Design Objectives

The following inputs were used to inform our device design process:

  1. The device must be able to accurately diagnose chronic exertional compartment syndrome - Our device must be at least as accurate, if not more than the current standard of care (Ulias et al., 2003)

  2. The device should be able to determine which of the four leg compartments is/are affected - Often CECS occurs in just one of the four compartments. For safe and effective treatment, it is essential do distinguish the affected compartment from the normal ones.

  3. The device must be non-invasive or minimally invasive - Current diagnostic methods for compartment syndrome are highly invasive. They are therefore painful and require clinical expertise. Our device must overcome these limitations in order to have an edge over existing devices.

  4. The device must be able to provide measurements in real time - One of the challenges in diagnosing compartment syndrome is that the intracompartmental pressure drops off rapidly after exercise. This makes the diagnostic procedure highly time sensitive and user dependent. This is also the reason why most imaging modalities are not suitable for CECS diagnosis