Personalized Foot Support Structure With Tuned Flex and Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Improper footwear can exacerbate or lead to foot issues, causing discomfort and gait disorders, which may be associated with other health issues such as back pain, and custom-made footwear or orthotic inserts are often used to address these problems.
Innovation Solution
Customizable foot supports are designed using additive manufacturing techniques, incorporating materials like PA12 and thermoplastic polyurethane, with flexible and rigid regions to correct foot conditions by providing support to specific areas such as the heel, arch, and metatarsals, and featuring closable openings that adjust flexibility based on applied bending forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If custom-made footwear or orthotic inserts are used to correct foot issues, then foot comfort and gait correction are improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and properties of materials during additive manufacturing to achieve customized foot supports with specific flexibility and rigidity characteristics. Different materials (PA12, thermoplastic polyurethane) and material states are used to create supports that provide appropriate comfort and correction for individual foot conditions without requiring complex post-manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 2:
The foot support is divided into flexible regions and rigid regions within a single additive manufacturing process. This segmentation allows different parts of the support to have different mechanical properties tailored to specific foot anatomy and conditions, achieving customization without multiple manufacturing steps or assembly operations
2Ease of manufacture
If additive manufacturing techniques are used to create customizable foot supports, then personalization and manufacturing simplicity are improved, but material selection and structural precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
All customization and design decisions are made during the digital modeling phase before manufacturing begins. The additive manufacturing process then executes these pre-planned designs with high precision, eliminating the need for complex adjustments during production. The structural precision is built-in through careful digital design rather than achieved through complex manufacturing controls
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical manufacturing and assembly processes with additive manufacturing. This substitution simplifies manufacturing by creating complex geometries in a single process while maintaining structural precision through digital control of the deposition process, rather than requiring precise mechanical tooling and assembly operations
3Reliability
If foot supports with specified flexibility ranges are designed, then foot condition correction is improved, but design complexity and manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The foot support incorporates different material properties and structural characteristics in different regions to achieve specific flexibility characteristics where needed. Flexible regions use materials and geometries that allow movement, while rigid regions provide stable support, with precise transitions between regions achieved through additive manufacturing rather than requiring complex overall design
Data Source
AI summary
In an example, a method is described. The method comprises generating object model data representative of a design of a foot support to be produced for a subject according to the object model data. The design of the foot support comprises: a support portion; and an extension portion extending from the support portion. A type of the extension portion is based on a condition of the subject's foot and the extension portion is personalized to the subject based on at least one measurement of the subject's foot.