Wearable DVT Compression Wrap With RF Compliance Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing DVT compression devices are uncomfortable to wear for extended periods, not conducive to patient mobility, and can be tricked by non-compliant patients, necessitating a mobile, compliant, and effective compression solution.
Innovation Solution
A non-pneumatic, wearable compression device with a disposable wrap and reusable controller that applies controlled compression, includes sensors for patient compliance monitoring, and ensures proper use through RF chip authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a pneumatic DVT cuff is used to apply compression, then blood flow is promoted and DVT risk is reduced, but the device becomes uncomfortable for extended wear and restricts patient mobility
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two separate components: a disposable wrap that contacts the patient's limb and a reusable controller that contains the pneumatic mechanism. This segmentation allows the comfort-critical wrap to be replaced frequently while the complex pump mechanism remains stationary, resolving the contradiction between effective compression and patient comfort/mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The pneumatic pump mechanism is extracted from the wearable component and placed in a separate stationary controller. Only the essential compression function remains in the wrap, eliminating the discomfort and mobility restrictions caused by carrying a pump while maintaining the therapeutic compression effect.
2Measurement precision
If a DVT cuff with monitoring is used to track patient compliance, then usage time can be measured, but non-compliant patients can trick the system by mounting the cuff on rigid objects
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that provide feedback about the actual compression being applied to the limb. This feedback mechanism detects whether the wrap is properly positioned on a flexible limb versus mounted on a rigid object, preventing cheating while maintaining accurate compliance monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The compliance monitoring system replaces simple time-based tracking with sensor-based detection of actual compression application. This substitution of mechanical sensing for temporal monitoring ensures that compliance is verified by physical evidence of proper use rather than merely by duration.
3Force
If a large pneumatic pump unit is used to inflate the DVT cuff, then sufficient compression force is achieved, but the device becomes heavy and difficult for patients to carry
Solution Approach 1:
The heavy pneumatic pump is extracted from the wearable component and placed in a stationary controller, eliminating the weight burden on the patient while preserving the compression force generation capability in the controlled environment where weight is not an issue.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible wrap acts as an intermediary between the stationary pump and the patient's limb. This intermediary transmits the compression force from the remote pump to the limb, allowing sufficient force to be applied without requiring the pump to be carried by the patient.
Data Source
AI summary
A compression device particularly suited for DVT prophylaxis includes a disposable wrap and a re-usable controller removably mounted on the wrap to apply a tensioning force to the wrap when it is encircling the limb of a patient. The wrap includes an RF chip with a unique identifier and the controller includes an RF sensor and processor to authenticate the wrap before commencing a compression cycle. A kiosk is provided for storing a plurality of wraps for use by patients and a plurality of controllers to be used with any of the wraps. The processor of each controller can control an electric motor in the controller to tighten and loosen the wrap according to a compression protocol between a pre-tension compression force and maximum compression force. The amount of movement of the wrap changes as the patient's physiology changes while maintaining the pre-tension and maximum compression forces.