Title
A Wearable Ankle Exercise Device for Deep Vein Thrombosis Prevention Using Thin McKibben Muscles
Abstract
Blood clots form in a lower limb due to a prolonged period of inactivity. They can be prevented by improving the deep vein circulation through ankle exercises. However, existing automatic exercise assisting devices are expensive and bulky. In this study, we designed a novel wearable deep vein thrombosis prevention device using thin McKibben muscles. The device has no rigid structure; it is composed almost entirely of soft materials, is extremely lightweight, and occupies little space around the leg. Ankle exercises, including dorsiflexion-plantarflexion, inversion-eversion, and abductionadduction, can be performed in all directions using the proposed device. On evaluating the range of motion with this device, it is found that it can achieve 90% of the maximum range of motion for all directions of ankle exercises. From the preliminary clinical evaluation, the popliteal vein velocity in the lower limbs, measured using an ultrasonic flow meter, increased after the device assisted ankle exercises. The results indicate that the proposed device can effectively improve blood circulation.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.1109/BioRob49111.2020.9224295
2020 8th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob)
DocType
ISSN
ISBN
Conference
2155-1782
978-1-7281-5907-2
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
0
Authors
8
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Te-Hsin CHANG100.34
Shoichiro KOIZUMI200.34
Hiroyuki Nabae31712.12
Gen Endo448953.07
Koichi Suzumori522765.75
Kazutoshi HATAKEYAMA600.68
Satoaki Chida700.68
Yoichi Shimada801.35