This is how we manufacture a bespoke Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO) at the London Orthotic Consultancy in our on-site manufacturing workshop in Kingston Upon Thames🦿
Technician Nelson shows how we manufacture a bespoke fixed AFO from our in-house manufacturing workshop.
Ankle Foot Orthoses are one of the most common orthoses we prescribe patients.
First, we start off with a mould of the patient's leg, we then heat and mould a soft foam liner which will go inside the AFO for increased comfort, trim off the excess and then prepare the mould for plastic draping.
This is actually what the plastic looks like before it goes in the oven (white) but then when you add heat, it goes from white to transparent, and that's when you know that it's done. Next up, we add the transfer paper, which is based on whatever the patient wants. In this case, it's leopard print. Obviously being careful not to get any creases or folds in the design.
After a few more minutes in the oven, it's ready to go. Our technician takes that hot plastic and drapes it over the mould of the patient's leg and because it's thermoplastic, it's cooling and harding quickly. So we have to act pretty fast, again being careful not to disrupt the pattern and to make sure it's a snug fit over the mould. So then we cut off all the excess plastic and then what we're left with is a really solid bespoke mould of the patient's leg which is ready to go on to the next stage of manufacturing.
#afo #anklefootorthosis #orthotics #orthoticsandprosthetics #maker #manufacturing #satisfying #oddlysatisfying #AFOs #plasticmoulding #ASMR #footorthotics #CP #UKOrthotics #bespokeorthotics #fyp #ForYou