Development of a device to determine the stiffness of elastic garments and bandages

Objective: To evaluate the reliability of a newly developed stiffness-determining device, composed of a leg mannequin and air-pack type analyser, for measuring the interface pressure. Method: The correlation of stiffness values obtained employing the Hohenstein method and this new method was investigated using 17 different brands of medical elastic compression stocking. Results: A significant correlation in stiffness values using the two methods was obtained (P < 0.01). When this new method was applied to the bandages, the stiffness was significantly correlated with the initial pressure when assessing both short-stretch and long-stretch bandages. On the comparison of stiffness values between elastic stockings and bandages with the same initial pressure, the short-stretch bandages showed a predominantly higher value than long-stretch bandages and stockings (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The reliability of this new method, which can be easily applied to not only elastic stockings but also elastic bandages, was verified. In clinical practice, the compression pressure should be selected in consideration of the prospective stiffness.