DVT prevention - Sky Medical hails the success of a three year research program which yields innovative neuromuscular stimulation technology to increase venous circulation for DVT prophylaxis

Sky Medical Technology Limited “Sky Medical”, a global medical device company, is delighted to hail the success of a three year programme of applied research with St. Bartholomew's Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London, to develop the Company’s proprietary neuromuscular stimulation technology. As the first-of-its-kind, this portable technology enhances the body’s own circulation to increase lower limb blood flow for the reduction of venous stasis, a major factor in the battle against Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), which kills 25,000 people in the UK each year.

The technology, branded OnPulse(TM) - embedded within a small, portable, one-size-fits-all device - delivers non-invasive electro-stimulation to the common peroneal nerve located in the back of the knee, which activates small micro-contractions of the calf, shin and foot muscles. The mechanism of action causes blood to flow back towards the heart at a volume shown to be 50-70% to that of walking, without the patient having to move or exert energy and without uncomfortable muscle movements.

Independent clinical testing by the William Harvey Research Institute (part of Queen Mary, University of London) and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital & The London NHS Trust has shown the technology moves a higher volume of blood, within a resting limb, compared to leading medical devices currently on the market for DVT Prophylaxis.

Inventor, Dr Arthur Tucker (Ernest Cooke Vascular & Microvascular Unit, St. Bartholomew's Hospital) said, “We wanted to improve significantly patient care and with this idea came the opportunity to enhance, successfully, lower limb blood flow volume and velocity without causing pain or discomfort to the users”.

Co-inventor, Dr Duncan Bain (William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London), adds, “It was the simple notion of stimulating the nerve rather than the muscles directly that brought us the possibility of a safe, effective and pain free device that simplifies and improves patient care”.

Results from the first of an extensive programme of clinical studies have been published in the 2010 spring edition of the International Journal Angiology, Vol 19 (1). The study, comprising 30 healthy volunteers, compared the use of isometric neuromuscular stimulation to full foot flexion, the proxy of walking steadily to empty the calf and foot of blood. The publication, which details the full protocol and clinical findings, concludes that isometric neuromuscular stimulation significantly increases blood flow volume and velocity without causing pain and compares the technology to walking, natures own mechanism for DVT prevention.

Bernard Ross, CEO Sky Medical Technology Ltd, comments, “The OnPulse technology leverages a deep understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body, biomedical engineering and isometric neuromuscular stimulation. Placing a topically applied, electrical stimulus in the lower leg to mimic the blood flow rates of walking is game-changing. The technology has potentially significant implications for the prevention of DVT in hospitals and the treatment of a range of circulatory disorders.

Work to complete a program of independent comparative studies is being advanced. All intellectual property is held by Sky Medical Technology Ltd and covers the use of the OnPulse technology in a range of medical indications.

About Deep Vein Thrombosis:
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a condition where a blood clot forms in the Deep Vein system of the lower leg, usually between the ankle and upper calf. Often the result of a prolonged period of non-movement, a DVT is common in patients receiving medical or surgical treatment in hospitals. Potentially fatal, a serious complication of a DVT is when part of a blood clot breaks off and moves through the blood stream lodging in essential organs such as the lungs, brain or heart resulting in life-threatening conditions such as Stroke, Pulmonary Embolism or Myocardial Infarction.

About Sky Medical Technology Ltd:
Sky Medical Technology Limited “Sky Medical”, based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire is a privately held company manufacturing medical devices using OnPulse, Sky Medical’s proprietary neuromuscular electro-stimulation technology, designed to enhance the body’s own circulation to increase lower limb blood flow for the reduction of venous stasis and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). The clinically effective OnPulse technology is non-invasive and embedded within a small, portable, one-size-fits-all device, easily attached to the back of the knee.

OnPulse is a registered trademark of Sky Medical Technology Limited and is covered by granted and pending patents. All intellectual property is held by Sky Medical Technology Ltd and covers the use of the OnPulse technology in a range of medical indications.

About Queen Mary, University of London:
Queen Mary, University of London is one of the UK's leading research-focused higher education institutions with some 16,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Amongst the largest of the colleges of the University of London, Queen Mary’s 3,000 staff deliver world class degree programmers and research across 21 academic departments and institutes, within three sectors: Science and Engineering; Humanities, Social Sciences and Laws; and the School of Medicine and Dentistry, Bart’s and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry offers international levels of excellence in research and teaching while serving a population of unrivalled diversity amongst which cases of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, TB, oral disease and cancers are prevalent, within east London and the wider Thames Gateway. Through partnership with our linked trusts, notably Bart’s and The London NHS Trust, and our associated University Hospital trusts – Homerton, Newham, Whipps Cross and Queen’s – the School’s research and teaching is informed by an exceptionally wide ranging and stimulating clinical environment.

Queen Mary is ranked 11th in the UK according to the Guardian analysis of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, and has been described as ‘the biggest star among the research-intensive institutions’ by the Times Higher Education.
The College has a strong international reputation, with around 20 per cent of students coming from over 100 countries.

Queen Mary has an annual turnover of £220 million, research income worth £61 million, and generates employment and output worth £600 million to the UK economy each year.
Queen Mary, as a member of the 1994 Group of research-focused universities, has made a strategic commitment to the highest quality of research, but also to the best possible educational, cultural and social experience for its students. The College is unique amongst London's universities in being able to offer a completely integrated residential campus, with a 2,000-bed award-winning Student Village on its Mile End campus.

Sky Medical Technology Limited “Sky Medical”, based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire is a privately held company manufacturing medical devices using OnPulse, Sky Medical’s proprietary neuromuscular electro-stimulation technology, designed to enhance the body’s own circulation to increase lower limb blood flow for the reduction of venous stasis and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). The clinically effective OnPulse technology is non-invasive and embedded within a small, portable, one-size-fits-all device, easily attached to the back of the knee.

Sky Medical Technology Ltd
Hawk House
Peregrine Business Park
Gomm Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP13 7DL
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1494 572043
http://www.gekodevices.com
Media contact: Tony Humphrey

This release was published on openPR.