Claims
- 1. An apparatus for treating orthostatic hypotension, said apparatus comprising:
a vibration mechanism configured for imparting a vibrational force to a body part of a lower extremity of an individual during treatment for a period of time and at at least one frequency sufficient for therapeutic affect on orthostatic hypotension; and a processing unit for controlling activation of the vibration mechanism in response to at least one signal received from a displacement sensor upon sensing non-movement of the body part or from a manually settable control.
- 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vibration mechanism is provided below a vibration platform for vibrating the vibration platform for the period of time and at the at least one frequency to impart the vibrational force to said body part situated on said vibration platform.
- 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the period of time is in the range of two to twenty minutes.
- 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the manually settable control includes means for setting the period of time and the at least one frequency.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one frequency is in the range of 10-120 Hz.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one frequency is in the range of 40-60 Hz.
- 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a set of programmable instructions configured for execution by the processing unit for activating the vibration mechanism on a periodic or irregular basis.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a securing mechanism for securing said apparatus to said body part.
- 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising remote control means for remotely controlling said processing unit.
- 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration of the vibration is in a range of 0.1 g/cycle to 0.2 g/cycle to cause the skin surface of the body part to be depressed by 10-50 microns.
- 11. A non-invasive method for treating orthostatic hypotension, said method comprising the steps of:
providing a vibration mechanism in proximity to a body part of a lower extremity of an individual; and activating the vibration mechanism for a period of time to impart a vibrational force to the body part for causing vibration thereof at at least one frequency sufficient for therapeutic affect on orthostatic hypotension.
- 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one frequency is in the range of 10-120 Hz.
- 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one frequency is in the range of 40-60 Hz.
- 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the period of time is in the range of two to twenty minutes.
- 15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of sensing non-movement of the body part for a predetermined period of time prior to the activating step.
- 16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the activating step is repeated on a periodic or irregular basis.
- 17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the providing step comprises the step of providing the vibration mechanism within an apparatus configured for being placed in proximity to the body part or providing a vibration platform in proximity to the body part.
- 18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the activating step comprises the step of stimulating the skeletal muscle pump.
- 19. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of manually setting the predetermined period of time and the at least one frequency prior to the activating step.
- 20. A non-invasive method for determining if an individual requires treatment for orthostatic hypotension, said method comprising the steps of:
applying a vibrational force to at least one lower extremity of an individual while the individual is in a static posture; measuring at least one physiological response of the individual while applying the vibrational force; and determining whether there is a significant decrease in blood flow to the at least one lower extremity by comparing the at least one measured physiological response to control data.
- 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the control data includes measurement data indicative of the at least one physiological response when a vibrational force was applied to the at least one lower extremity when the individual was in a supine position.
PRIORITY
[0001] This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/328,265 filed on Oct. 9, 2001, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US02/32226 |
10/9/2002 |
WO |
|