Wearable sensory system for a motorized compression bandage

Disorders associated with excessive swelling of the legs are common. This swelling can be associated with pain, the production of varicose veins, reduced blood pressure (hypotension) when standing and cause light-headedness, fainting, and falls. These events can significantly affect the quality of life and, in severe cases, lead to death. It is well documented that up to 30% of the elderly have standing hypotension. Swelling is common during pregnancy ranks highly as one of the causes of varicose veins. Current physical remedies to these disorders include air compression leg massagers, which do not allow for ambulatory use, and compression stockings, which attempt to limit blood pooling and fluid build-up in the legs during walking. However, neither of these devices is able to adapt to the changing physiological conditions of the patient while compression stockings can provide only passive assistance to edema.One of the developed technology, a motorized bandage, which is wrapped around the lower leg, has recently been prototyped. It uses an actuator and thin cables to apply a fully controlled and desired compression profile on the lower leg. The device is battery operated and is designed to be utilized for ambulatory situations. The main goal of this MEng project is to develop and test a sensor system for the motorized compression bandage. This sensor system should be able to detect lower leg motion and trigger the compression bandage when a user is inactive.