420 results about "Foot orthosis" patented technology

An insole and arch support system which may be secured to the interior of a shoe and includes a set of arch support members. Each arch support member of the system is provided with a different density to provide varying levels of hardness and stability to the arch of the foot of the individual user, and may be secured to the insole at adjustable locations. An appropriate arch support member and insole member are secured together and inserted into the shoe, with the arch support member positioned at the desired location relative to the arch of the foot. The shoe is then worn in the normal manner.

Disclosed herein is a flexible contoured footbed insole for footwear for providing an anatomically correct foot support to a wearer of the footwear. The flexible contoured footbed insole comprises a heel section and a support system extending anteriorly from the heel section. The heel section comprises a cup shaped structure for accommodating a heel of a foot of the wearer. The support system comprises an inner longitudinal arch support, an outer longitudinal arch support, a transverse arch support, a metatarsal arch support, and a toe support for supporting an inner longitudinal arch, an outer longitudinal arch, a transverse arch, a metatarsal arch, and toes of the foot of the wearer respectively. The flexible contoured footbed insole may further comprise a flexible structure disposed within the support system. The flexible structure provides flexibility and freedom of movement to the foot of the wearer.

A foot orthosis includes a shell and a corrective wedge assembly. The corrective wedge assembly is attached to the shell via mechanical locking mechanism. Therefore, the placement of wedges on the shell can be versatile and adjustment is convenient.

The present invention relates to a device to be integrated into an article of footwear, normally as, but not limited to, a shoe innersole or shoe midsole, to interact with the plantar surface of the wearer's foot, in the region of the foot's main first layer intrinsic muscles. The present invention produces benefits to address gait related issues associated with weakened foot structure and faulty gait biomechanics.

A method and wearable system and for enhancing human balance and gait and preventing foot injury through neurological stimulation of the foot and the ankle. Subthreshold stimulation for neurosensory enhancement is provided via electrodes or vibrational actuators, or combination thereof, disposed in or on a wearable a platform, such as an insole, sock shoe, removable shoe insert, or applied without the support of a platform, to the skin surface of an individual. Suprathreshold stimulation for therapeutic purposes, such as improving blood flow, is also provided by the vibrational actuators. The actuators and electrodes are driven by bias signals generated by a bias signal generator that is coupled to a controller. The signal generator under the control of the controller is adapted to generate a non-deterministic random signal, a repetitive pattern or series of patterns. The controller optionally includes a communication port for interfacing with an external computer for purposes of optimizing and programming the controller. The wearable system is powered by a power source.

A removable ball of the foot insert for placement into footwear at a position in correspondence with a forefoot portion of the footwear includes a substantially planar member made from a viscoelastic gel, the planar member including a lower surface and an upper surface, and a plurality of parallel, spaced apart, sinusoidally shaped spring walls formed from a viscoelastic gel and extending from the lower surface of the planar member at a predetermined area corresponding to a ball of the foot when the insert is inserted into the footwear, for separating bones of second and third metatarsals of the foot, the spring walls having heights that generally decrease outwardly from a center of the predetermined area, and the viscoelastic gel of the planar member having a hardness greater than a hardness of the viscoelastic gel of the spring walls.

An orthopedic walking boot promotes rapid healing of diabetic foot ulcerations by lowering the maximum peak pressure imposed upon the foot. The walker has a hard unyielding shell which is designed for walking. The shell closely and rigidly supports a mid-sole in a foot-shaped bed. The mid-sole has a foot-shaped cavity with rounded sides adapted to form resilient support for the heel, arch and sides of a foot in addition to the bottom of a foot. A conformable inner-sole is adapted to fit over the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole and be compressed in response to foot pressure between the sides and bottom of the foot and the sides and bottom of the foot-shaped cavity in the mid-sole thereby compensating for small differences between the shape of the foot and the shape of the cavity. Weight applied to the foot is transferred to the walking shell by contact between the sides of the foot, arch, and heel and the arch, heel and sides of the foot-shaped cavity as well as the bottom of the cavity thereby decreasing the peak or maximum unit pressure on the plantar surface of the foot. A breathable bootie which wraps the foot and lower leg in a protective “cocoon” is preferably secured to the upper surface of the insole thereby preventing foreign materials from entering the foot cavity.

A component system of footwear corrective alignment insoles provides adjustment of the alignment of a human foot based upon evaluation and measurement of structural anomalies in the foot. A subtalar joint goniometer measures the angular alignment of the foot with a patient's leg properly inclined with respect thereto. A database contains data with selected relationships between the degree of a patient's foot pronation and supination and a variety of corrective pads for use with an insole for correcting pronation and supination. The foot pronation and supination is corrected by first measuring a patient's foot pronation and supination, comparing the measured pronation or supination with a database that correlates degrees of pronation and supination with a variety of corrective pads for use with a corrective alignment insole, selecting corrective pads from the database that correspond to the measured pronation or supination, and mounting the selected corrective pads to a base insole.

A shoe including a footwear upper, an outer sole and an insole system, the insole system including a base insole component and an upper insole component. The base insole includes a chassis and first and a second shock absorbing inserts. The upper insole includes a spacer panel, first and a second gel insert members, and a fabric sheet layer. The insole system may be permanently secured in the shoe or be replaceable or interchangeable for installation and removal to and from the article of footwear by a user.

A removable insole for insertion into footwear, includes a lower layer made of a viscoelastic gel and including a lower surface, an upper surface, a toe portion, a heel portion and a medial arch portion interconnecting the toe portion and the heel portion, a first recess formed in the lower surface of the toe portion and a second recess formed in the lower surface of the heel portion, each recess having a peripheral side wall and a top wall, a plurality of thin, parallel, spaced apart sinusoidal wave shaped spring walls formed from the viscoelastic gel and connected to the top wall and the peripheral side wall in each recess, and the spring walls having lower edges generally coplanar with a lower surface of the toe portion and heel portion which is in surrounding relation to the respective recess; and a top cover secured to the upper surface of the lower layer.

Shoe inserts, including midsoles, footbeds, sockliners and / or upper components with a moldable outer membrane having an upper portion and a bottom portion, with the bottom portion being injected through an injection means with one or more layers of granular ethyl vinyl acetate through one or more compartments located inside of the outer membrane, the layers of granular ethyl vinyl acetate being of various densities to fit the particular application, the granular ethyl vinyl acetate being produced through the breaking down of the physical state of solid foam ethyl vinyl acetate and with the granular ethyl vinyl acetate optionally containing on or more variety of colors.

A length-adjustable shoe is disclosed. The shoe includes an outsole, an insole attached on the outsole, an upper attached on the insole, means for adjusting a length of the insole, which is provided at the insole, an upper tension member provided at the upper, a lower tension member provided at the outsole, and means for fastening a front part and a rear part of the upper divided by the upper tension member to maintain a size of the shoe at a wearer's foot size. The shoe is extended and contracted longitudinally without change of an outer shape of the shoe, by the length-adjusting means, the upper tension member, the lower tension member, and the fastening means. The shoe can accommodate a wearer suffering hallux valgus or hallux varus, a wearer with both feet having different sizes, and a wearer with rapid growth rate. The shoe can be worn by a wearer for a long period of time without needless expenditure due to purchase of two pair of shoes.

The present invention provides performance enhancing shoe components. The invented shoe component includes an upper layer of 1,4-polybutadiene and, optionally, a rubber such as natural rubber, synthetic isoprene rubber or polyisoprene. The first layer is attached to a resilient layer which extends substantially the length of the shoe. Optionally, a third layer or a coating may be attached to the resilient layer. The invented shoe components may be formed as shoe inserts, insoles, midsoles or shoe soles.

A therapeutic ankle and foot orthosis or brace includes a lower shell and an upper lateral shell which are movably coupled together by a pivot so that the shells accommodate the contour, size and shape of the user's foot and ankle. Cushions are included on the shells to provide comfort and straps with hook and pile fasteners are employed to detachably retain the combined shells on the ankle and foot of the user.

A midsole element to be mounted to the lower surface of an insole of a shoe as a heel, wherein the midsole element has a upper surface adapted to be mounted on the lower surface of the insole and a lower surface, wherein the midsole element comprises a core and a resilient compression element being softer than the core. The midsole element allows a pivoting movement of the upper surface of the midsole element against the lower surface of the midsole element in, at least, an essentially transverse direction to the longitudinal axis of the midsole element in a mounted state, wherein the core has a form of a rounded cone or sphere within the resilient compression element. The midsole element can also be mounted to the lower surface of a shoe under the forefoot portion, wherein the core has the form of a round ridge.

The present invention is a disposable cushion inserts for shoes designed to temper forces imparted on a foot during activities such as walking and running. The cushion insert in one embodiment has first and second layers conjoined by a bonding method taken from the group of adhesive and ultrasonics. The first layer is constructed of fibrous material taken from the group of fiber crops and polymers that will be treated to have a low moisture content and absorbency with a plurality of air passages apertures passing between the second layer and the cushioned insert exterior. The second layer is manufactured from a cross-linked open cell silicone material having a plurality of conjoined truncated-apex square pyramids where the walls enclose a central cavity with open bottoms providing a structure that is mostly ambient air-filled space that when released from a compressed state returns to its original form. Each of the truncated-apex surfaces has an aperture placed therethrough providing passage for air between each of the pyramid-shaped cavities and the cushioned-insert exterior. Also provides is an embodiment having a base layer conjoined to the second layer manufactured from a frictional material to prevent slippage of the cushioned insert during use.

A custom-made ankle / foot orthosis for the treatment of patients having plantar ulcers and foot deformities is disclosed, which comprises a rigid L-shaped support member and a rigid anterior support shell hingedly articulated to the L-shaped support member. The plantar portion of the L-shaped member further comprises at least one ulcer-protecting hollow spatially located for fitted placement in inferior adjacency to a user's plantar ulcer, thus allowing the user to transfer the user's weight away from the plantar ulcer and facilitating plantar ulcer treatment. The anterior support shell is designed for lateral hinged attachment to the L-shaped member to take advantage of medial tibial flare structure for enhancing the weight-bearing properties of the disclosed orthosis. Leg securement structure attaches the anterior support shell to the L-shaped member in fixed, weight-bearing relation about the proximal, anterior portion of the user's lower leg.

Footwear is provided having a midsole platform, a full length insole and a orthotic midsole in the form of an orthotic shell received between the midsole platform and the insole. The orthotic shell has a heel portion to support a heel of a foot of a wearer and a forefoot portion to support a forefoot of the wearer at least in a region behind and near metatarsal heads of the foot. The orthotic shell is shaped to partially cup the heel and support the forefoot in one of a plurality of determined orientations. The footwear may further include a plurality of support plugs to support the orthotic shell in one of the determined orientations and a shank coupled to the midsole platform to increase torsional rigidity of the footwear with respect to a longitudinal length thereof. Methods of making footwear are also provided.

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a shoe insert that can provide overall improved foot comfort to a user and can specifically provide beneficial localized pressure relief improving foot health and mitigating painful and / or damaging conditions. The shoe insert can comprise a pressure moderator sheet and one or more pressure pads removably and replaceably attached to the moderator sheet. The insert may further comprise a cushioning material or layer.

In a high heel shoe the heel seat is angled upwards approximately 3-5 degrees. The insole follows the natural shape of the inside long arch of the foot so that the medial arch of the foot is raised higher than the lateral arch of the foot in order to support the natural angle of the calcaneus, the navicular, the medial cuneiform and the first metatarsal. The angle of the heel seat is more acute relative to the ground looking from the lateral side of the shoe. A triangular dome bump on the insole of the shoe has one corner behind the second metatarsal head, a second corner behind the fourth metatarsal head and the final corner near mid-foot. Material is added beneath the sole of the insole so that the greatest thickness is beneath the metatarsal heads and tapers to zero at the end of the insole toward the toes.

An orthotic insert for a high-heeled shoe may have an asymmetrical heel cup including a depressed central region configured for a heel of a wearer. Features including an elevated medial-side surface along a medial side upper surface declining toward the central region, and a generally longitudinal lateral-side elevation along an upper lateral edge of the heel cup may be configured to provide a predetermined supported calcaneal angle for a wearer, wherein the angle is offset from vertical. An anterior retention structure configured as a rounded hump extending across an anterior region of the heel cup, generally transverse to the elevated medial-side surface, with a middle portion of the rounded hump curved laterally away from a center of the heel cup may be included to prevent anterior calcaneal movement relative to the heel cup.

Systems and methods for a self-contained shoe insole device to monitor biomechanics and motion are disclosed. The systems and methods allow monitoring for orthopedic diagnostics, fitness tracking, and social / gaming activities using a shoe insole device with multiple sensor locations for pressure, acceleration, rotation rate, all forms of inertial data in three axes, position / location, heart rate, and other physical attributes. The shoe insole device can include a plurality of layers, with one layer containing a plurality of sensors, and an electronics component for collecting, reading, storing and transmitting the sensor data. The shoe insole device can wirelessly connect with external computing devices for monitoring and feedback directly to the user or a health care or fitness training professional, or across multiple users in a social or gaming situation. The system can further be provided for monitoring and tracking physical activity and enable a variety of interactions based upon the collected data.