title: The effect of a powered ankle foot orthosis on walking in a stroke subject: a case study.
abstract: [Purpose] Standing and walking are impaired in stroke patients. Therefore, assisted devices are required to restore their walking abilities. The ankle foot orthosis with an external powered source is a new type of orthosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a powered ankle foot orthosis compared with unpowered orthoses in a stroke patient. [Subjects and Methods] A single stroke subject participated in this study. The subject was fitted with three types of ankle foot orthosis (powered, posterior leg spring, and carbon ankle foot orthoses). He was asked to walk with and without the three types of orthoses, and kinetic and kinematic parameters were measured. [Results] The results of the study showed that the moments applied on the ankle, knee, and hip joints increased while walking with the powered ankle foot orthosis. [Conclusion] As the powered ankle foot orthosis influences the moments of the ankle, knee, and hip joints, it can increase the standing and walking abilities of stroke patients more than other available orthoses. Therefore, it is recommended to be used in rehabilitation programs for stroke patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthotics and Prosthetics, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pourghasem
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Ismail Ebrahimi
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Takamjani
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Rehabilitation Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Taghi
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamali
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jannesari
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Material Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA.
authors.forename: Iman
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Salafian
keywords: External powered orthosis; Stroke; Walking