MiracleFeet’s thought leadership in clubfoot treatment innovation started with the award-winning MiracleFeet brace, which is currently distributed in 21 countries:
About the MiracleFeet Brace
One of the biggest barriers to successful clubfoot treatment is bracing compliance. A vital part of the Ponseti Method, a brace consists of shoes and a bar that maintain the feet in the proper position as the child’s feet grow. Half of children in treatment do not wear the brace as prescribed, often resulting in the feet relapsing into the clubfoot position and requiring a repeat of the casting phase. Most braces are either high quality but unaffordable ($200 – $1,000) or inexpensive but hard to use ($8 – $40).
Recognizing this need, MiracleFeet set a goal to increase bracing compliance in low-income countries. MiracleFeet began to explore the design of a new brace with Mike North, the founder of ReAllocate. After receiving positive initial feedback on the design, MiracleFeet then partnered with the Stanford d.school’s Extreme Affordability course, where students Michael Ahdoot, Ian Connolly, Katie Jaxheimer and Jeffrey Yang began designing the MiracleFeet brace with Dr. Laura Ferreira’s team at the Hospital Universitario of the University of Sao Paulo. Through this two-year process, MiracleFeet secured valuable partnerships with Suncast and Clarks, two organizations that donated hundreds of hours of expertise to the project. The brace was tested in five MiracleFeet-supported clinics in Nicaragua, the Philippines, Brazil, India, and South Africa before expanding its distribution.
The design team and MiracleFeet are proud to have received several awards and major media mentions for this project:
How to use the MiracleFeet brace:
Note: At this time, MiracleFeet focuses exclusively on bringing clubfoot treatment to low and middle income countries where access to proper treatment is difficult. The MiracleFeet brace was developed to fulfill an urgent need in select countries for a low-cost bracing solution. The brace is currently undergoing testing and although this may change in the future, we are currently unable to offer it for purchase in the US due to liability, availability, and cost.