CLUBFOOT KICKBAR: DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMPROVED BRACE FOR USE FOLLOWING CORRECTION OF CLUBFOOT

摘要

The critical final phase of treatment for congenital talipes equinovarus, commonly referred to as clubfoot, using the Ponseti Method requires parents to use a brace in order to maintain the correct foot posture for 12-14 hours each night until four years of age. Parents have been vocal about a desire to allow their children some mobility while maintaining correct alignment for the treatment of this deformity. To that end, the University of Iowa's medical device prototyping facility Protostudios utilizes 3D CAD design, rapid prototyping principles and state of the art 3D printers to quickly iterate upon the concept of a reciprocating brace that allows for the prescribed posture of abduction and dorsiflexion in a corrected clubfoot while allowing more mobility and higher degrees of comfort for the child. Each iteration of the design was tested for fitment with the commercially available shoe and platform system developed for the Ponseti Method of Clubfoot correction. Special attention was paid to the attachment and removal process of the brace to ensure that parents of children with the deformity would have no problem employing the brace for the prescribed frequency and duration while preventing the children from removing or destroying the brace or being pinched by its reciprocating action.