Nonprofit and Stanford Design School Create Clubfoot Brace for Developing Countries

A partnership between a university and a nonprofit is attempting to cure a common orthopedic birth defect that often goes unaddressed in developing nations.

Miraclefeet is a nonprofit group working to eradicate clubfoot in the developing world. The organization, which is based in Carrboro, N.C., just outside Chapel Hill, worked with students from Stanford’s Insitute of Design to develop a brace that Miraclefeet officials say “modern, easy-to-use” and costs less than $20.

Clubfoot, clinically called congenital talipes equinovarus, is a congenital deformity involving one foot or both. The affected foot appears to have been rotated internally at the ankle. Without treatment, people with club feet often appear to walk on their ankles or on the sides of their feet. With treatment the majority of patients recover completely during early childhood and are able to walk and participate in athletics as well as patients born without the condition.

Clubfoot affects one out of every 750 children, making it one of the most common birth defects around the world. In developing countries, however, where treatment is not readily available, the disability often leads to a life of poverty, abuse, and shame, according to Miraclefeet.

The new brace is being rolled out this month in clinics in India and Africa.

The Miraclefeet brace is the brainchild of Jeffrey Yang, Ian Connolly, Michael Adhoot and Katie Jaxheimer—students who were a part of the 2012 Design for Extreme Affordability program at Stanford’s design school. The course uses “design thinking” to address real-world social problems.

Corporate partners Clarks Shoes and Suncast provided technical expertise and manufacturing support for the project. Law firm King and Spalding provided pro-bono intellectual property counsel.

The partnership began when design school faculty members were approached by Stanford alumna Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, co-founder and director of Miraclefeet.

Colloredo-Mansfeld was looking for a low-cost brace to replace the old-fashioned, uncomfortable ones currently being used in developing countries. Miraclefeet supports local health practitioners trained in the Ponseti method, a non-surgical treatment that involves a series of simple, properly applied plaster casts that are changed weekly. In 95 percent of cases, this results in full correction of the foot in four to six weeks.Following casting, a brace is worn at night for several years to prevent relapse, which is where Colloredo-Mansfeld felt improvements needed to be made.

The Stanford team accepted the challenge and visited Brazil to research and learn first-hand how children with clubfoot were treated. They were shocked by what they found.

“The brace technology was antiquated. Many of the low end braces were merely curved steel rods,” said Yang. “It’s no wonder kids hate wearing them. The braces are ugly, uncomfortable and often cause the patient to fall over due to poor design.”

After talking with parents, physicians and representatives from Miraclefeet, the students designed a colorful, modern solution that can be mass-produced for less than $20 each. The Miraclefeet brace, which looks more like a toy, locks the patient’s feet into a therapeutic position while the light plastic frame makes it possible for kids to stand and play on their own. The brace also features detachable shoes, which makes it easier to take on and off.

This month, the students are traveling to Delhi, India, and Cape Town in South Africa, to begin the final testing before large scale production begins. Miraclefeet hopes to have 15,000 braces in use around the world by 2015.

“There is no reason any child should live with untreated clubfoot. It is a cheap and relatively easy problem to fix, thanks in part to the new Miraclefeet brace,” said Mansfeld-Colloredo. “All of us look forward to the day when every child born with clubfoot has access to high-quality treatment.”

Miraclefeet partners with local orthopedic surgeons working in public hospitals to establish and support clubfoot clinics. According to Mansfield-Colloredo, a child born with clubfoot in a developing county can be fully treated for about $250 per child, transforming his or her life forever.