The research and design of novel, "smart" compression clothing is a collaborative project between the Wearable Technology lab and the Joyner Lab at the Mayo Clinic. The team's aim is to develop controllable gaited and gradient compression of the legs through the integration of shape memory materials into garments, to develop novel “smart” compression clothing that will have important applications, from consumer uses to clinical interventions.
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With the unique experience in space suit design and smart fabrics at UMN and the applied research in clinical and human performance physiology at Mayo Clinic, we are developing smart fabrics where degree of compression, timing of compression, type and site of compression (pressure) can be controlled dynamically. The applications for this new technology include augmenting venous return for conditions of orthostatic intolerance (e.g., POTS), cardiac rehabilitation in heart failure patients, lymphedema venous insufficiency, reducing DVT risk during long plane flights, sports performance, and countermeasures for flight or space flight. While the potential uses for this technology are broad, the basic design is similar across many conditions and thus our initial goals for the purposes of this application and funding are to 1) develop an initial prototype smart fabric compression garment to dynamically oppose orthostatic changes and that can be synchronized to body position and an individual’s electrocardiogram, 2) to determine the compression thresholds needed, timing and synchrony of compression for human applications and to demonstrate maintenance of blood pressure and reduced autonomic responses to tilt table testing or LBNP (lower body negative pressure) and 3) evidence of augmented venous return by synchronizing compression during cardiac diastole.
Patent: SMART FABRIC (SHAPE MEMORY ALLOY SPRING COMPRESSION GARMENTS) Duvall, J., Granberry, R., Berglund, M., Dunne, L., Holschuh, B., Johnson, B., Joyner, M. "Smart Fabric", US Application No. 6243356. Filed 24 February, 2017
Funded by Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics
Related Press
Related Publications
- Schleif, N., Pettys-Baker, R., Lee, J. W., Berglund, M., Ozbek, S., Utset-Ward, S., ... & Holschuh, B. (2018, July). Development and characterization of modular elastic switches for sensing and control of active compression garments. 48th International Conference on Environmental Systems.
- Granberry, R., Ciavarella, N., Pettys-Baker, R., Berglund, M. E., & Holschuh, B. (2018, April). No-Power-Required, Touch-Activated Compression Garments for the Treatment of POTS. In 2018 Design of Medical Devices Conference (pp. V001T10A006-V001T10A006). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- Pettys-Baker, R., Schleif, N., Lee, J. W., Utset-Ward, S., Berglund, M. E., Dunne, L. E., & Joyner, M. (2018, April). Tension-Controlled Active Compression Garment for Treatment of Orthostatic Intolerance. In 2018 Design of Medical Devices Conference (pp. V001T10A005-V001T10A005). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- Granberry, R., Duvall, J., Dunne, L. E., & Holschuh, B. (2017, September). An Analysis of Anthropometric Geometric Variability of the Lower Leg for the Fit & Function of Advanced Functional Garments. In Proceedings of the 2017 ACM International Symposium on Wearable Computers (pp. 10-17). ACM.
- Duvall, J., Granberry, R., Dunne, L. E., Holschuh, B., Johnson, C., Kelly, K., & Joyner, M. (2017, April). The Design and Development of Active Compression Garments for Orthostatic Intolerance. In 2017 Design of Medical Devices Conference (pp. V001T01A013-V001T01A013). American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
