The Araz medial linkage orthosis: a new orthosis for walking in patients with spinal cord injury: a single patient study.

Abstract

This article describes the development and evaluation of a new medial linkage orthosis to potentially assist paraplegic patients to ambulate. The orthosis was initially designed using the solid works program and was subsequently evaluated when used by a spinal cord injury subject to test the structure during standing and walking. Gait analysis was used to compare the medial linkage orthosis to a standard hip-knee-ankle-foot orthosis. The results demonstrated improvements in gait velocity, step length, and decreased compensatory motions in the new orthosis compared to the hip-knee-ankle-foot orthosis. The results propose that this new Araz medial linkage orthosis could be used to assist paraplegic subjects who have adequate ranges of motion and also with weakness or reduced tone to stand and walk. Clinical relevance The Araz medial linkage orthosis can potentially provide standing and walking assistance for spinal cord injury patients.