Curved Inflatable Thigh Compression Device for MRA Venous Suppression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques for magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) face challenges in suppressing venous enhancement, leading to suboptimal imaging quality due to fast blood flow and difficulty in maintaining uniform compression, especially in patients with diabetic or foot ulcers, where venous contamination is common.
Innovation Solution
A thigh compression device with a curved, inflatable bladder and adjustable attachment mechanism that fits the conical shape of the thigh, providing even pressure and minimizing movement, combined with a pressure regulation system to control venous flow and prevent venous enhancement during MRA procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional tourniquets are used to compress veins, then venous enhancement is suppressed, but uniform compression is difficult to maintain and movement occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The tourniquet employs a curved strip of material with a radius of curvature adapted to the conical shape of the thigh. This curvature allows the tourniquet to conform to the thigh anatomy, maintaining uniform compression and preventing movement during the procedure, thereby reliably suppressing venous enhancement.
Solution Approach 2:
The tourniquet uses a flexible strip of material that can be wrapped around the thigh and secured. This flexible structure adapts to the thigh's contours while maintaining consistent compression pressure, ensuring reliable venous suppression without displacement.
2Productivity
If faster imaging is used to keep up with the bolus, then imaging speed is improved, but image quality and resolution decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The tourniquet is applied to the thigh before contrast agent injection to compress veins and delay venous enhancement. This preliminary action creates a time window that allows slower, higher-quality imaging to be performed without venous contamination, effectively decoupling imaging speed from image quality requirements.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If tourniquet pressure is increased to suppress venous enhancement, then venous contamination is reduced, but arterial flow may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The tourniquet applies compression locally to the thigh region, targeting venous structures while minimizing impact on arterial flow. The curved design and flexible material allow selective compression that suppresses venous enhancement without compromising arterial blood flow to the distal extremities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively reduces venous enhancement, allowing for improved visualization of arteries by uniformly compressing the thigh, enhancing image quality and reducing artifacts, while being easy to operate and maintain within the MR scanner environment.
Implementation Method 1
an inflatable bladder, adapted to be inflated (to a pressure of greater than about 40 mm Hg) by a fluid... providing even pressure and minimizing movement... control venous flow and prevent venous enhancement
Data Source
AI summary
There are many inventions described herein as well as many aspects and embodiments of those inventions. A thigh compression device and technique to control, time, delay and/or prevent excessive early venous enhancement relative to arterial enhancement and thereby improve and/or enhance MRA images, including peripheral MRA images. In one embodiment, the present invention uses a curved strip of material which is longer on the superior edge and shorter along the inferior edge. When wrapped around the conical or conal-like shape of the thigh of a subject (for example, a human), the thigh compression device more uniformly conforms to and/or fits around the thigh, providing more even/uniform compression as well as reducing, minimizing and/or eliminating significant movement of the thigh compression device towards the knees of the subject. Notably, a snug fit on the thighs may also enable the thigh compression device to be inflated with less fluid (for example, air) which is faster and less cumbersome for the operator.