posterior leg support having first and second end portions with a middle portion therebetween, the first end portion being inseparably connected to the heel portion of the footplate; wherein the leg support member and the at least two structural layers of the footplate are integrated together such that the fibers of the footplate are interleaved with the fibers of the leg support member.