Can heterogeneous compression textile design reshape skin pressures? A fundamental study

Abstract

Textile-based compression interventions (e.g. compression stockings and bandages), as an essential “source of pressure”, have impacted the effectiveness of pressure dosage delivery. The homogeneous structures of traditional compression shells generate highly uneven pressure distributions around leg geometrics in a passive mode, resulting in side effects and uncomfortable wearing perception. With this in mind, new heterogeneous compression sleeves with hybrid elastic properties were fabricated utilizing advanced three-dimensional seamless knitting technology and a unique laid-in structural design. PicoPress pressure assessment revealed in vivo that the developed heterogeneous compression shells with appropriate configurations for the lower limbs demonstrated the capability to proactively reshape skin pressures around leg cross-sections via calibrated proportions of segments with hybrid elastic moduli. The reduced anterior peak focal pressures and increased pressures at muscle-dominated posterior calves together provided a promising measure to enhance pressure function and user compliance in practice. The results will contribute to the development of a new generation of heterogeneous compression stockings with “bi-axial” pressure profiles for improved compression performance in extensive applications.