Design and development of a device to measure the deformities of clubfoot.

ABSTRACT

Clubfoot describes a range of foot abnormalities usually present at birth, in which the foot of a baby is twisted out of shape or position. In order to develop an effective treatment plan for clubfoot and/or assess the extent to which existing interventions are successful, medical practitioners need to be able to accurately measure the nature and extent of the deformity. This is typically performed using a goniometer. However, this device is only able to measure one dimension at a time. As such, a complete assessment of the condition of a foot can be extremely burdensome and time-consuming. This article describes a new device that can quickly and efficiently take several measurements on feet of various sizes and shapes. The use of this device was verified by measuring the deformities of real clubfeet. A silicone rubber clubfoot model was also used in this study to clearly illustrate the effectiveness with which the proposed device can measure the various deformities of clubfoot. It is envisaged that the use of this device will significantly reduce the time and effort orthopedists require to measure clubfoot deformities and develop and assess treatment plans.