Active knit compression stockings for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension

Active knit compression stockings are compression garments with integrated smart materials (i.e. shape memory alloy wires) that apply dynamic and controllable pressures to the body to provide therapeutic compression treatment for those suffering from orthostatic hypotension (OH). Current static compression garments (e.g. elastic knit garments) exert unpredictable pressures on the body and are difficult to don/doff, especially for elderly populations most effected by OH. Alternatively, dynamic compression garments currently on the consumer market (e.g. pneumatic compression wraps) are bulky, inhibit wearer mobility, and are usually tethered to an inflation source. Active knit compression stockings offer an alternative technology for compression therapy that leverage the architecture of traditional, weft knit fabric structures to create large, amplified contractions across the textile surface. The result is a new compression garment alternative that is simultaneously dynamic, mobile, and untethered.