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Heel Cord Lengthening Assist Device. Presenters: Sarah Holloway Satyen Saraswat Advisor: Dr. Edward Glaser. Objective. The goal of this project is to design, build, and implement a device that can be used as a noninvasive technique to correct tightened heel cords in youths. Background.
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Heel Cord Lengthening Assist Device Presenters: Sarah Holloway Satyen Saraswat Advisor: Dr. Edward Glaser
Objective The goal of this project is to design, build, and implement a device that can be used as a noninvasive technique to correct tightened heel cords in youths.
Background • Cerebral Palsy • Spastic • Athetoid • Ataxic • Cerebral Diplegia • Spina Bifida (Myelomeningocele)
Current Methods of Correction • Surgical • Z-plasty • White Slide Method • Serial Casting • Physical Therapy
Current Problems • 64,000 z-plasty surgeries were done in 19981 • 16,640 of these surgeries were recurrents • Literature recommends that the procedure not to be done for age <7 • Age <5, 48% recurrence • Benefits of serial casts are lost within 6 months • Muscle loss due to cast
Our Plan • Noninvasive brace to stretch the heel cord that can obey the following design wishes: • Painless • Lightweight • Non-restrictive to movement • Adjustable for foot/ankle size and degree of dorsiflexion
Work Completed • Contacted pediatricians, pediatric physical therapists, a podiatrist, and an orthopaedic surgeon • Researched surgical and serial casting methods for design improvements and function • Determined ranges of foot/ankle sizes for our design • Preliminary brainstorming of different designs
Future Work • Confirm our findings of required flexion angles needed to lengthen the tendon • Design various devices to brace the heel cord and allow for variable dorsiflexion angles • Comparison of our designs • Material analysis