@inproceedings{a27430725c7d4ffcbcca66abb57036d0,
title = "A hemodynamic study of popliteal vein blood flow: The effect of bed rest and electrically elicited calf muscle contractions",
abstract = "Venous stasis, due to lack of activation of the calf muscle pump of postoperative patients, can result in the development of a thrombus which, in turn, can lead to a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism. The presented study investigates the effects that four hours of bed rest has on the lower limb hemodynamics of healthy subjects and, to what extent electrically elicited contractions of the calf muscles can alleviate these effects. Results indicated that the non-stimulated group experienced a decline in popliteal venous blood flow of approximately 45 \% and a 10 \% decrease in heart rate. The stimulated group maintained a higher venous blood flow and heart rate. The results suggest that even short periods of bed rest can significantly reduce lower limb blood flow which could have implications for DVT development in post-operative patients. Electrically elicited calf muscle contractions significantly improves lower limb blood flow and can alleviate the debilitating effects of bed rest.",
author = "Broderick, \{Barry J.\} and O'Briain, \{David E.\} and Breen, \{Paul P.\} and Kearns, \{Stephen R.\} and Gear{\'o}id {\'O}laighin",
year = "2009",
doi = "10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5332561",
language = "English",
isbn = "9781424432967",
series = "Proceedings of the 31st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society: Engineering the Future of Biomedicine, EMBC 2009",
publisher = "IEEE Computer Society",
pages = "2149--2152",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the 31st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society",
note = "31st Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society: Engineering the Future of Biomedicine, EMBC 2009 ; Conference date: 02-09-2009 Through 06-09-2009",
}
