fig1 generally depicts a patient connected to an embodiment of the system of the present invention . the system comprises an apparatus 12 which may comprise , as depicted in fig3 , a cpu 14 and an air pump 16 . the air pump 16 is connected to the patient interface , which in a preferred embodiment is an inflatable cuff 18 , via an air hose 20 . the inflatable cuff 18 may be placed on the upper arm , as depicted in fig1 , or , as depicted in fig2 , may be a thigh cuff 22 or a calf cuff 24 . a pressure transducer ( not pictured ) is associated with each cuff 18 used in the system . the pressure transducer may be disposed inside the cuff 18 and a lead 26 connects the pressure transducer to the cpu 14 of the apparatus 12 , as depicted in fig3 . it is understood that this connection may be done in a variety of ways including using wireless technology such as wifi , rf , and infrared communication systems . alternatively , as depicted in fig4 , the pressure transducer 28 may be a part integral with the apparatus 12 disposed in such fluid communication with the air hose 20 to measure the pressure within the cuff 18 . the apparatus 12 is further connected to a display 30 which may comprise a user interface such that measured patient data can be displayed to a clinician , and a clinician may modify the treatment and / or monitoring provided to the patient 10 by the apparatus 12 . the operation of the embodiment of the system depicted in fig1 and 3 is described herein . the cpu 14 in the apparatus 12 directs the air pump 16 to deliver a target pressure of air via the air hose 20 to the cuff 18 . this air pressure inflates the cuff 18 to the target pressure . when the target pressure within the cuff 18 has been achieved , a pressure release valve 32 releases the pressure in cuff 18 . this process is performed in a cyclical fashion as controlled by the cpu 14 to provide ipc to the patient . as in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , when the cuff 18 has reached the target pressure , the pressure transducer ( not pictured ) begins to monitor the pressure in the cuff 18 and send this signal via lead 26 back to the cpu . typically , the ipc cycle lasts between 10 and 20 seconds with the target pressure ranging between 40 and 140 mmhg . the pressure signal received by the cpu contains minute fluctuations based upon the flow of the patient &# 39 ; s blood through the arm as it is enclosed in the cuff 18 . by analyzing these fluctuations , the cpu 14 is able to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of the patient as is well known in the art . in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , the system 12 provides ipc support to the patient 10 as described above inflating the inflatable cuff 18 to a target pressure and then releasing the pressure within the cuff in a cyclical fashion . however , when a clinician desires to obtain a measurement of nibp , the clinician activates the cpu 14 to record an nibp measurement . to obtain an nibp measurement , the cpu 14 directs the air pump 16 to inflate the cuff 18 to a second target pressure that is targeted for obtaining a quality measurement of nibp . this pressure may be typically on the range of 120 mmhg to 200 mmhg . upon achieving the second target pressure , the pressure release valve 32 releases the pressure in the cuff in a manner suitable for the detection of nibp . this pressure release may be continuous deflation while the pressure transducer ( not pictured ) detects for the oscillations in the pressure inside the cuff 18 . alternatively , the pressure release valve 32 may release the pressure in the cuff 18 in a series of incremental steps while waiting to detect the pressure oscillations at each step , thus facilitating the detection of the patient &# 39 ; s blood pressure . the calculation of the blood pressure can be determined in accordance with the teachings of medero et al in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 543 , 962 , of medero in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 546 , 775 , of hood , jr . et al in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 461 , 266 , of ramsey , iii et al in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 638 , 810 , of ramsey iii et al in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 754 , 761 , of ramsey iii et al in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 170 , 795 , of ramsey iii et al in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 052 , 397 , of medero in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 577 , 508 and of hersh et al in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 590 , 662 , all of which are commonly assigned herewith and the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference . in any event , it is desirable to use any of the known techniques to determine the quality of the oscillation complexes received at each cuff pressure so that the blood pressure determination is made using the physiological relevant cuff pressure oscillations from each heart beat and not artifacts . in a still further embodiment of the present invention , as depicted in fig2 , multiple inflatable cuffs may be applied to the patient 10 . these cuffs may be an arm cuff 18 , a thigh cuff 22 , a calf cuff 24 , or an ankle cuff ( not pictured ). an embodiment of the present invention utilizes the thigh cuff 22 and the calf cuff 24 , in a typical arrangement for the application of ipc to a patient &# 39 ; s leg . it is contemplated within the present invention that a thigh cuff 22 and calf cuff 24 may be also applied to the patient &# 39 ; s other leg at the same time . in an arrangement comprising a thigh cuff 22 and a calf cuff 24 , the system of the present invention can monitor the blood pressure at two points in a single patient extremity . these two blood pressure measurements can be compared to determine blood pressure difference within the single extremity . this indication may provide useful information to a clinician in monitoring the progression of an ipc treatment . alternatively , arm cuff 18 may be used in conjunction with calf cuff 24 . it is also contemplated within this embodiment that arm cuff 18 may be utilized with thigh cuff 22 , thigh cuff 22 and calf cuff 24 , or the ankle cuff . in this embodiment of the present invention , the blood pressure in both the arm and the leg are collected by the cpu 14 . the comparison of these pressures detected from two different extremities of the patient 10 provides an indication of patient arterial function and cardiac health that is useful to the clinician in monitoring the treatment and progression of the patient 10 . one such indication is the ankle - brachial index wherein a determination of the presence of blood clots in the patient &# 39 ; s leg is made by comparing the patient &# 39 ; s blood pressure at the arm versus at the ankle while the patient is lying down . a lower blood pressure in the ankle than the arm is indicative of blood vessel blockage . the presently disclosed invention provides the advantage that it combines a system for providing a commonly used patient therapy , with a system for providing a commonly used patient monitoring process . this reduces the number of machines that must be in place in a single room and furthermore reduces the total number of patient connections that are required to provide treatment and monitoring to a patient in recovery from surgery . furthermore , the advantage of collecting blood pressure measurements at multiple extremities provides the clinician with a useful diagnostic tool that under current systems was not available . therefore , the present embodiment increases the quality of information provided to a clinician to aid in the clinician &# 39 ; s monitoring and treatment decisions surrounding the patient . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements of insubstantial difference from the literal language of the claims . various alternatives and embodiments are contemplated as being with in the scope of the following claims , particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention .
a limb compression system for increasing the flow of venous blood in a patient comprises an inflatable cuff , a pump , a controller , and a pressure transducer . the system collects a signal from the pressure transducer indicative of the pressure in the cuff and uses the signal to determine the blood pressure of the patient . a method for providing patient cardiovascular support and monitoring of patient blood pressure is also herein disclosed .