Monitoring compliance using venous refill detection
First Claim
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1. A control unit for monitoring patient compliance with a compression therapy regimen delivered to a body part by inflatable bladders of a compression garment in fluid communication with the control unit, the control unit comprising:
- at least one pressure sensor for detecting pressure in at least one of the inflatable bladders and generating signals corresponding to the measured pressure;
a pump for pressurizing fluid;
an outlet port in fluid communication with the pump, said outlet port being configured to connect fluid tubing thereto for selectively delivering pressurized fluid to at least one of the inflatable bladders;
a memory for storing data;
one or more processors receiving and responsive to the signals generated by the at least one pressure sensor, the one or more processors being in communication with the memory; and
computer-executable instructions embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer-executable instructions including instructions for causing the one or more processors to;
determine a characteristic of blood flow in the body part as a function of the received signals; and
increment a patient compliance timer when the determined blood flow characteristic meets a predetermined standard.
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Abstract
Monitoring patient compliance with a compression therapy regimen. Venous Refill Time (VRT) is monitored via a pressure sensor in a bladder of a compression system. A controller of the compression system correlates the monitored VRT to a predetermined threshold to determine whether the patient is using the compression system.
125 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A control unit for monitoring patient compliance with a compression therapy regimen delivered to a body part by inflatable bladders of a compression garment in fluid communication with the control unit, the control unit comprising:
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at least one pressure sensor for detecting pressure in at least one of the inflatable bladders and generating signals corresponding to the measured pressure; a pump for pressurizing fluid; an outlet port in fluid communication with the pump, said outlet port being configured to connect fluid tubing thereto for selectively delivering pressurized fluid to at least one of the inflatable bladders; a memory for storing data; one or more processors receiving and responsive to the signals generated by the at least one pressure sensor, the one or more processors being in communication with the memory; and computer-executable instructions embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer-executable instructions including instructions for causing the one or more processors to; determine a characteristic of blood flow in the body part as a function of the received signals; and increment a patient compliance timer when the determined blood flow characteristic meets a predetermined standard. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of monitoring patient compliance with a compression therapy regimen, said method comprising:
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receiving signals from a pressure sensor coupled to a compression garment, wherein the garment is sized and shaped to be wrapped around substantially a limb of a wearer and comprises one or more selectively inflatable bladders for applying compression to the limb upon inflation, the received signals indicating a pressure in the one or more selectively inflatable bladders, the signals being indicative of a characteristic of blood flow in the limb when the compression garment is wrapped substantially around the limb of the wearer; determining the blood flow characteristic as a function of the received signals; comparing the blood flow characteristic to a predetermined standard of blood flow characteristics; and correlating the blood flow characteristic to patient compliance as a function of said comparing. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification