Grant: Idea to Innovation

People with knee muscle weakness or paralysis often lack the strength to walk safely without collapsing under their own weight and falling. Usually a knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) is prescribed to lock the knee in full extension and prevent the user's leg from collapsing while weight bearing. Our team has invented a novel knee joint, called the Ottawalk-Speed, that uses hydraulic speed control to sense when a person's knee is collapsing and then acts to slow down knee flexion so that the person can recover from the stumble/fall. This invention is a new approach compared with other Stance Control Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthoses (SCKAFO) that require mechanical and/or electronic control systems to provide knee stability during weight bearing or knee braces that provide either no stance support or a fixed knee angle stop. This project will refine the design and evaluate the revised Ottawa-Speed orthosis to produce an innovative hydraulic device that is lighter, smaller, quieter, and safer. The Ottawa-Speed will be ready for transition from the research laboratory into the marketplace to benefit people who are prescribed a KAFO, SCKAFO, or post-operative knee orthosis.