Designing footwear and braces for children with clubfoot deformity

摘要

Congenital Talipes Equinovarus (CTEV) is a complex foot deformity characterized by the following four structural changes,which occur in the foot and ankle: ankle equinus,hind foot varus,forefoot adductus and cavus.It occurs one in 1000 live births and is more common in male than female children.For the healthy subjects,the threedimensional foot shape can be obtained from a 3D foot scanner and this is useful for the design of footwear.In the last 10 years,most studies have focused on 3D laser scanning technology and digital imaging procedure to quantify the shape of the foot of healthy subjects.In the previous literature,quantification of foot shape,gender difference,foot shape classification,and plantar pressure studies have been carried for normal human feet.Although there are advanced developments in technology,the use of 3D scanning technology for clubfoot is still at its infancy status.Moreover,development of footwear and specification of footwear prescription is still in the early stage.The main correction method is the use of orthosis.Due to the use and design of hard orthosis,there are clubfoot recurrences,and other complications such as pressure sores and pain.Moreover,slippage of footwear with Dennis brown bar occurs due to unfitted wearing of clubfoot footwear with braces.The design of custom orthosis is also time consuming and requires a manual procedure that is sometimes expensive.Therefore,this novel study aims to develop a 3D clubfoot model and rapid prototyping orthosis by using cheaply commercially available 3D Kinect scanner.Also a conceptual footwear design is proposed to correct the foot.