Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

An adjustable stiffness orthosis to maintain muscle engagement and push-off power in cerebral palsy.

Award Number: R41HD113494
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/12/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

An adjustable stiffness orthosis to maintain muscle engagement and push-off power in cerebral palsy. - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are commonly prescribed to improve mobility for individuals with neurological disorders. AFOs are included in the standard of care for the majority of ambulatory children with cerebral palsy (CP), a pediatric-onset movement disorder caused by insult to the developing brain. Current goals of treatment for individuals with CP center around increasing activity levels, with a focus on play, stair navigation, and running for proper social and community participation. Ankle joint stiffness varies considerably across these conditions, which suggests the same for optimal AFO stiffness. Unfortunately, commonly prescribed AFOs are unable to easily or quickly vary the joint stiffness; most are not able to vary stiffness at all. The result, at best, is a single AFO stiffness that is only optimized for ambulating in a single condition at a single speed. To address the limitations in existing AFO designs for adapting to varying ambulatory activities, and the potential decline in ankle plantar flexor function with long-term AFO use in individuals with CP, this proposal seeks to develop a differential and adjustable stiffness AFO (DAS-AFO). The primary goals of this proposal are to validate the benefits of, and customer need for, the differential and adjustable stiffness features, and initiate customer discovery to design a cost-effective and manufacturable minimum viable product. Our first aim to confirm that the DAS-AFO improves plantarflexor push-off power compared to standard (physician prescribed) AFOs during walking in CP. In a block- randomized order, participants will walk on a treadmill with their normal AFOs and with the DAS-AFO tuned for each participant to provide only enough dorsiflexor stiffness to address drop foot. We hypothesize that the DAS- AFO design will result in significancy greater biological push-off power and ankle range of motion compared to normal AFOs without effecting walking economy. Our second specific aim is to confirm that the DAS-AFO improves plantarflexor muscle activity compared to standard (physician prescribed) AFOs during walking in CP. We hypothesize that the DAS-AFO design will result in a clinically-relevant increase in plantarflexor muscle activity compared to normal AFOs; hip and knee kinematics will be similar between designs. Our third specific aim is to validate the need and ability for real-time stiffness adjustment during play and school activities; obtain feedback from the children, their parents, and orthotists to design the MVP. In this Aim, we will observe if and how children with CP adjust their AFO stiffness during simulated play and school activities, design and prototype the minimum viable product based on user and orthotist feedback, and engage AFO manufacturers. Collectively, this work will result in new knowledge on how differential and adjustable stiffness AFOs can augment mobility without blocking the active engagement necessary for muscle health and development of motor skills in CP.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = -$10,717 )
2025	2023	BIOMOTUM, INC	3025 SW 1ST AVE	PORTLAND	OR	97201	MULTNOMAH	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	8/8/2025	NEW	-$10,717
														Subtotal = -$10,717

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $274,282 )
2023	2023	BIOMOTUM, INC	3025 SW 1ST AVE	PORTLAND	OR	97201	MULTNOMAH	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	7/12/2023	NEW	$274,282
														Subtotal = $274,282

Grand Total All Awards = $263,565

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

An adjustable stiffness orthosis to maintain muscle engagement and push-off power in cerebral palsy.

Award Number: R41HD113494

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/12/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer