Journal
SMART MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES
Volume 23, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/0964-1726/23/6/065007
Keywords
dielectric elastomer actuators; active bandage; human lower extremity disorders; human calf prototype; finite element modelling
Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
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Disorders associated with the lower extremity venous system are common and significantly affect the quality of life of a large number of individuals. These disorders include orthostatic hypotension, oedema, deep vein thrombosis and a number of other conditions related to insufficient venous blood return. The common recommended treatment for these disorders is the use of hosiery compression stockings. In this research, an active compression bandage (ACB) based on the technology of dielectric elastomeric actuators (DEA) was designed, prototyped and tested. A customized calf prototype (CP) was developed to measure the pressure applied by the ACB. Experimental results performed with the CP showed that the pressure applied by the ACB could be electrically controlled to be either below or above the pressure exerted by commercially available compression stockings. An analytical model was used to provide the design criteria. A finite element model (FEM) was also developed to simulate the electromechanical behaviour of the DEA. Comparison of the experimental results with the FEM and analytical models showed that the modelling could accurately predict the behaviour of the ACB. The FEM was subsequently used to study how to improve the ACB performance by varying geometrical parameters such as the ACB thickness.
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