A modular self-contained orthotic device which is relatively simple and safe to construct, so as to enable one in need of such a device to cause the orthotic to be made quickly and inexpensively. The device comprises a housing member which encases a resilient impression material impregnated with a chemical curing agent. The housing and impression material are internally positioned in the bottom of an enclosure element which secures the entire device on to, and around, a user's foot. The impression material conforms to, and hardens in the shape of, the user's foot as the result of the introduction of a liquid medium which reacts with the curing agent impregnated into the resilient material. After the previously resilient material has hardened, the user may withdraw his/her foot from the orthotic. The resulting hardened casting may then be trimmed, cleaned and resurfaced for actual use as an orthotic in an individual's shoe.
An orthotic footbed insert for athletic shoes and boots, wherein contiguous top and bottom laminates form an envelope that is carried by a premolded stabilizer and injected with a two-part liquid resin that fills all space within the envelope when inserted into a shoe or boot with a person's foot in situ therein and positioned on a supporting platform having angularly inclined tarsal and talar planes enforceably dorsiflexing the footbed when the injected liquid cures.
A medical apparatus is provided. The medical apparatus is designed to be a foot covering that is specially designed for diabetic individuals who may have or be susceptible to medical conditions of the feet. The medical apparatus allows an individual to go outdoors without wearing shoes, because the medical apparatus itself serves as a crude shoe covering over a pair of feet. In addition, the medical apparatus itself can serve as a sock covering, which can then be used when a shoe is placed over an individual's feet.
An insert forming apparatus is provided for making an insert to conformingly fit a shoe and a person's foot within the shoe. The apparatus includes an upper and lower shell half which, when fastened together, form a foot receiving cavity that conformingly fits the individual contours of the last from which the person's shoes are made. The apparatus also includes an injection tube for injecting insert forming material into the foot receiving cavity under and about the person's foot.
An insert forming apparatus and method is provided for making an insert to conformingly fit a shoe and a person's foot within the shoe. The method for practicing the invention includes using standard molding techniques to form a mold of the bottom of the last and using the mold to vacuum form a lower shell half that conforms to the bottom of the last. With the lower shell half covering the mold and having vacuum communicating holes drilled therein, the last is placed in the lower shell half and the upper shell half is drawn down over the last and lower shell half by vacuum forming. When the upper and lower shell halves have been formed, a hole is drilled in the lower shell half for injecting curable material. A sheet of fabric or leather is placed over the lover shell half, a person's foot is placed on the fabric or leather in the lower shell half, and the upper shell half is placed over the person's foot and fastened to the lower shell half. Curable material is then injected into the lower shell half between the lower shell half and the fabric or leather, thus forming an orthotic appliance that conforms to the shoe and to the person's foot.
The invention relates to a shoe having an arch support extending from an interior of a shoe to an exterior of a shoe. The arch support can be adjusted from the exterior of the shoe. The arch support includes straps which each have a slide groove formed therein. On one end of each strap are strap eyelets. The shoe includes an upper having a slit opening separating an upper paneling and a lower paneling. The arch support is located within the shoe, and extends through the slit opening. Rivets connect the upper paneling and the lower paneling. The rivets are also aligned with and extend through the slide grooves on the arch support. Accordingly, the arch support straps may slide along the rivets to tighten or loosen the arch support within the shoe.
