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Background: The family-centred approach is fundamental in the therapeutic process of children with cerebral palsy (CP), and the increased competence of parents about therapeutic devices, especially orthoses, can facilitate its implementation, thus intensifying the benefits that this device provides. The aim of this study was to understand the perception of mothers of children with CP in relation to their children's anklefoot orthosis.Methods: This is a qualitative study using thematic content analysis technique. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews from 24 mothers of children with Levels IV and V of CP according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), who were attended at a philanthropic rehabilitation centre.Results: Three categories were identified from analyzing the interviews: benefits of the orthosis, the orthosis in the child's daily life and 'What if it were like this?' Conclusions: According to the mothers' perceptions, the ankle-foot orthosis improved their child's mobility. The orthoses are used in different contexts in the child's daily life, and the mothers pointed out suggestions regarding personalizing the orthosis with different colors and patterns, increasing comfort and facilitating the way in which the device is placed. K E Y W O R D S family, neurological disorder, orthotic devices 1 | INTRODUCTION Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have musculoskeletal impairments, which are often associated with comorbidities such as cognitive disorders, which directly interfere in acquiring essential motor skills to perform daily activities and participating in the environment in which

Purpose The purpose of this study is to validate a novel model of resting hand splint manufactured by additive manufacturing (AM) and compare it with the traditional model manufactured by high temperature thermoplastic in terms of cost, weight, volume and thermal comfort. Design/methodology/approach A novel resting hand splint model was created from the topology optimization (TO) and analyzed, by finite-element analysis, manufacturing cost and weight, with a traditional resting hand splint. A pilot clinical study was carried out to verify heat diffusion during the use of the two splints. Findings The results showed that compared with the traditional model, the novel model reduced the volume of material used by 35.48%, the weight of the orthosis by 17.56% and the maximum surface deformation by 171.17% when subjected to actuation forces. It was also verified that, when manufactured with Nylon by AM, the new model is 1.5 times cheaper than the traditional model made of Polypropylene. The result of the thermographic analysis showed greater temperature variation in the use of the traditional splint (+4.6°C) compared to the temperature variation observed in the nylon splint (2.1°C). Practical implications These results have as clinical relevance the demonstration of the feasibility of manufacturing functional orthoses that are more comfortable, cheaper and lighter than traditional ones. Originality/value This study describes the use of TO to manufacture a novel resting hand splint, which was compared with the commonly used traditional splint in terms of mechanical resistance, weight, cost and thermal comfort.

Background The relationship between seasonal temperature peaks and the incidence of hospitalization for myocardial infarction has been reported in different countries. Despite increased interest in assessing the impact of temperature on hospitalization, few studies have used case-crossover designs to study non-linear and distributed delay effects temperature and thermal amplitude. In addition, is not clear how myocardial hospitalization is affected by temperature in subtropical climate cities. Objective We investigated the effects of climatic variables on the number of hospitalizations for myocardial infarctions at a private hospital at a city with a subtropical climate from 2017 to 2019. Methods Myocardial hospitalization records were extracted from database obtained through the Brazilian Information System on Hospitalization according to the municipality of residence and the CID-10 classification in elderly people. The temporal analysis of this study aimed at verifying the relationship between hospitalizations, climatic attributes, and the standard deviation of other descriptive statistics. To estimate the non-linear and time-interval effects, we used Distributed Lag Non-Linear Models (DLNM), which allowed us to observe their distributed delay effects. This model is suitable for studying the impact of environmental conditions on health, as it usually occurs a few days after exposure. The data were analyzed using the R software. Results In Figure 1, five descriptive graphs illustrate the study's primary data.Distribution of hospitalizations by gender (A), showing the predominance of males (65.81%), age group of 60 to 69 years (44.63%), followed by the group of 70 to 79 years (33.61%). Chart D shows that the medians representing hospitalization rates are higher in different bimesters throughout the year. Moreover, in chart E, the monthly averages of hospitalization rates per 100,000 elderly inhabitants, segmented by gender, show a prevalence of the male gender in all months.Based on the Poisson model for the variables combined, some lags were shown to be significant (17 and 20) at an α= 5% significance level, both for minimum temperature (p=0.00768) and relative humidity (p=0.03263). In addition to the other factors such as gender (p=4.14e-09) and all age levels (p=0.000), they can influence the number of hospitalizations. From the results shown in Table 1, we can interpret that when the Odds Ratio has a value between 0 and 1, the chance of hospitalization is reduced as the variable increases, or when the estimated value of the Odds Ratio is greater than 1, there is an increase in the chance of hospitalization as the respective variable increases. No significant results were found for maximum temperature and mean temperature. Conclusion Understanding the effects of temperature on cardiovascular risk factors over time in the elderly may help optimize prevention strategies and better organize care for elderly patients throughout the year. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Private hospital(s). Main funding source(s): Constantini Cardiology Hospital

Ankle foot orthosis manufactured by 3D printing have several benefits in terms of the manufacturing process, such as the diversity of designs and precision of manufacture. However, for the 3D printed orthosis to be functional, it is necessary to observe its mechanical behavior in relation to the forces acting during gait. It is common to observe high stiffness in orthoses manufactured by 3D printing during the foot roll phase, which can interfere with the performance of functional mobility. This study proposes new geometry in the plantar region of the orthosis, based on data from computer simulations, in order to provide its flexibility during gait, helping to improve the performance of this functional activity. The results showed that the new surface deformed 465% more (30.01 mm) compared to the traditional surface (6.45 mm).