July 7th, 2026
Congratulations to Yasir Aljohani for receiving the Spring 2026 Microgrant.
The Live in Motion Foundation’s Microgrant is a one year grant program which supports early-stage research and quality improvement projects that have the potential to advance mobility care and improve patient outcomes.
By investing in innovative ideas at the pilot stage, these awards help students, residents, clinicians, and researchers generate the preliminary evidence needed to pursue larger studies, accelerate practice improvements, and strengthen the evidence base across orthotics, prosthetics, and pedorthics.
We are proud to recognize our 2026 Spring Microgrant Recipient, whose project reflects our commitment to advancing the people and ideas that restore mobility, independence, and quality of life.
“Receiving the Live in Motion Foundation Microgrant is a true honor, and I am deeply grateful for this support. During my years in clinical practice, I repeatedly saw children leave their AFOs unworn, and that gap is what drove me to pursue my PhD research at the University of Pittsburgh. I am genuinely excited to test whether real-time auditory feedback embedded in the orthosis can change that, and I hope this pilot study is the first step in a longer line of research that improves orthotic care for children with neuromuscular conditions.”
Feasibility of a Sensor-Integrated Ankle-Foot Orthosis with Real-Time Auditory Feedback to Support AFO Adherence: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot Study
Yasir Aljohani is a Lecturer at Taibah University and a PhD student in the Rehabilitation Science program at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, where he also earned his Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics (MSPO). A certified prosthetist-orthotist in Saudi Arabia, his research focuses on enhancing adherence to lower-limb orthoses, particularly in pediatric populations. Clinically, he works to improve patients’ quality of life; academically, he is committed to teaching and mentoring the next generation of orthotics and prosthetics practitioners.