| Summary: | [Purpose] Standing and walking are impaired in stroke patients. Therefore, assisted
devices are required to restore their walking abilities. The ankle foot orthosis with an
external powered source is a new type of orthosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate
the performance of a powered ankle foot orthosis compared with unpowered orthoses in a
stroke patient. [Subjects and Methods] A single stroke subject participated in this study.
The subject was fitted with three types of ankle foot orthosis (powered, posterior leg
spring, and carbon ankle foot orthoses). He was asked to walk with and without the three
types of orthoses, and kinetic and kinematic parameters were measured. [Results] The
results of the study showed that the moments applied on the ankle, knee, and hip joints
increased while walking with the powered ankle foot orthosis. [Conclusion] As the powered
ankle foot orthosis influences the moments of the ankle, knee, and hip joints, it can
increase the standing and walking abilities of stroke patients more than other available
orthoses. Therefore, it is recommended to be used in rehabilitation programs for stroke
patients.
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