Articulated AFO Product Information

What is an articulated AFO?
How to place an order
Design Options
Measurements Required
Fabrication Instructions
FAQs

What is an Articulated AFO?

The articulated ankle-foot orthosis is a plastic AFO composed of a foot plate and shank with joints installed between the pieces on the medial and lateral sides of the ankle. It is used to maintain the alignment and stability of the ankle joint and control the ankle’s rotation.

Articulated AFOs are printed on the Galileo O&P machine.

How to Order

Before ordering this product, clinician preferences must be established with the Protosthetics design team. If you have not set up or want to update your clinician preferences, please schedule a meeting with your design lead by emailing success@protosthetics.com.
Log into FabOne, and click “Order” under the Articulated AFO section.
Attach a scan of the limb, cast, or plaster positive.
Proceed to the order form to fill out the requested details.

Design Options on the Order Form

AFO Types

Standard articulated AFO: Full height for greater control of the limb, printed at 3.5 mm thick.
Short articulated AFO: Richie-style short shank used to control milder pathologies, printed at 3.5 mm thick.
Pediatric articulated AFO: Thinner 2.5 mm print for pediatric cases. See dedicated product page for full details.

Material

PC Blend: our standard material offering.
Nylon (Beta): material option in beta testing with more flexibility.

Cast Corrections

None
Correct to neutral in frontal plane: the shank and foot will be vertically aligned in the frontal plane to eliminate pronation or supination in the scan.
Correct to 90 degrees in sagittal plane: Correct the scan to an ankle angle of 90 degrees in the sagittal plane to eliminate dorsiflexion or plantar flexion in the scan.

Design Additions

Add plantar flexion stop: Limits range of motion of the ankle to eliminate plantar flexion by adding a plastic buildup (stop) posterior to the ankle on the footplate and shank.
Flare proximal trimline: Flare the trimline at the proximal edge of the shank piece to reduce pressure on calf muscle and enable easier doffing.

Space for Footplate Padding

The selected amount of space is added to the footplate on the sole of the foot, not along the medial or lateral footplate surfaces.
Space options are: None, 1/8”, 3/16”, or 1/4”

Joint Options

Choose from the following joints:

Tamarack 740 L
Tamarack 740 M
Tamarack 742 L Dorsi-Assist
Tamarack 742 M Dorsi-Assist
Tamarack 740 P
Tamarack 742 P Dorsi-Assist

Heel Posting

None: no flat surface added
Neutral: flat surface added beneath the heel
Medial, Lateral: flat surface added distally beneath the heel and shifted in the selected medial or lateral direction

Reliefs

A standard depth of 2mm will be applied to the relief location. Please specify in additional information if you would like to change this value or relieve any other locations.

Medial or lateral malleoli
Navicular
Base of the 5th met.

Required Measurements

We will ask you for the following measurements in the order form (*required measurements):

Trim height*
Circumference at trim
Malleoli circumference
M-L at malleoli*
Lateral malleolus apex height*
Medial malleolus apex height*
M-L at mets
Mets circumference

Fabrication Instructions

Print on the Galileo O&P machine with PC Blend loaded on the small, left-side toolhead and PETG loaded on the large right-side. The wall thickness is 3.5 mm. After printing, you can continue fabrication:

Grinding

Break off support material on the heel of the footplate. Use 100-150 grit sandpaper to remove any residual support material. Use 400-600 grit sandpaper to smooth the trimlines. Use Tycro or silicone polishing cones to perfect the finish.

Padding

Apply padding where desired with any standard orthotic glue.

Heat Modifications

With a heat gun, material is pliable for adjustments at 70C-85C without melting.

Chemical Modifications

Do not use acetone. Isopropyl alcohol or Goo-gone is recommended for removing residual glue.