A Novel Robotic Healthcare Device for Treating Chronic Venous Insufficiency in People Who Sit for Prolonged Periods

Deterioration of the lower limb venous circulation can cause several health problems (e.g., varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis, and cardiac arrhythmia). However, it is not easy to avoid owing to a sedentary life, which is one of the characteristics of modern people. Several studies have focused on improving lower limb blood circulation, and some have used robotic devices. These robots, however, not only the lead to poor blood circulation, but also are too bulky and heavy to use in daily life. In this study, a new type of lower limb venous circulation robot called Healthy-CAL is proposed. By applying the semi auto locking linkage mechanism, the size of Healthy-CAL was reduced while the operating range of the robot was maximized. In addition, a foot mapping algorithm was applied to Healthy-CAL, which autonomously recognizes the user’s ankle joint range of motion and allows users to perform maximized ankle exercises regardless of the sitting position. An experiment was conducted with eight participants to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed foot-mapping algorithm. We also used Doppler ultrasound in five participants to confirm the improvement in venous circulation with Healthy-CAL.