A new technique to measure pressure in medical compression stockings

Abstract

Venous insufficiency is one of the most common diseases in adults, a condition in which venous blood escapes from its normal ante grade way of flow and the veins have problems sending blood from the legs back to the heart. It can be caused by several different vein disorders, but generally arises from either blood clots or varicose veins. Medical compression stockings are widely used in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. From this perspective, the measurement of the effects of compression stockings and understanding the operating principle of them are very important. This paper introduces a novel testing instrument composed of a computer-controlled artificial leg, and investigates the accuracy of the pressure measurement of the dynamic leg by comparing it with the standard method. For this purpose the compression properties of standard medical stockings were measured by the new testing device and pressure readings were validated against the Kikuhime device. The results revealed that there were significant correlation coefficients, and the calibration and validation data proved that the results of the new device were consistent and repeatable.