BIOMECHANICAL STUDY OF PRESSURE APPLIED ON THE LOWER LEG BY ELASTIC COMPRESSION BANDAGES

International audienceCompression bandages are a common treatment for some lymphatics or venous pathologies. The treatment success directly depends on the pressure which is applied on the external surface of the leg and which is then transmitted to the internal tissues. This interface pressure (between the limb and the bandage) depends mainly on the following parameters:- the bandage components (padding layers, …)- their mechanical properties- the bandage stretch- the application technique (spiral, …) and number of layers (overlap)- patient’s leg morphology- other parameters such as friction between the different bandage layers.Though the efficacy of this treatment is admitted [1], its action mechanism and the pressure it applies on the leg remain poorly understood [2].For now, the reference method for the computation of interface pressure applied by compression bandage is Laplace’s Law:P = n T / r (1)with P the local pressure, n the number of layers of the bandage, T the bandage tension (i.e. force to stretch the bandage), r the local radius of curvature of the limb. However, this law, which only considers the non-deformed state of the limb, is unable to accurately predict interface pressures [3].The aim of this communication is to present a combined experimental and numerical approach for the assessment of interface pressure applied by compression bandages