Prototype Knee Orthosis for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture in Ball Sports Athletes

In the area of rehabilitation and physical therapy, an important impact has been seen due to the current context of the pandemic since therapy sessions have been reduced due to new restrictions and protocols. The use of equipment is fundamental within physiotherapeutic treatments, with which doctors are supported to treat complex and licensed injuries to seek better results. One of the most complex injuries that can be found in the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, which commonly occurs in athletes who practice ball and contact sports. For this, knee orthosis is used in the stages of early rehabilitation, but here in Peru, there is the only access to these rigid devices, which limits the movement of patients and is useful for a very short period within the extensive recovery process. Therefore, the objective is to design and implement a functional prototype of a knee orthosis to support the rehabilitation process of an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tear in ball athletes. The mechanical design of the prototype was made with the Autodesk Inventor program and 3D printed for assembly. For the electronic system, the components were chosen by applying a morphological matrix; based on these, the operation of the device was defined. The final prototype was the product of the union of the design assembled in physics and the coupling of the electronic system.