Body treatment apparatus
First Claim
1. Body treatment equipment for treatment of a body limb, the body treatment equipment comprising an elongated band adapted to be spirally wound around the body part so as to encase the same with successive obliquely disposed turns and encompassing along its length a series of mutually juxtaposed, longitudinally disposed band segments adapted for respectively applying a compressive load to an underlying body part portion, wherein each of said band segments comprises an integrally formed inflatable cell provided with fluid inlet and outlet means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Body treatment equipment for treatment of a body part, the body treatment equipment comprising an elongated band adapted to be spirally wound around the body part so as to encase the same with successive obliquely disposed turns and encompassing along its length a series of mutually juxtaposed, longitudinally disposed band segments adapted for respectively applying a compressive load to an underlying body part portion.
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Citations
9 Claims
- 1. Body treatment equipment for treatment of a body limb, the body treatment equipment comprising an elongated band adapted to be spirally wound around the body part so as to encase the same with successive obliquely disposed turns and encompassing along its length a series of mutually juxtaposed, longitudinally disposed band segments adapted for respectively applying a compressive load to an underlying body part portion, wherein each of said band segments comprises an integrally formed inflatable cell provided with fluid inlet and outlet means.
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8. Body treatment equipment for treatment of a body limb, the body treatment equipment comprising
an elongated band having sufficient flexibility to be spirally wound around the body limb so as to spirally encase the limb with successive obliquely disposed turns, said elongated band comprising a series of longitudinally disposed band segments located end-to-end with respect to one another, each said band segment being controllable separately or independently of one another for applying a compressive load to an underlying part of said limb to sequentially and progressively apply a positive pressure gradient in a direction of venous blood flow in the body limb, each band segment comprising an integrally formed inflatable cell having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, means for controlling said application of a compressive load, and means for preventing the unraveling of said elongated band during application of the compressive load.
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9. A therapeutic method of treating a body part by applying intermittent compression thereto, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) encasing a body part with a series of obliquely disposed band segments extending in a direction of venous blood flow of the body part by spirally winding an elongated band encompassing along a length thereof a series of mutually juxtaposed, longitudinally disposed band segments around the body part in said blood flow direction so as to encase the body part with a series of obliquely disposed turns which overlap so as to constitute an effectively continuous sleeve, said band segments each comprising an integrally formed inflatable cell provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; and (b) cyclically applying compressive loads to underlying body part portions in a predetermined sequence.
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Specification