Abstract
Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) is a proactive compression therapeutic technique in the prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis, reduction of limb edema, and treatment of chronic venous ulcers. To appropriately detect and analyze biomechanical pressure profiles delivered by IPC in treatment, a dynamic interface pressure monitoring system was developed to visualize and quantify morphological pressure mapping in the spatial and temporal domains in real time. The system comprises matrix soft sensors, a smart IPC device, a monitoring and analysis software, and a display unit. The developed soft sensor fabricated by an advanced screen printing technology was used to detect intermitted pressure by an IPC device. The pneumatic pressure signals inside the bladders of the IPC were also transiently collected by a data acquisition system and then transmitted to the computer through Bluetooth. The experimental results reveal that the developed pressure monitoring system can perform the real-time detection of dynamic pressures by IPC and display the morphological pressure mapping multi-dimensionally. This new system provides a novel modality to assist in the effective evaluation of proactive compression therapy in practice. The study results contribute to understanding the working mechanisms of IPC and improving its functional design based on intuitive biomechanical characteristics of compression delivery profiles.
Highlights
Compression therapy has become a mainstay for prophylaxis and the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) of the lower extremities [1]
An increase in the prevalence of venous disorders such as varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), leg ulcers, lymphedema, and blood clots has induced the growth of the global compression therapy demands
To visualize the morphological pressure mapping conducted between the Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) unit and the lower limb, a software was designed and developed based on a multi-thread theory for the real-time monitoring [59,60], that allowed users to dynamically observe the biomechanical forces exerted by the IPC unit on the lower limb skin and tissue
Summary
Compression therapy has become a mainstay for prophylaxis and the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) of the lower extremities [1]. Numerous soft sensors have been explored to monitor skin surface characteristics [44,45], there is no soft sensor that can be applied to structure the morphological pressure map of the dynamic interface pressure that is induced by an IPC device in compression therapy. To detect the key parameters in the IPC device operation in a timely manner, a novel matrix soft sensor-based monitoring system was designed and developed to detect, record, and display different dynamic interface pressure magnitudes and mappings in real time induced by the IPC device on a continuous skin surface of a lower limb in two-dimensional (2D) and 3D views.
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