Progress Report Title: Active Ankle/Foot Orthotic (AFO) to Enhance Walking and Balance Names: Jessica Hause: Co-leader Erin Main: Co-leader Emily Andrews: BSAC Josh White: Communicator Tony Schuler: BWIG Date: April 13, 2007 - April 20, 2007 Problem Statement: Create a device that actively enhances forefoot step-off and increases proprioception to improve balance for people experiencing ankle weakness, foot-drop and the inability to walk and balance safely as a result of various neurological diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, multiple sclerosis and stroke. The device should be non-obtrusive, fit in a shoe, comfortably attach to the leg, and be economical. Last Week’s Goals: • Mold the thermoplastic to our plaster mold • Remove unnecessary areas of thermoplastic • Attach the two pieces of our design together • Add padding to the inside of the device • Begin testing our orthotic Summary of Accomplishments: • Stripped off the casting and sanded down the rough areas of the plaster foot for molding • Bought buckles, looked into fabrics for the inside of our orthotic and Velcro for straps • Discussed various connecting mechanisms with Dr. Amyx • Altered our final design connecting mechanism to a mechanism that is more feasible and durable • Touched up our foot molding with plaster • Molded thermoplastic to our foot molding • Cut down the thermoplastic to fit our design • Ordered carbon fiber This Week’s Goals: • Cut the thermoplastic into two pieces • Drill holes in the two pieces and connect them with our bolts • Add padding to the inside of our device • Buy Velcro and attach it to our device• Add carbon fiber to our device • Begin testing Project Schedule: Difficulties: This week our team had a fair amount of difficulty fabricating our original design. The thermo plastic used to mold orthotics does not adhere well to other materials and as a result, it would have been difficult for us to attach a buckle or strap to the pieces in order to connect them together. As a result, we decided on a more practical design involving two bolts that have to be removed with a screw driver in order to get the two pieces apart. The device is still detachable, but is slightly more difficult than originally planned. This Week’s Activities: 4/13/2007 Josh: Sanded orthotic 2 hours 4/13/2007 Erin: Sanded orthotic, shopped for parts, molded thermoplastic 7 hours 4/13/2007 Jess: Sanded orthotic, shopped for parts, molded thermoplastic 7 hours 4/13/2007 Emily: Sanded orthotic, shopped for parts, molded Thermoplastic 6 hours 4/13/2007 Tony: Sanded orthotic, shopped for parts, molded thermoplastic 5 hours 4/18/2007 Jess: Progress report 1 hour Task Jan February March April MayProject Research 26 2 9 16 23 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27 4 Research Contact Patient Contact Client Meet with PT Brainstorming Design Develop Prototype Website Deliverables Mid-semester Presentation Mid-semester Report Final Presentation Final Report Progress Reports Meetings Semester Wrap-upWeek Total 28 hours Overall Total Hours: Individual Erin: 69 hours Jess: 66 hours Josh: 58 hours Tony: 61 hours Emily: 62 hours Team Total 317
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