Peripheral Warming Sleeve with Intermittent Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for preventing perioperative hypothermia in surgical patients are inadequate, as existing devices are cumbersome, ineffective for preoperative warming, and often not used due to practical and safety concerns, leading to significant risks of hypothermia-related complications and increased healthcare costs.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that combines thermal energy delivery with blood flow regulation therapy, using devices applied to limbs to deliver heat and intermittent compression, specifically targeting areas like the popliteal fossa and sole of the foot, to maintain or increase body temperature, with optional integration of temperature sensors and controllers for feedback-controlled therapy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If forced air warming blankets are used, then core body temperature can be maintained, but the devices are cumbersome and often not used due to practical concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The warming system is divided into multiple independent heating zones (first heating zone at proximal end, second heating zone at distal end) that can be separately controlled. This segmentation allows targeted warming of specific body regions while reducing overall device complexity and improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The device applies warming therapy in advance during the preoperative period before hypothermia develops, and continues through intraoperative and postoperative periods. This preliminary and continuous action prevents hypothermia complications rather than treating them after they occur.
2Temperature
If existing warming devices are used, then some thermal protection is provided, but they are ineffective for preoperative warming and often not used
Solution Approach 1:
The device is specifically designed to be applied during the preoperative period in the waiting area, providing thermal protection before hypothermia develops. This preliminary action addresses the critical gap in existing warming strategies that focus only on intraoperative periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The warming system provides continuous thermal protection across three distinct periods: preoperative (in waiting area), intraoperative (in operating room), and postoperative (in recovery area). This continuous action ensures uninterrupted thermal protection throughout the entire surgical journey.
3Temperature
If thermal energy is delivered to the core area during surgery, then body temperature is maintained, but the surgical field is contaminated and blankets are inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The heating elements are extracted from the core surgical area and relocated to the extremities (hands and feet). This extraction allows thermal energy delivery without interfering with the sterile surgical field, eliminating the risk of contamination while still maintaining core body temperature through peripheral warming.
Solution Approach 2:
The extremities serve as intermediary zones for heat transfer. Thermal energy is applied to the hands and feet, which then act as mediators to distribute warmth systemically through blood circulation, indirectly warming the core without direct contact with the surgical site.
4Temperature
If general warming methods are used, then overall body temperature increases, but peripheral blood flow reduction causes core temperature drop
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying general warming to the entire body, the device applies localized heating specifically to the extremities (hands and feet). This local quality approach targets the areas of greatest heat loss with focused thermal energy, improving warming efficiency while reducing overall energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The device converts the harmful effect of cold extremities (which cause heat loss and trigger vasoconstriction) into a benefit by actively warming them. The warmed extremities then serve as heat sources that prevent core temperature drop, transforming the problem of peripheral cooling into a solution for core warming.
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
This approach effectively regulates body temperature before, during, and after surgery, reducing the risk of hypothermia-related complications and associated costs by providing a more efficient and user-friendly solution for maintaining normothermia in surgical patients.
Implementation Method 1
delivering thermal energy to a body part of a patient to increase or maintain a body temperature of the patient
Implementation Method 2
delivering a blood flow regulation therapy to the body part to regulate blood flow in the body part
Implementation Method 3
Colder blood is transferred from the peripheries of the body to the core through a phenomenon known as redistributive hypothermia
Data Source
AI summary
A method for maintaining and/or increasing body temperature of a patient may involve delivering heat to a first location on a limb of the patient, delivering heat to a second location on the limb, apart from the first location, and applying intermittent compression to a third location on the limb, located between the first location and the second location. A device for maintaining and/or increasing body temperature of a patient may include a sleeve for positioning over at least part of one of the patient's limbs, first and second heat delivery members coupled with the sleeve, and an intermittent compression member coupled with the sleeve between the first and second heat delivery members.