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| Typical Number in Hospital: 5 | Cost Bands: 3 | References: |
A range of inflatable appliances, which apply intermittent compression to various parts of the body, have been developed. Perhaps the best known of these are the inflatable leggings which are used for the prevention of deep vein thrombosis during immobilization. The principle here is to inflate the appliance two or three times a minute to move blood out of the limb.
A number of other similar devices exist which fit on other parts of the body and are used to encourage fluid transfer in cases of oedema, leg ulcers, etc. The same technique and instrumentation is also used to provide physiotherapy in some muscle disorders.
The inflatable appliance may be almost any shape or size to fit the patient and part of the body being treated, but the pulsating pump is common to a number of applications and typically includes an air pump, pressure gauge and controls to select treatment time, and the frequency and intensity of pressure pulsations. Some devices can be linked to faradic treatment units so that the pressure cycles are synchronized with pulsations in the electrical treatment.
Content and Design Copyright 2000 Dr. Malcolm C Brown. See Title Page for more details