Adjustable Medical Garment Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wearable cardiac monitoring devices often suffer from discomfort due to inadequate pressure control, leading to poor sensor-skin interfaces and increased risk of pressure ulcers, which can result in reduced patient compliance and ineffective monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A wearable cardiac monitoring device with a garment featuring adjustable force applicators that maintain a pressure range of 0.05 psi to 0.65 psi on anatomical locations, utilizing external pressure measurement devices and controllers to ensure continuous, comfortable monitoring and treatment delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wearable device is designed to maintain continuous contact with the skin for long-term monitoring, then monitoring reliability is improved, but pressure ulcers and discomfort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the pressure parameter applied by the garment through adjustable force applicators, changing the pressure from a static high value to a dynamic optimized value that maintains sensor contact while preventing pressure ulcers during long-term wear
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses pressure sensors to continuously monitor the pressure between the garment and skin, providing feedback to a controller that adjusts the force applicators to maintain optimal pressure within a safe range, preventing both insufficient contact and excessive pressure
2Measurement precision
If the garment applies sufficient pressure to ensure good sensor-skin interface, then signal quality is improved, but patient comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The force applicators are made adjustable and dynamically controllable, allowing the system to adapt the applied pressure in real-time based on patient movement, activity level, and comfort preferences, transitioning from a fixed high-pressure design to a dynamic optimized system
Solution Approach 2:
The system optimizes the pressure parameter to maintain it within a specific range (0.05-0.65 psi) that provides sufficient sensor contact for good signal quality while preventing discomfort, adjusting the parameter based on real-time conditions
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the device is designed for long-term continuous wear, then monitoring duration is improved, but pressure ulcer risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
Pressure sensors provide continuous feedback during long-term wear, allowing the controller to monitor and adjust force applicator pressure in real-time, ensuring the pressure remains within a safe range that prevents pressure ulcers even during extended monitoring periods
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous monitoring capability through adjustable force applicators that can be modified to distribute pressure more evenly and reduce focal stress points, allowing uninterrupted long-term wear without increasing pressure ulcer risk
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable cardiac monitoring device for providing an improved fit to a body of a patient during long term cardiac monitoring of the patient is provided. The device includes a garment configured to be worn about a torso of the patient and including a flexible material and physiological sensors configured to detect a physiological signal of the patient, the physiological sensors disposed on the flexible material and positioned at one or more anatomical locations of the patient's torso. The device also includes force applicators disposed on the flexible material proximate to the one or more physiological sensors, each of the force applicators configured to be adjustable during the long term cardiac monitoring of the patient to cause a pressure in a range of 0.05 psi to 0.65 psi to be exerted by the physiological sensors onto the one or more anatomical locations of the patient's torso.