Exercise Support Monitoring with Blood Volume Thresholds

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Solution Overview

Problem

Patients undergoing blood purification treatment have low exercise tolerance and require exercise intensity settings that ensure safety, but existing methods lack effective monitoring and support for safer exercise during treatment.

Innovation Solution

A system comprising a blood purification apparatus, exercise device, and exercise support apparatus that includes sensors to monitor circulating blood volume changes, generate estimation lines, and adjust exercise based on real-time monitoring and comparison with predetermined thresholds to ensure safety and appropriateness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If exercise intensity is increased to improve dialysis efficiency, then exercise effectiveness is improved, but patient safety deteriorates due to low exercise tolerance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedialysis efficiencyVSAvoidpatient safety
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors circulating blood volume during exercise and compares it against estimation lines generated from pre-exercise measurements. When deviations exceed predetermined thresholds, the system provides feedback to stop or adjust exercise intensity, enabling safe optimization of exercise effectiveness while preventing harmful blood volume changes

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary measurements of circulating blood volume before exercise begins and generates estimation lines representing expected blood volume courses. These pre-established baselines enable real-time comparison and threshold-based safety control during exercise, allowing intensity optimization without compromising safety

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If exercise intensity is set to a low level to ensure safety, then patient safety is improved, but exercise effectiveness deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepatient safetyVSAvoidexercise effectiveness
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts exercise intensity recommendations based on real-time blood volume monitoring and deviation from estimation lines. Rather than maintaining fixed low intensity, the system enables progressive intensity increases within safe boundaries defined by blood volume thresholds, optimizing both safety and effectiveness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If manual monitoring by medical staff is used to ensure safety, then patient safety is improved, but system complexity and resource requirements deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepatient safetyVSAvoidmonitoring system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system autonomously monitors blood volume, generates estimation lines, calculates deviations, and determines when to stop exercise based on predetermined thresholds. This self-service capability eliminates the need for continuous manual monitoring by medical staff while maintaining high safety standards, reducing both human resource requirements and operational complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3545985B1Exercise support apparatus
Publication Date: 2025.08.13 NIKKISO CO LTD
  • EP3545985B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3545985B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3545985B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To provide an exercise support apparatus that can offer safer exercise to be taken during blood purification treatment. An exercise support apparatus is capable of supporting exercise taken by a patient during blood purification treatment and includes an estimation-line-generating device 4 that generates an estimation line representing a course of circulating-blood-volume rate of change (ΔBV) as a parameter regarding changes in circulating blood volume of the patient that is estimated to be observed after the exercise is started, the estimation line being generated after the blood purification treatment is started and from a continuous measurement of the circulating-blood-volume rate of change (ΔBV) as the parameter regarding changes in circulating blood volume that is conducted before the exercise is started; a first calculating device 5 that calculates a difference or ratio between a measured value of the circulating-blood-volume rate of change (ΔBV) of the patient that is acquired after the exercise during the blood purification treatment is started and a value of the estimation line generated by the estimation-line-generating device 4; and a first monitoring device 6 that monitors whether or not the difference or ratio calculated by the first calculating device 5 is over a predetermined threshold.