L2M NSERC - Attenuating the negative consequences of disuse with an intentional blood flow restriction and electrical muscle stimulation device

住院治疗费用昂贵，每年花费数十亿加元。模型显示，每天步行20分钟这样的低强度运动可以缩短住院时间。虽然运动是住院病人最好的第一线护理之一，但由于时间、人员、空间分配、患者动机或患者运动耐受性的限制，运动可能不可行。因此，这些情况需要新的工具来减少那些无法进行身体活动或锻炼的人的住院时间。我们有一种便携式设备，它提供了与自愿锻炼类似的好处，但在某种程度上是被动的，或者不需要个人的自愿输入。我们的设备结合了两种先前存在的技术：一种是引起肌肉收缩的电刺激器，另一种是有意减少流向所需肢体的血流量的能力。这些因素加在一起，会产生一种协同的适应性反应，类似于自愿锻炼的好处。这在医院和康复环境中很有用，这样临床医生/从业人员就可以在病人的床或椅子上使用该设备，而无需额外的设备或空间。此外，它不需要患者做任何自主运动，这在无法进行运动的情况下很有用，例如急性损伤、意识状态改变（例如昏迷）或需要肢体固定的手术恢复过程。该提案的重点是将该设备推向商业化，最终通过加速恢复过程并规避与短期和长期住院患者住宿相关的潜在财务、时间和基础设施负担，使加拿大人的生活和经济受益。

In-patient hospital care is expensive costing billions of Canadian dollars per year. Modeling suggests that low-intensity exercise like 20-minutes of walking per day can reduce the length of hospital stays. While exercise is amongst the best first lines of care for in-patient hospitalization, it may not be feasible due to limitations in time, staffing, space allocation, patient motivation, or patient exercise tolerance. Thus, these situations require new tools to reduce hospital times among those unable to be physically active or exercise. We have a portable device that offers similar benefits to voluntary exercise, but in a manner that is passive or without voluntary input on the part of the individual. Our device combines two previously existing technologies: an electrical stimulator to cause muscle contractions coupled with the ability to intentionally reduce blood flow to the desired limbs. Together, these cause a synergistic and adaptive response that mimics the benefits of voluntary exercise. This would be useful in hospital and rehabilitative settings such that clinicians/practitioners could use this device in the patient's bed or chair without additional equipment or space. Furthermore, it does not require the patient to do any voluntary movement, which could be useful in situations where exercise cannot be performed such as an acute injury, altered states of consciousness (example; coma), or surgical recovery process requiring limb immobilization. This proposal is focused on advancing this device toward commercialization, to ultimately benefit the lives of Canadians and its economy by accelerating the recovery process and circumventing potential financial, time, and infrastructure burdens associated with housing in-patients over short and long periods of time.