This invention relates to an apparatus to enhance blood circulation to a region of the body for the purpose of healing, improved performance, or aesthetic improvement.
A body's healing, nutrition, waste removal, and the body's immune system's response to infections is achieved through blood circulation to the affected region of the body. Increasing blood circulation will enhance all of these bodily functions. Blood circulation can be increased by repeatedly raising the affected body member from a level above the heart for a period of time sufficient to allow blood to drain from the body member followed by lowering the body member to a level below the heart for a period of time sufficient for the blood to circulate back into the body member.
Currently there exists devices to suspend body parts above the level of the heart to reduce swelling. There also exists devices to vibrate body members to improve blood circulation. Neither of these devices repeatedly raises and lowers a body part in order to utilizes gravity to move blood slowly both into and out of the region of the body.
A Blood Circulation Enhancement apparatus has a support mechanism with a mechanical raising device to slowly raise and lower a body member to accelerate blood circulation to a region of the body. The mechanical raising device is adjustable in height to allow the supported region of the body to move to a position below the level of the heart and then move to a position above the level of the heart. This process is then repeated for a period of time to allow gravity to enhance the natural blood circulation.
A Blood Flow Enhancement Apparatus is a mechanical device to repeatedly raise and lower a region of the body, such as a limb, up and down slowly, to accelerate blood circulation in and out of the region. The apparatus is vertically adjustable to allow the patient to set the height and the overall range of travel.
A Blood circulation Enhancement Apparatus may consist of a standing support structure; a sling, a gear motor; pulleys; a polyethylene line; and a control system to toggle the direction of the gear motor
The standing support structure may consist of a vertical support column attached to a support arm that extends over the patients body. Attached to the support arm are pulleys to guide the polyethylene line up and over the patient's body when the patient is in a sitting or resting position.
The polyethylene line is connected to a spool on the gear motor on one end and the suspended sling on the other end. The polyethylene line is routed through the pulleys to provide vertical support to the suspended sling.
The control system to toggle the direction of travel may consist of a flip-flop electrical circuit using a double pole—double throw relay in conjunction with a Normally-closed inductive proximity sensor and a Normally-open inductive proximity circuit. Two position-able metal collars are attached to the polyethylene line. The position of the collars can be adjusted to set the overall height and range of motion of the suspended sling. The proximity sensors are positioned on the vertical support column such that the polyethylene line passes the face of the sensors. When one of the metal collars triggers one of the proximity sensors, it toggles the flip-flop circuit and reverses the direction of the motor.
Turning to the drawings, there is illustrated in
Two metal clamping collars 6 are positioned on the vertical portion of the polyethylene line between the normally-open inductive proximity sensor 5 and the normally-closed inductive proximity sensor 4. The clamping collars 6 are positionable along the polyethylene line to allow the height to be adjusted to the height of the patient's body member. The distance between the collars can be adjusted to determine the overall vertical travel of the body member.
When electrical power is applied to the flip-flop circuit illustrated in