Monitoring vital parameters of a compression garment wearer
Monitoring vital parameters of a wearer of a compression garment by analyzing a pressure signal waveform indicative of a fluid pressure in an inflatable and deflatable bladder of the compression garment. Analyzing the pressure signal waveform for an oscillating amplitude as a function of time and/or a representation of a pulse of the wearer provides an indication of blood pressure of the wearer.
1 . A compression therapy garment for use with a controller, the compression therapy garment configured to provide compression therapy treatment in which a gradient pressure is applied to a lower extremity of a wearer of the compression therapy garment, the compression therapy garment comprising:
at least one bladder configured to be wrapped around the lower extremity of the wearer of the compression therapy garment, the at least one bladder in fluid communication with the controller, wherein:
in a first configuration, the at least one bladder is in fluid communication with the atmosphere,
in a second configuration, the at least one bladder is not in fluid communication with the atmosphere, and wherein a pressure hold period of a compression therapy cycle occurs while the at least one bladder is in the second configuration, and
during the pressure hold period of the compression therapy cycle, the controller is configured to receive, from a pressure sensor, a signal indicative of fluid pressure in the at least one bladder, determine whether the received signal includes an oscillating amplitude as a function of time, and based at least in part on the determination of whether the received signal includes the oscillating amplitude as a function of time, estimate a blood pressure of the wearer.
2 . The compression therapy garment of claim 1 , wherein the signal of the fluid in the at least one bladder is received during a particular pressure hold period and wherein the blood pressure is estimated based only on the signal of the fluid pressure in the at least one bladder received during the particular pressure hold period of the compression therapy cycle.
3 . The compression therapy garment of claim 2 , wherein the signal indicative of the fluid pressure is a single signal.
4 . The compression therapy garment of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to detect characteristics indicative of a heartbeat of a wearer from a pressure waveform representative of a compression therapy cycle.
5 . The compression therapy garment of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to extract frequencies associated with human cardiac cycles from the received signal.
6 . The compression therapy garment of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to indicate to an operator of the controller that the signal includes features indicative of the pulse of the wearer of the garment.
7 . The compression therapy garment of claim 1 , wherein the pressure of the at least one bladder is maintained at at least 160 mmHg for during the pressure hold period of a compression therapy cycle when the pulse rate of the wearer is estimated.
8 . A method for determining a blood pressure or a pulse rate of a wearer of a compression therapy garment during a compression therapy cycle in which a gradient pressure is applied to a lower extremity of the wearer of the compression therapy garment, the method comprising:
inflating at least one bladder of the compression therapy garment;
maintaining a fluid pressure of the at least one bladder during a pressure hold period of the compression therapy cycle;
receiving, from a pressure sensor, a signal indicative of the fluid pressure in the at least one bladder during the pressure hold period;
determining whether the received signal includes an oscillating amplitude as a function of time; and
responsive to determining that the received signal includes the oscillating amplitude as a function of time, estimate a blood pressure of the wearer of the garment.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the signal of the fluid in the at least one bladder is received during a particular pressure hold period and wherein the blood pressure is estimated based only on the signal of the fluid pressure in the at least one bladder received during the particular pressure hold period of the compression therapy cycle.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the signal indicative of the fluid pressure is a single signal.
11 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising detecting characteristics indicative of a heartbeat of a wearer from a pressure waveform representative of a compression therapy cycle.
12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising extracting frequencies associated with human cardiac cycles from the received signal.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the pressure of the at least one bladder is maintained at least 160 mmHg for during the pressure hold period of a compression therapy cycle when the pulse rate of the wearer is estimated.
14 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising processing the extracted signal to bring oscillating amplitudes associated with the pulse of the wearer into focus such that the oscillating amplitudes in the signal are more prevalent when displayed on a display device relative to the unprocessed extracted signal.