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Development of customized orthosis for congenital deformity using additive manufacturing

Vivek C. (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India)
Rajesh Ranganathan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India)
Sivakumar Ganesan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India)
Arivazhagan Pugalendhi (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India)
Sreekanth M.P. (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alva’s Institute of Engineering and Technology, Moodbidri, India)
Sivasankar Arumugam (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 21 November 2018

Issue publication date: 16 April 2019

212

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a customized orthosis for treating congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot) deformity. Complications from non-surgical treatment method such as Ponseti method leads to relapse/recurrence of the foot after treated.

Design/methodology/approach

An alternate approach for treating clubfoot deformity can be seen as a viable approach to overcome the above-mentioned difficulties. Customized orthosis is designed and developed for a subject affected with right clubfoot deformity through fused deposition modeling of additive manufacturing (AM) technology with ABS plastic as base material. A unique mechanism is used to develop customized orthosis for achieving rotation of the foot along the three axis and range of motions.

Findings

Developed orthosis is incorporated with a unique mechanism that can be rotated and arrested at the specified angle along the three principle ranges of motion of the foot. Overall weight of the developed customized orthosis achieved is about 284 g, which has a significant 25 per cent reduction in weight when compared to traditional Ponseti casting method. Overcoming the difficulties faced in Ponseti method, customized orthosis can be an alternative method for treating clubfoot.

Originality/value

Developed orthosis will be an alternative approach for treating clubfoot deformity, and it overcomes the drawbacks faced by Ponseti method.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support for establishing the Centre of Excellence in the Manufacturing Sciences at Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India, and from Ministry of Human-Resource Development (MHRD), under the project Frontier Areas in Science and Technology (FAST), Government of India.

Citation

C., V., Ranganathan, R., Ganesan, S., Pugalendhi, A., M.P., S. and Arumugam, S. (2019), "Development of customized orthosis for congenital deformity using additive manufacturing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 645-652. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-02-2018-0036

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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