US Patent D873,420 S

Pivot is an articulated, self-aligning, low profile AFO hinge. It’s unique design allows it to be fabricated in exactly the same manner as the typical flexure joint, no alignment jig is needed. 

Pivot’s medical grade stainless steel construction allows it to be the lowest profile joint currently available. 

One of the secrets to pivot's low profile is the use of stainless steel fastening nuts that pass through the hinge plates and extend beyond them. This extension is encapsulated within the thickness of the AFOs plastic and allows for maximum thread engagement without adding to the overall projection. 

Because the fastening nuts are constructed with two flats that engage with matching flats in the hinge plates, they will not rotate during assembly or removal. The stainless steel construction of both screws and nuts resists cross threading and will not strip. 

Pivot provides the mechanism of movement that gives you an opportunity to control sagittal plane motion without the bulk of traditional urethane hinge bodies or double action ankle joints. 

The end result is an elegant and attractive AFO (that fits in a shoe) and a functionally engineered pivot! 

Consider using LaunchPad’s trio of innovations: pivot, snapstop and X-tension, to optimize outcomes for your patients! 

Product Highlights

General:

• Lowest profile AFO joint on the market

  • 7 times thinner than the Tamarack joint

  • No medial or lateral shoe interference

• One Pediatric and one Adult size (reduced inventory)

• Stainless steel construction

• No strip, stainless steel screw/nut (nut locks in place and will not rotated)

• 2 million cycle test (video on website)

Fabrication:

• No alignment jig needed

• Hinge Plates are customizable and form easily to the positive model

• No molding blanks (vacuum form over the joint)

• Same basic fabrication as flexure joint but details are important:

  • Always use the nail provided to secure the joint to the model. It also serves as a “handle” for removing the joint from the cavity after vacuum forming

  • You need a tight fit between the cavity and the joint so use a very thin nylon over the joint (we recommend Feather-Stretch)

  • Make sure the trim lines extend all the way to the rivet. The joint relies on the structural integrity of the cavity for support

  • Be careful to install the joints in the same top/bottom orientation as when vacuum forming. Since one hinge plate sits on top of the other, reversing them will create a poor fit in one cavity and will lead to failure

Clinical:

• Provides some torsional resistance

• Single axis hinge design prevents M-L deformation when using DF limiters like X-tension Bands (otherwise referred to as fish-mouthing)

• Designed to work together as a family of components with snapstop and X-tension

Parts