Patent ID: 8500668

Claim:
An ankle-foot orthosis comprising: an upper portion, a lower portion pivotally connected to the upper portion by a hinge capable of providing variable resistance to movement of said upper portion relative to said lower portion, at least one sensor; a controller operably connected to receive input from each said at least one sensor and generate an output based on said input, an electrical stimulation unit operably connected to said controller, at least one electrode associated with at least one of said upper and lower portions of said orthosis for stimulation of at least one peroneal muscle of an intended wearer when said orthosis is worn by said intended wearer, said at least one electrode being operably connected to said electrical stimulation unit for activation by said electrical stimulation unit responsive to the output from said controller, and adjustable timing circuitry which intermittently prevents operation of the electrical stimulation unit while simultaneously causing the hinge to increase the variable resistance to movement of the upper portion of the ankle-foot orthosis relative to the lower portion of the ankle-foot orthosis.