The SUMU KAFO Brace - A Compliant Resistive Orthotic Brace

Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthoses (KAFOs) are used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions including muscle weakness, stroke, spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, polio and multiple sclerosis. However, in the case of children’s KAFO braces, there are problems. Most KAFOs on the market today do not allow the skin to breathe due to the solid material used. In the case of children, they do not grow with the child and need to be replaced periodically at a very high cost. The primary issue, especially for children, is that these braces are too substantial and heavy for the very muscles it is protecting. The outcome of the project utilized AI-assisted generative design to topologically optimize the brace and integrated compliant mechanisms to replace complicated, cumbersome joints and allow for muscle stimulation. The process of creating this solution resulted in a KAFO brace that could be implemented in place of vastly more expensive electronic, pneumatic, and/or hydraulic brace stimulation systems.