by Mitch Warner, CPO
The Helios® orthosis is a custom made energy storing carbon fiber AFO. The Helios® provides balance, stability, and a more natural gait pattern. Utilizing triplanar control*, dynamic response*, and floor reaction*, these corrective forces stabilize the foot and ankle to give standing and walking stability that is necessary for normal walking that many people with CMT lack.
Utilizing the most cutting-edge materials for the Helios® orthosis, we can provide true energy return through dynamic response. This energy return will help spring you forward, and help you walk with less fatigue, enabling you to live your best life.
Listen to Stacy’s experience:
Being a custom made orthosis, the Helios® is made to fit you properly, be strong enough for your lifestyle, and addresses your specific needs and concerns. No two Helios® orthoses are alike. There are different models and configurations of the Helios® orthosis depending on the needs of the patient. The appointment is usually 5-days (Monday through Friday), and this includes evaluation, casting, diagnostic brace fitting, and final carbon brace fitting. Our custom made diagnostic braces are actual permanent style AFOs that we use for diagnostic evaluation. You will finish your appointment with final adjustments and your new brace. We verify that the brace fits you properly, you can use it properly, and that it is giving you the most progressive fit and function.
The Helios® orthosis, because it is custom made for your specific needs/combination of needs, is beneficial in helping a variety of problems such as;
- Footdrop
- Eversion/inversion
- Pes cavus/pes planus
- Hip-hiking
- Knee hyperextension/quadriceps weakness
- Strength loss
- Balance instability
- Fatigue
These problems can be caused by a variety of diagnoses;
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Stroke
The Helios® orthosis has a unique patent for balance control combined with energy return. Our current Helios® models include the Helios® E/I, Helios GX®, and the Helios® KAFO. We are the originators of the Double Helix™ AFO which uses anterior and posterior dynamic response struts. A CMT Study with the Helios® has been published in the Journal of Gait & Posture.
To determine if the Helios® orthosis would help you, we ask you to send us video according to the instructions we can provide to you. Once we view your video, we determine if the Helios® orthosis will help you and we provide you with a realistic expectation of what we can do for you.
- Dynamic Response: Energy storing uprights in the Helios® that compress during patient loading and then performs like a spring with a dynamic response to propel the lower limb forward.
- *Floor Reaction: Helps control frontal plane stability while the foot is on the floor, by transmitting stabilizing forces of the orthoses below the knee. This provides balance in conjunction with the Helios® footplate that is engineered for balance control.
- *Triplanar Control: The patient’s foot and ankle have corrective forces applied in all 3 planes of movement. Dropfoot, foot deformity, and joint collapse, create deviations in all 3 planes of movement that need to be corrected and controlled, to prevent further deformity and loss of balance and function.
- Frontal Plane
- Sagittal Plane
- Transverse Plane
These 3 planes of movement, Triplanar, occur in the Ankle Joint, Subtalar Joint, and Midtarsal Joint.
The cost for a pair of Helios® braces is right around 13,800, but is dependent on the level of correction needed, and what type of device is being custom fabricated.
We do not accept insurance, but will bill your insurance for you after your visit is completed.
Give us a call or email us to see if the Helios® orthosis can help you.
Ortho Rehab Designs
2578 Belcastro St., Suite 101
Las Vegas, NV 89117
Toll free: 888-696-9909
Phone: 702-388-9909
Email: info@heliosbracing.com
Website: HeliosBracing.com
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