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Help for your arteries with the ArtAssist® pneumatic compression pump

When you think of pneumatic compression pumps, what comes to mind? A lot of people would say lymphedema, as they are very common.

However, the ArtAssist® device should not be confused with lymphedema treatment because the ArtAssist® device solves an entirely different problem: facilitating arterial blood flow to the places that need it, especially in the legs and feet (there are also cuffs available for arms, though it is somewhat less common).

So, for example, if you have atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) of the lower extremity or a diabetic foot ulcer, your problems would not be solved with a lymphedema pump. Depending on the nature and severity of your arterial disease, you would be better advised to use the ArtAssist® pump.

Researchers have discovered that, unlike lymphedema pump technology, the ArtAssist® device promoted what we call arteriogenesis, or collateralization. These two synonyms refer to the opening of small collateral arteries that already naturally bypass the obstructed artery. We all have these small collateral arteries, but when the main artery has no blockages, the collateral ones aren’t needed.

In this case, a person with a blocked artery needs to take action so that blood gets where it needs to be. Sometimes, people make lifestyle changes, such as dieting and exercising. Other times, people take medication to improve blood flow. And in more severe cases, people resort to surgery such as bypass and endovascular.

The problem is that some people exhaust all of those options and vascular surgeons believe they have no other choice but to amputate – but that’s not true! There is actually one last shot at limb salvage for these patients, and that is the ArtAssist® device. In one clinical study, it was shown to have up to a 94% limb salvage rate even after 3.5 years.

Do be advised, though: no one would ever recommend that you let it get to the point of amputation. As with all diseases, the earlier you solve the problem, the better.

If you or someone you know could use the ArtAssist® device as a non-surgical solution for PAD, please call our toll free number 888-453-4356 and ask to talk to Don or Lindsay. If you contact me (via WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, email, etc.), I will refer you to either of the two people I just mentioned as quickly as I can – we know how important limb salvage is.

Apr 23, 2012 By acimedical ACI Medical, ArtAssist®...The Arterial Assist Device®, Health, PAD

Paul van Bemmelen, MD, PhD: Arterial Pumps for Limb Salvage and Wound Healing

Last October, Dr. Paul van Bemmelen gave a presentation at the podiatry conference Superbones West about using arterial pump technology to treat peripheral arterial disease of the lower extremities.

Click on the link below to view the presentation – it lets you skip to the parts you want to see!

Arterial pumps for limb-salvage and wound-healing

Dr. van Bemmelen’s personal blog: PaulvanBemmelenMD.wordpress.com

ArtAssist®…The Arterial Assist Device®

Apr 17, 2012 By acimedical ACI Medical, ArtAssist®...The Arterial Assist Device®, PAD, Wound Care

More research into the cost of lower-limb amputation

Recently, while summarizing key studies for a history and literature review that I’m working on, I was reminded that this particular study (the abstract is below) also included comparative costs.

In this case, you will see that although SCBD (in other words, ArtAssist®) therapy doesn’t exactly come cheap, it’s still less than half the average cost of a primary amputation.

Want to hear even better news? This study yielded an 88% limb salvage rate, even after 18 months. Fancy that.

Edit: A 3-month rental of the ArtAssist® device in the United States is more than 36 times less expensive than the cost of primary amputation per patient, according to the following study. And even if you take the SCBD patient cost (below), it still sounds like a better deal to me.

Nonoperative Active Management of Critical Limb Ischemia: Initial Experience Using a Sequential Compression Biomechanical Device for Limb Salvage

Sherif Sultan; Olubunmi Esan; Anne Fahy

Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Western Vascular Institute, University College Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland

Vascular 2008;163:130-139

Critical limb ischemia CLI patients are at high risk of primary amputation. Using a sequential compression biomechanical device SCBD represents a nonoperative option in threatened limbs. We aimed to determine the outcome of using SCBD in amputation-bound nonreconstructable CLI patients regarding limb salvage and 90-day mortality.

Thirty-five patients with 39 critically ischemic limbs rest pain = 12, tissue loss = 27 presented over 24 months. Thirty patients had nonreconstructable arterial outflow vessels, and five were inoperable owing to severe comorbidity scores. All were Rutherford classification 4 or 5 with multilevel disease. All underwent a 12-week treatment protocol and received the best medical treatment.

The mean follow-up was 10 months SD ± 6 months. There were four amputations, with an 18-month cumulative limb salvage rate of 88% standard error [SE] ± 7.62%. Ninety-day mortality was zero. Mean toe pressures increased from 38.2 to 67 mmHg SD ± 33.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 55 – 79. Popliteal artery flow velocity increased from 45 to 47.9 cm/s 95% CI 35.9 – 59.7. Cumulative survival at 12 months was 81.2% SE ± 11.1 for SCBD, compared with 69.2% in the control group SE ± 12.8% p = .4, hazards ratio = 0.58, 95% CI 0.15 – 2.32. The mean total cost of primary amputation per patient is €29,815 ($44,000) in comparison with €13,9000 ($20,515) for SCBD patients.

SCBD enhances limb salvage and reduces length of hospital stay, nonoperatively, in patients with nonreconstructable vessels.

via ACI Medical – ArtAssist® Device.

Mar 14, 2012 By acimedical ACI Medical, Health

Patients should be proactive and aware about their PAD

Today, a man came in to our office to talk to us about renting an ArtAssist® device. He has had peripheral arterial disease for years and previously rented our device a few years back.

He came in because, as he said, wound care in other places wasn’t very well agreed upon, and he saw hair regrowth on his feet when he rented and used our device a few years back. His other options were too costly for him, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy (I found a link – click here – to get a ballpark idea of how much each HBO session is).

Today, we wish that more patients were like him because he has lately noticed hair loss on his feet again and is taking steps to prevent his PAD from advancing.

Visit the ArtAssist® device website to see if you or someone you know can benefit from therapy. You can also poke around on the clinical studies page to read what researchers have to say about the device (in a nutshell, it’s efficacious and cost-effective, but don’t feel like you have to take my word for it).

Also, check out all the posts I have on amputation – it would take quite a while to post them all here, but I do have a lot of articles on cost comparison and quality of life.

Peripheral artery disease undertreated, understudied in women (eurekalert.org)
Snazzy vid! Diabetic Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) | Foods for diabetics (socallegs.wordpress.com)

Feb 28, 2012 By acimedical ACI Medical, Health

Also at Desert Foot 2011: Ideal Adjunct Therapy Solutions

In addition to our theme of laser Doppler demonstrations with the ArtAssist® device, we will also be giving out information about how ArtAssist® therapy can be used in conjunction with other treatments.

Take, for example, a case report from Dr. Darwin Eton and Dr. Hong Yu (both from the University of Chicago). They combined intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) therapy (with the ArtAssist® device) with specific doses of a growth factor called granulocyte-colony stimulation factor (G-CSF…and what a mouthful!).

Though the two patients were of different genders and ages and had different conditions, the combination of IPC and G-CSF worked to heal both of their limbs within a year.

Patient 1’s lower extremity necrosis was healed after 5 months of adjunct therapy and Patient 2’s dorsal ankle ulcer and exposed Achilles’ tendon was healed after one year.

You can read the abstract at this link (CLICK HERE).

And again, if you’re going to Desert Foot next week, we hope to see you there!

Desert Foot, here we come! (socallegs.wordpress.com)
PRESENT Podiatry – eZines (socallegs.wordpress.com)
Competitive analysis for IPC devices (socallegs.wordpress.com)

Nov 11, 2011 By acimedical ACI Medical, Health

Facts About DVT

Deep Vein Thrombosis sounds absolutely devastating, not only on account of the pain, but also because experts in the medical field have not yet found a completely safe way to treat it. Although treatments are available, they involve a high amount of risk, as you can read at this link from the Mayo Clinic. Below is an excerpt from the Washington University St. Louis School of Medicine website with some basic, yet vital facts (the link to the whole page is below the excerpt).

What is DVT and What Problems Does it Cause?

A Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is the formation of a blood clot within a deep vein of the body, usually a leg vein. There are three common consequences of a DVT episode:

A DVT can break free and flow within the bloodstream to the lungs (this complication is called Pulmonary Embolism or PE). When PE occurs, it is often fatal.

DVT survivors often experience long-term pain, swelling, heaviness, fatigue, skin changes, and/or open sores on the legs, a complication called the Post-Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS).

Patients with DVT often experience pronounced pain, swelling, cramping, and/or tenderness of the involved leg during the initial episode.

Facts.

Click on the link above to read more ^
HyperSmash.com

Oct 6, 2011 By acimedical ACI Medical, Health