Development of a prototype lower limb active compression device

该提案旨在支持滑铁卢大学和洛克希德马丁加拿大（LMC）申请人之间的合作研究计划。这项工作的主要目标是开发一个原型的外部主动压缩设备与军事和医疗应用。对于军队来说，该设备旨在减少疲劳并提高现役士兵的恢复时间，而医疗应用包括治疗和预防静脉功能不全疾病。后者是长期处于静止状态的军事人员（如无人驾驶飞机飞行员）的担忧。所提出的压迫系统基于由申请人开发的新型“智能”压迫方案，其在应用时显示出对腿部血液循环的相当大的生理益处;四肢中增加的血流显著降低了静脉疾病的风险，同时还冲洗出废物以减少疲劳并改善运动恢复时间。对于军事和医疗应用，主要剩余的研究挑战是为流动用户开发一个工作原型。目前的实验室系统包括气动压迫袖带和一系列实验室级有线生理仪器，将用户拴在墙上。过渡到无线，移动原型需要：无线生物传感器的探索和表征（数据速率，信噪比等），设计用于真实的实时监测压迫水平的现场压力测量系统，使用新的生物计量感测平台开发鲁棒的闭环压迫控制策略，以及开发和验证用于施加外部压迫的新型致动策略。在拟议的工作过程中，一家LMC支持的初创公司将在加拿大成立，以商业化开发的产品。该公司将作为LMC军事市场的技术供应商，同时也将产品推向医疗市场。

This proposal is aimed to support a collaborative research initiative between the applicants at the University of Waterloo and Lockheed Martin Canada (LMC). The main goal of this work is to develop a prototype external active compression device with military and medical applications. For the military, the device aims to reduce fatigue and improve recovery time of active soldiers, while medical applications include treatment and prevention of venous insufficiency disorders. The latter is a concern for military personnel subjected to long bouts of immobility, such as drone pilots. The proposed compression system is based upon a novel "smart" compression protocol developed by the applicants that shows considerable physiological benefits to the blood circulation in the legs upon application; increased blood flow in the extremities dramatically reduces the risk of venous disorders while also flushing out waste products to reduce fatigue and improve recovery time from exercise. For both the military and medical applications, the primary remaining research challenge is the development of a working prototype for ambulatory users. The current laboratory system consists of pneumatic compression cuffs and a series of laboratory-grade wired physiological instruments, which tethers the user to the wall. Transitioning to a wireless, ambulatory prototype requires: exploration and characterization of wireless biometric sensors (data rate, signal-to-noise, etc.), design of an in situ pressure measurement system for monitoring compression levels in real time, development of a robust closed-loop compression control strategy using the new biometric sensing platform, and development and validation of novel actuation strategies for applying the external compression. During the course of the proposed work, a LMC backed start-up company will be founded in Canada to commercialize the developed product. This company will serve as a technology supplier to LMC for the military market, while also advancing a product to the medical market.