Table 1
The materials and categories of modern AFOs and their effect on patients with foot impair.
| Author | Ailment | Category | Material | Characteristic | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. Bromwich et al. (2011) (Bromwich, James, Stewart, Emery, & Quinlivan, 2012). | Patients with duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). | AFO footwear combination (AFOFC) | Carbon composite | Adjustable ankle hinges | 1. Improved walking distance; 2. Reduced step width and double support time; 3. Increased walking speed and step length; 4. Decreased anterior pelvic tilt; 5. Reduced calf pain; 6. Near normal range of motion at the knee; 7. Knee valgus moments normalised to varus moments; 8. Rreduced plantarflexion contracture. |
| D.J.J. Bregman et al. (2012) (Bregman et al., 2012); H.E. Ploeger et al. (2015) (Ploeger et al., 2015); Åsa Bartonek et al. (2013) (Bartonek et al., 2013); M. Alvela et al. (2015) (Alvela et al., 2015); Y. Kerkum et al. (2015) (Kerkum, Harlaar, et al., 2015). | Patients with multiple sclerosis, stroke. | Energy-storing, spring-like carbon-composite Ankle Foot Orthoses | Carbon composite | Energy-storing, spring-like properties | 1. Reduced energy cost of walking and supported the reduced ankle push-off power; 2. Increased walking speed; 3. Increased stride length and cadence marginally; 4. Decreased the range of motion of the ankle significantly; 5. Reduced mean plantar flexion velocity during push-off; 6. Increased the peak ankle moment. |
| Ploeger Hilde E.et al. (2014) (Ploeger, Brehm, et al., 2014); H.E. Ploeger et al. (2011) (Ploeger et al., 2012). | Polio survivors with calf muscle weakness. | Dorsiflexion-restricting ankle-foot orthoses (DR-AFOs) | Carbon composite | Dorsiflexion-restricting | 1. Increased forward progression of the center of pressure (CoP) in mid-stance; 2. Reduced ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexion in mid- and terminal stance; 3. Reduced energy cost of walking; 4. Increased walking speed. |
| Toshiki Kobayashi et al. (2017) (T. Kobayashi et al., 2011); A. Leardini et al. (2014) (Leardini et al., 2014). | Patients with post-stroke. | An articulated ankle-foot orthosis with adjustable plantarflexion resistance, dorsiflexion resistance and alignment | 4.8 mm thick polypropylene homopolyer | Adjustable plantarflexion resistance, dorsiflexion resistance and alignment | 1. Improvement in heel rocker (1 st rocker); 2. Increased walking speed; 3. Reduced the peak released ankle power; 4. Stabilized knee joints in stance; 5. Showed a systematic change in moment-angle relationship when plantarflexion resistance, dorsiflexion resistance and alignment were changed; 6. The ankle and knee joint kinematics and kinetics also showed some systematic changes in response to changes in mechanical properties of the AFO during gait; 7. The knee moment appeared more responsive than the knee angle to the changes in AFO’s mechanical properties. |
| Aminuddin Hamid et al. (2012) (Hamid et al., 2012); Rishabh Kochhar et al. (2016) (Kochhar, Kanthi, & Makkar, 2016); T. Schmalz et al. (2016) (Schmalz & Pröbsting, 2015). | Patients with spinal cord injury, stroke and trauma. | Active ankle foot orthosis (AAFO) | / | Equipped with a controller which controls critical ankle motion during dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. | 1. Handled a foot movement smoothly similarly normal gait pattern; 2. By using flexiforce sensor, the timing to moving actuator is based on real time approach. |
| Toshiki Kobayashi et al. (2011) (T. Kobayashi et al., 2011). | Patients with stroke hemiplegia. | An experimental AFO (EAFO) | composite | Adjustable stiffness | 1. Reduced mean peak plantarflexion angle; 2. Reduced the mean peak dorsiflexion angle; 3. Assisted the heel rocker function during loading response; 4. Controled the range of motion of the ankle joint. |
| E. Ridgewell et al. (2015) (Ridgewell et al., 2015). | Patients with cerebral palsy (CP), hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), spina bifida (SB). | Bilateral solid AFO | / | / | 1. Reduced Ankle dorsiflexion; 2. Increased walking speed; 3. Increased step length; 4. Increased cadence. |
| Daniel Sabbagh et al. (2016) (Sabbagh et al., 2016). | Patients with cerebral palsy following ischemic perinatal stroke. | A dynamic AFO | Carbon composite | Adjustable range of motion, defined pivot point. | 1. Increased step length, velocity and cadence; 2. Longer single-supported and shorter double-supported phase; 3. Less flexed hip and ankle during stance. |
| H. Böhm et al. (2015) (Böhm et al., 2015). | Patients with spastic bilateral cerebral palsy. | Solid hinged Ground reaction AFO | / | / | 1. Increased walking speed; 2. Reduced ankle plantarflexion strength. |