Care Firm
A UCB-type device for reducible arthritic feet. A semi-rigid polypropylene frame under the same plastazote and glove-leather covers as the Care Soft, adding a substantial degree of biomechanical rearfoot control.
Order on FootID Pro →
Accommodation with control, for feet that can still be corrected.
The Care Firm is ideal for active geriatric patients requiring substantial rearfoot control. Where the arthritic deformity is still reducible, the device can do more than cushion: a semi-rigid polypropylene frame holds the correction while the soft covers protect the skin.
Built congruent to the patient's own foot model, not an average, so control and cushioning both land where that foot needs them.
Walking and athletic shoes
A full-length build with an extrinsic post that seats best in footwear with a removable sock liner.
Active geriatric patients
Balance and stability for older patients who are still on their feet and need real control, not only cushioning.
Reducible arthritic feet
Plastazote and glove leather reduce friction against the skin while the frame corrects poor biomechanical alignment.
Note: for patients whose deformity is non-reducible or who cannot tolerate control, the T1 Care Soft device is recommended.
Control and accommodation, congruent to the foot.
Built from a positive model of the patient's foot and modifiable at the clinician's discretion, scanned and ordered through FootID Pro.
Shape is everything.
What separates Root from generic insoles is the precise morphological shape captured from the patient's foot, held in the exact clinical position the clinician chose. No averaging. No guesswork.
The Care Firm is built from a positive model of the patient's foot and can be modified at the practitioner's discretion. This means every device fits the patient it was made for, not an approximation.
Modern Root
Width adjusted considering both borders. Default for all Root models.
Traditional Root
Justified to the lateral border. Used for specific clinical indications at practitioner discretion.
Modern Root shape process
- Forefoot balanced to rearfoot: forefoot-to-rearfoot relationship is optimised as the first step in shape modification.
- Fat pad expanded ~3mm: ensures the device fills the calcaneal contour precisely for the patient's heel.
- Arch lowered ~3mm: creates optimal heel-to-arch-to-met-head geometry. Not applied to foam impressions.
- Width tuned to both borders: medial and lateral widths considered together, giving a foundation that matches the patient's actual foot width.
*Subtalar joint neutral is found by palpating the talus head against the navicular. The neutral position can present many joint-on-joint and bone-on-bone relationships and varies from person to person. An everted or inverted calcaneus may be a neutral position for an individual person. Biomechanical evaluation required.
How you hold the foot is what we build.
Root is not just the orthotic, it's the clinician's positioning, captured and preserved in the device. After scanning, FootID Pro asks the questions no other lab asks.
After every scan, we need to know:
- Was the subtalar joint held in neutral?
- Was the midtarsal joint maximally pronated, loading the 5th metatarsal head?
- Was the midtarsal joint maximally supinated, loading the 1st metatarsal head?
- Was the forefoot brought perpendicular to the rearfoot?
- Was a forefoot-to-rearfoot balance bisection achieved at 90° relative to the calcaneal bisection?
The positioning of those 19 joints in the foot is what gives us the shape.
CAD/CAM fabrication
- Scan or cast captured: clinician captures foot morphology via FootID Pro, holding the subtalar joint in the chosen clinical position.
- Shape modification applied: forefoot balanced to rearfoot, fat pad expanded, arch adjusted using Root's design process.
- Technical staff review: every device reviewed against Traditional Root, Modern Root, Blake Inverted, or Accommodative principles.
- Fabricated to the shape: the semi-rigid polypropylene frame and extrinsic EVA rearfoot post are fabricated to match the submitted shape precisely.
See how the scan becomes an order.
Watch Kevin capture a foot, confirm the clinical position, and send a Root order, start to finish.
Variation converted to anatomy-match accuracy by impression & fabrication method
How closely each method preserves the patient’s intended foot shape. Scale: 0–100%, where 100% = optimal congruence.
Plaster bandage is wrapped around the foot in the clinician’s prescribed corrected position, setting into a precise negative of the foot’s contour.
The foot is pressed into a crushable foam box, leaving a negative impression of the plantar surface.
An existing positive model from the patient’s previous orthotics is reused, KevinRoot accepts models from any lab, with frame-contour variance as low as 1%.
A digital scanner such as FootID Pro captures the foot surface as a 3D model.
A fiberglass casting sock is applied over the foot and cures to capture its contour.
Pedobarography captures the patient’s plantar pressure distribution (static or dynamic) at 1:1 scale, used with arch height and shoe size to select a redimold positive model, not to capture true 3D contour.
A direct-molding system using prefabricated, size- and arch-based positive models (33 in total) rather than an individual foot impression.
Heated material is vacuum-pressed over a plaster positive model, drawing it intimately into every contour.
The frame is 3D printed by selective laser sintering (SLS) directly from the CAD-designed digital frame.
A positive model is CNC-milled (CAD/CAM) from an STS, 3D scan, plaster, or foam impression, then the frame is vacuum formed over it.
A CNC machine subtractively mills the frame from a block of polypropylene or EVA per the digital design.
*Redimold has no physical or digital foot impression, patient-foot-to-cast congruent accuracy is unavailable. Variation from positive model to frame is low.
How your patient's foot shape becomes a precision frame.
The journey from clinical capture to finished Care Firm frame is where Root's expertise lives. Every step preserves the shape and position the clinician chose for that patient.
- Foot impression captured: the clinician captures the foot using their preferred method. How the foot is held directly determines the congruency of the finished device.
- Positive model created: the impression becomes a physical plaster model or a digital CAD/CAM model. Digital models are stored indefinitely for future pairs.
- Root technicians modify the shape: every modification reviewed against the prescription. Rearfoot post, heel cup depth, and cover selection confirmed per patient.
- Care Firm frame fabricated: a semi-rigid polypropylene frame is vacuum formed over the positive model and finished with a 65-75 Shore extrinsic EVA rearfoot post for varus or valgus subtalar joint control. Plastazote and glove-leather covers are applied, forefoot balanced to rearfoot.
FitFoot360 Foot Model
- Root digital model stored indefinitely → recalled for future pairs
- Root technicians modify the digital shape in real-time: arch, heel, width, postings
- Vacuum formed over CAD/CAM positive model, direct milled or 3D printed Root Frame, replicable, consistent, precise
Real-time control over shape, function, and fit.
FitFoot360 gives Root's technicians complete digital control over every dimension of the orthotic frame, in real time. What once required physical carving and guesswork is now precise, repeatable, and stored permanently for every patient.
Digital positive model
Stored indefinitely. Future pairs, replacements, or modifications can be fabricated from the exact same shape without a new impression.
Real-time shape modification
Root technicians control arch, heel, width, and postings directly in the software.
Every parameter visible
Heel cup depth, frame reinforcement, ray cut-outs, flanges, and more are set per patient, not per template.
Plaster and foam digitisation
Physical models can be digitised for permanent storage. Note: digitising may not perfectly replicate the intimate contours achieved when vacuum forming directly over plaster.
Built to their spec. Built for their foot.
Every parameter of the Care Firm is set to the individual patient: frame rigidity, rearfoot posting, heel cup depth, cushioning, and covers are all chosen for that patient's anatomy, deformity, and activity level. Forefoot is balanced to rearfoot and the device is custom congruent to the foot model.
A semi-rigid polypropylene frame calibrated to patient weight, giving a higher degree of biomechanical control than the Care Soft.
No frame filler. The semi-rigid shell carries the arch on its own, keeping the device low-profile under full-length covers.
A firm extrinsic EVA rearfoot post provides varus or valgus subtalar joint control while retaining some shock absorption.
Pressed directly from the patient's calcaneus, the heel cup controls their specific degree of inversion and eversion.
A soft glove-leather top layer molds to the foot and reduces friction against the skin's surface.
High-quality plastazote runs the full length of the device, molding to the foot and protecting arthritic prominences.
A Myolite forefoot extension carries cushioning through to the toes.
A suede bottom cover extends from the heel to the toes, seating the device quietly in the shoe.
The full picture.
Everything you need to prescribe the Care Firm.
- Poor biomechanical alignment
- Arthritis of rearfoot or forefoot
- Plantar fibromas
- Exostosis prominences and deformities
- Ganglion cysts
- Ledderhose or plantar fibromatosis
Recommended for
- Reducible arthritic feet
- Active patients
- Walking and athletic shoes with removable insoles
The Care Firm is a UCB-type device ideal for active geriatric patients requiring substantial rearfoot control. Like the Care Soft, it is covered with glove leather and plastazote to accommodate and reduce friction against the skin, but its semi-rigid polypropylene frame provides a higher degree of biomechanical control.
The control provided by the polypropylene frame assists the patient in maintaining balance and stability, and a firm extrinsic EVA rearfoot post provides varus or valgus subtalar joint control. Built with a positive model of the patient's foot and modifiable at the practitioner's discretion. For patients whose deformity is non-reducible, the Care Soft device is recommended.
- L3000 (UCB)
- L3010 (longitudinal/metatarsal support)
- L3020 (arch support)
- L5000 (filler)
Based on configuration. For reference only. Final coding and billing are the provider's responsibility.
Delivery Time
- Standard: 2 weeks
- Expedited: Available on request
When the deformity can still be reduced, control it.
A reducible arthritic foot can still be brought toward a corrected position, and holding it there is what changes loading. The Care Firm uses a semi-rigid polypropylene frame to resist collapse through midstance, while plastazote and glove leather continue to protect fibromas, exostoses and fragile skin.
The 65-75 Shore extrinsic EVA rearfoot post sets varus or valgus subtalar joint control, and the 12mm heel cup controls inversion and eversion of the calcaneus. The result is balance and stability for an active geriatric patient, congruent to that patient's foot.
The right frame
for control with comfort.
Care Firm sits on the R3 Control frame profile: the widest, deepest platform in the range,
with room for a semi-rigid shell, an extrinsic post, and soft covers together.
Join the KevinRoot Medical Network
Start prescribing with FootID Pro and KevinRoot Medical.
Configure Root on FootID Pro →