Clinical
Health and recovery
Platform
Dynamic Foot Pump
Assessment System
Venous return in the leg depends on movement. DFPAS is a research platform for observing what happens when movement stops, and acting on what it observes.
RESEARCH — see disclosures
Research stage. Clinical studies planned.
Problem
The foot as a pump
The muscles of the foot and calf move venous blood back toward the heart. The mechanism is mechanical: contraction compresses the veins, valves keep the flow one-directional. Walking runs this pump continuously without anyone thinking about it.
When the pump stops, blood pools. That is uncomfortable over an afternoon at a desk and consequential over a long flight, a hospital stay, or an extended period without gravity to work against.
The condition is well described in the literature. What has been inconvenient is measuring it continuously, outside a clinic, on an individual rather than a population.
Architecture
A closed loop
Four stages. Three designed and specified; the fourth in design.
- 01
SENSE
Physiological signal is acquired at the limb across synchronised sites.
- 02
UNDERSTAND
Signal is conditioned on contact quality and interpreted as physiological state.
- 03
RESPOND
The system acts on the limb to encourage venous return.
- 04
ADAPT
Response is tuned to the individual over time.
In design.
RESEARCH — see disclosures
Research stage. Designed architecture.
Environments
One platform, wherever immobility occurs
DFPAS is a single system. The same architecture is studied across clinical settings, everyday mobility, demanding conditions, and — as conceptual exploration — microgravity.
Mobility
Movement and performance
Extreme
Demanding environments
Orbit
Conceptual microgravity exploration
Status
Where the platform stands
- PatentFirst patent allowed by the USPTO. The number and claims publish at issuance.
- RegulatoryA General Wellness launch is planned first.
- ClinicalStudies planned: performance verification (n=30), then a larger stage (n=200).
- SpaceflightConceptual microgravity research.
- Developed atThe group's research institute — Arthur Menson Labs, Houston, Texas.