US Patent 7846114 Compression device

A compression sleeve (10) has twelve inflatable cells (13) to be wrapped around a limb. The cells (13) are inflated to set pressures and duration by a fluid source. The cells (13) are numbered (1) to (12), with (1) being at the toe, or the wrist, and (12) being at the thigh, or the shoulder. In use, the inflation sequence begins with a peristaltic wave at cell (1) and finishes at cell (12). Then cell (12) is inflated and deflated 5 times, then cell (11) is inflated and deflated 5 times in the same way as cell (12), followed by a single peristaltic wave beginning at cell (12) to cell (11). This compression regime is repeated along the compression sleeve until cell (1) is inflated and deflated (5) times followed by a peristaltic wave from cell (1) to cell (12). The described compression sequence is particularly useful for lymphatic drainage.