Patent Application
20230143699
The Foot Neuropathy Springs (FNS) addresses the problems of limited ankle movement associated with Injuries, Diabetes, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome (a sub-form of muscular dystrophy) and other diseases causing nerve damage to the lower extremities. These dying nerves limits the foot’s ability to dorsiflex or plantarflex the foot — raise or lower. A person limps as there is not enough muscle strength to keep the foot from collapsing at the ankle as they walk. With muscles dying, they also do not have strength to push forward when they take a step. A person cannot raise the foot high enough to keep from dragging their toes and must walk with a gait that forces their knee to be raised higher than normal when walking. There is not enough muscle strength to regulate the foot as it descends to the ground and therefore plops and hits the ground forcefully — this condition is known as Drop Foot. Typical ankle braces immobilizes and limits ankle movements in order to overcome the weakness of the injuries, mostly from an inversion and eversion perspective. When walking, the Foot Neuropathy Springs tighten to keep the ankle from collapsing as one moves forward, the springs load up energy and when the foot moves into a tiptoe/pushing position, releases the energy, and helps propel the person forward. As the bottom spring is flexible, as springs are supposed to be, and does not cover the whole of the foot and stops short of the balls of the feet, it allows the foot to plantar flex as much as possible. As the top spring being flexible, it allows the foot to dorsiflex as needed when navigating inclines as well as provide strength to keep the foot from collapsing. These factors are very helpful in driving a vehicle so as to manipulate the foot pedals. As the spring does cover most of the bottom of the foot, it helps keep the foot level to minimize the drooping of the foot that causes the Drop Foot condition.
Other Ankle Foot Orthotics such as Patent 10,744,019 have bulky design, provide no strength support to prevent limps nor does it provide a way to help propel a person forward. Patent 8,048,012 is also bulky with no strength support to prevent limping or to help propel the person forward. It only helps with the Foot Drop situation. Patent 6,887,217 is non-adjustable, struts connecting the foot plate with the leg support branches would make it very hard to plantar flex or push down if not impossible. This would be very hard to walk downhill. It is also made from very expensive Kevlar. Patent 10,849,778 provide no strength support to prevent limping, no propulsion, and no strength support to navigate inclines. Most braces support the foot from drooping helping prevent Foot Drop and many provide a ridged support of the ankle to provide a person better balance. This current invention is to provide Foot Drop prevention, minimize a limp, provide propulsion forward, be inconspicuous, and be inexpensive as compared to many other AFOs.
This invention falls in the A61F 5/0113 category of AFOs — ankle foot orthotics. The FOOT NEUROPATHY SPRINGS (FNS) addresses (1) To stop the collapse of the ankle when walking forward that creates a limp. (2) The need to keep the foot from drooping while walking that leads to stumbling with the loss of muscle activity. (3) The need to keep the ankle joint semi-flexible for plantar or dorsi-flexion so as to navigate stairs, vehicle pedals, and walking hills or various inclines. (4) To help replace the muscle activity that no longer exist to propel the person forward. Current AFOs address some of these conditions, but not all in the same apparatus. (5) The FNS are independent of each other. Various strengths of the springs and lengths can be used to match the requirements of the patient and can be incorporated with existing ankle braces if desired. (6) The FNS can be totally concealed and worn comfortably without having to change shoes sizes or styles and can even be worn with sandals.
Thin narrow springs, approximately an inch wide, are made to fit in the center of both the top and bottom of either foot. The top spring runs from the end of the arch nearest the toes to the ankle and then angles up the shin several inches. The bottom spring runs from the center of the foot short of the balls of the foot to around the heel and then up the leg angling slightly away from the leg and matches the height of the top spring. Depending on the material of the spring; from glass fiber, carbon fiber, plastic, or mild steel; the thickness can run from sub-millimeter to a couple of millimeters and can also depend on how strong the spring needs to be. Variability is necessary as there is variability in the size of people and nerve damage. The edges are beveled, and the ends rounded for a gentle feel to the body and for being gentle and non-abrasive to the sleeve material that it will fit into. The elastic sleeve holding the springs are made of any fabric of integrity that have slots at both ends of the sleeve in which about 2 inches of the spring will slide into. The sleeve is padded in the areas of where there is sensitivity: (1) the arch (2) the shin bone (3) the heel. The elastic sleeves with the FNS make up a stand-alone brace for the foot, or the springs can be independent and fitted into most existing foot/ankle brace and held in place via Velcro, laces, stitching, or by any other means possible. There is a lace or Velcro strap at the top end of the springs that wraps around the leg and shin securing that part of the springs tightly in place next to the leg while in a slotted pouch of the padded sleeve.
