Edemas, or swelling caused by a build up of fluid in nearby tissues caused by leaky veins, can be both uncomfortable and inconvenient, preventing people from going about their daily lives. A number of health conditions can increase the risk of edema. In fact, edema is often a symptom of other severe health conditions, such as heart failure and kidney disease. Certain medications, such as those designed to treat high blood pressure, can also lead to edemas in some people.
Currently, treating edema in the hands is done manually: a therapist must manually massage a hand to move the fluid around so that it can leave the hand and reduce swelling. In addition to being inconvenient and time consuming, it’s also an expensive option, too. Never mind the fact that trying to get an appointment with a therapist can be tricky and prolong the ability of someone to receive care for an edema.
A team of researchers and engineers at Cornell University recently designed and tested a new device that could be used to treat people experiencing hand edemas: a knitted glove. The new device is described in a recent presentation given at the ACM CHI 2023 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. The conference was held in Hamburg, Germany.
The glove device, called KnitDema, is designed to be used in the comfort and convenience of a patient’s own home. The glove uses robotic actuators, which work to squeeze fluid from fingers to reduce overall swelling. The glove has the option of being customized to a partticualr patients hand size. The actuators that fill in for a trained therapist are able to work one after the other after the other, allowing the device to move fluid from the fingers and towards the bottom of the hand.
Patients are able to use the device when it’s convenient for them, as well as when they are experiencing symptoms
Sources: Medgadget; Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
