AUTHOR=Quaresma Cláudia , Lopes Barbara , Jacinto Jorge , Robalo Tiago , Matos Mariana , Quintão Carla 

TITLE=OrthoRehab: Development of a New Methodology for the Comparison Study Between Different Types of Ankle–Foot Orthoses in Foot Dysfunction

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Digital Health

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2020.589521

DOI=10.3389/fdgth.2020.589521

ISSN=2673-253X

ABSTRACT=<p>Foot dysfunction is one of the most likely consequences of rheumatoid arthritis and stroke. It is characterized by severe changes in the gait pattern due to a significant increase in the plantar flexion. Some of these dysfunctions can be compensated by using an ankle–foot orthosis. However, the clinical decision about which orthosis best suits the patient creates a real problem for physicians/therapists.</p><p><bold>Purpose:</bold> The main goal of this paper is to present a quantitative support tool that can assist the physicians/therapists in deciding which orthosis is most suitable for each subject.</p><p><bold>Methodology:</bold> In order to achieve such goal, a platform named OrthoRehab was developed, and it was tested in three conditions: without any orthosis and with two different ankle–foot orthoses. The data were acquired in the Gait Laboratory of Rehabilitation Medicine Center of Alcoitão using a VICON NEXUS 1.8.5<sup>®</sup> motion capture system that allows the capturing of kinematic and kinetic data.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The results reveal that OrthoRehab is a user-friendly, easy to apply tool that analyzes very relevant data for the clinical staff.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The developed decision support tool, OrthoRehab, offers a quantitative analysis and provides insight to which orthosis achieves the best performance in comparison with the patient's gait pattern with no orthosis.</p>