Proposal of blood flow promotion method using electrical stimulation synchronized with ECG*

Abstract

Prolonged seated posture can cause thrombosis in the veins of the lower extremities, leading to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). To overcome these problems, it has been proposed to stimulate blood flow through the lower limb muscles by repeated contraction and relaxation of the pump. In this study, we hypothesize that the timing of contraction in the lower limbs can be synchronized with the timing of heart relaxation and blood pumping from the veins to maximize blood flow, and we have developed a system that synchronizes the timing of stimulation with the timing of maximum blood flow velocity in the veins of the lower limbs based on the timing of the measured electrocardiogram.