Feasibility study investigating the effect of a novel splint device on gait characteristics of a paediatric population with footdrop

一种创新的夹板正在开发中，以帮助脚下垂的儿童安全行走，并提高能源效率。脚部下坠是指肌肉无力/瘫痪，导致抬起脚的前部有困难，这会导致频繁摔倒。使用OrthoPed夹板的好处是，行走时脚踝肌肉将被用来抬起脚，而OrthoPed夹板提供了孩子所缺乏的额外支撑。目前还没有一种主动辅助夹板来支持中度足迹下降的儿童，OrthoPed夹板满足了这一需求。OrthoPed夹板已经在实验室进行了测试，现在正准备进行可行性研究，重点是招募足迹下降的儿童、可用性和遵守研究程序(行走模式和步态分析)。这个项目是与朴茨茅斯大学和朴茨茅斯医院大学NHS信托基金合作的。我们将能够使用收集到的数据来证明OrthoPed夹板改善了脚下跌倒儿童的行走模式。这应该有助于我们在未来获得进一步的资金，用于销售OrthoPed夹板之前所需的临床试验。

An innovative splint is being developed to assist children with footdrop to walk safely and with more energy efficiency. Footdrop is muscle weakness/paralysis resulting in difficulty lifting the front part of the foot, which causes frequent falls. The benefit of using the OrthoPed splint is that ankle muscles will be used to lift the foot when walking, with the OrthoPed splint providing the extra support that the child is lacking. Currently there isn't an active-assisted splint to support small children with moderate footdrop, the OrthoPed splint fills this need.The OrthoPed splint has been tested in a laboratory and is now ready for a feasibility study focussing on recruitment of children with footdrop, useability and compliance with study procedures (walking patterns and gait analysis). This project is in collaboration with the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. We will be able to use the data collected to demonstrate that the OrthoPed splint improves the walking pattern of children with footdrop. This should help us to gain further funding in the future for the clinical trials needed before the OrthoPed splint can be sold.