Design ankle joint for powered Orthosis (AFO)

For a patient suffering from a problem in the Ankle joint to regain healthy movement, a well-designed lower limb Orthosis AFO is required. This research aims to improve the movement of Orthosis through the design of an ankle joint that can perform the desired move for functional use while remaining low-cost. The improvement focuses on creating a new orthosis ankle joint mechanism using a pre-existing Actuator. This entails simulating normal foot function while also enhancing the range of motion of the Ankle joint. Specific requirements must be met in this study, such as the new proposed Ankle joint ability to flex up to 900 with the sagittal plane and be strong enough to support the patient body weight. Every component of the Ankle joint was designed using Solid Works software. After that, each component will be assembled, and the mechanism of the ankle joint mechanism will be simulated to visualize the imagined motion of the new Ankle joint model. The materials utilized (Inconel 718) were chosen after considering each material’s cost, safety factor, and quality. The proposed Ankle joint was tested using the ANSYS software (Finite element analysis), and the results were examined to detect if the model could bear specified applied loads. The outcomes were examined, and the novel model proposed by this study was appraised.