Compression Device Especially for Preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis

A compression device comprising:

• a flexible elongated wrap including a first end, an opposite second end and a length between said first and second ends sized to encircle a limb of a patient;
• a controller engaged to said first end of said wrap and including;
• an electric motor driving a rotating pulley;
• a current sensor to sense the current driving said electric motor;
• a pull strap attached to the pulley to be wound on the pulley as the pulley is rotated by the motor in a compression direction and to be unwound from the pulley as the pulley is rotated by the motor in a loosening direction, said pull strap configured to be removably engaged to said second end of said wrap;
• and
• a processor configured and operable for controlling operation of the motor to rotate the pulley in said compression direction to wind said pull strap on the pulley to generate a pre-determined compression force on the limb of the patient encircled by the wrap and to rotate the pulley in said loosening direction to unwind the pull strap from the pulley to reduce the compression force on the limb according to a pre-determined compression protocol, said processor further configured and operable;
• to determine a force applied by the wrap on the limb of the patient as a function of the sensed driving current for the motor;
• to establish an optimum pretension in the wrap when the wrap is wrapped around the limb of a patient corresponding to a frap position of the wrap and a target force applied by the wrap;
• and
• then to initiate a DVT compression prophylaxis protocol on the patient in which the wrap is repeatedly tightened from the frap position and loosed to return to the frap position.