Dong Gaoweiang, Zhao Fangchen, Gao Zongyu, Cai Shengqiang
Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Jan;14(3):e2402881. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202402881. Epub 2024 Dec 4.
Compression therapy is a widely used treatment for various disorders including venous leg ulcers. Traditional methods such as inelastic bandages and elastic stockings, have limitations in maintaining optimal pressure over time. Dynamic therapy devices offer intermittent pressure cycles but are often bulky or rigid. Here liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) is proposed for both static and dynamic compression therapy. Due to the soft elasticity of polydomain LCE, LCE-based static stocking can maintain consistent pressure over a wide range of leg diameters, permitting the tolerance of stocking application inconsistencies, various limb sizes, and interfacial pressure drop due to leg deswelling. The LCE-based dynamic stocking consists of monodomain LCEs with reversible thermal actuation, heating elements, and electronics. The dynamic stocking generates intermittent pressure from 20 to 60 mmHg with a slight temperature increase above 33 °C and offers pressure profile programmability. Furthermore, an untethered LCE-based dynamic compression device on a human leg is demonstrated. Both LCE-based static and dynamic stockings show minimal stress relaxation and reusability over 1000 cycles, ensuring long-term use in compression therapy applications.
压迫疗法是一种广泛用于治疗包括下肢静脉溃疡在内的各种疾病的方法。传统方法，如无弹性绷带和弹性长袜，在长时间维持最佳压力方面存在局限性。动态治疗设备提供间歇性压力循环，但通常体积庞大或质地坚硬。在此，提出将液晶弹性体（LCE）用于静态和动态压迫疗法。由于多畴LCE的柔软弹性，基于LCE的静态长袜能够在很宽的腿部直径范围内保持一致的压力，允许耐受长袜应用不一致、各种肢体尺寸以及由于腿部消肿引起的界面压降。基于LCE的动态长袜由具有可逆热驱动的单畴LCE、加热元件和电子器件组成。动态长袜在温度略高于33°C时产生20至60 mmHg的间歇性压力，并提供压力分布可编程性。此外，还展示了一种基于LCE的无束缚动态压迫装置在人腿上的应用。基于LCE的静态和动态长袜在1000次循环中均表现出最小的应力松弛和可重复使用性，确保在压迫疗法应用中的长期使用。
