Title

Interpretation of Venous Occlusion Plethysmography Using a Nonlinear Model

Author Info

F. A. Anderson, Jr., University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester
William W. Durgin, Worcester Polytechnic InstituteFollow
H. Brownell Wheeler, University of Massachusetts Medical School Worcester

Recommended Citation

Postprint version. Published in Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing, Volume 24, Issue 4, July 1, 1986, pages 379-385.

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author William Durgin was not yet affiliated with Cal Poly.

The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02442692.

Abstract

Venous occlusion plethysmography (VOP) is a noninvasive technique widely employed for the detection of deep-vein thrombosis. Previous reports that VOP outflow curves are closely fit by a first-order exponential suggest that venous compliance and resistance are nearly constant. Typically, however, the venous compliance function has a sigmoid shape; in addition, the resistance in a collapsing tube must increase. This paradox was resolved by the surprising finding that for realistic nonlinear compliance and resistance these nonlinearities cancel, producing a quasilinear venous outflow that approximates a simple exponential.

Disciplines

Mechanical Engineering