How DP-Tx™ Works: A Different Approach to Supporting Lymphatic Flow

Before we can explain how DP-Tx™ works, it helps to understand something fundamental about the lymphatic system.

Unlike the cardiovascular system, the lymphatic system has no central pump. Lymph moves through a network of vessels assisted by muscle movement, changes in tissue pressure and a series of one-way valves that help keep fluid moving forward.

That simple principle was at the heart of the development of DP-Tx™.

Rather than applying continuous compression, DP-Tx uses strategically positioned differential-pressure points that interact with normal body movement. As the wearer moves, these points create gentle, changing pressure at the interface with the body, producing the passive massage effect at the heart of our technology.

But there is another important part of the DP-Tx approach: where the technology is positioned.

Lymphoedema presents as swelling, but the swelling may not be where the lymphatic system was originally disrupted. Surgery, radiation, trauma and other interventions can alter or interrupt normal lymphatic pathways.

DP-Tx was therefore designed to be positioned adjacent to areas of lymphatic disruption, rather than simply applying pressure over the visible swelling. The thinking behind this approach is to support fluid movement where normal lymphatic pathways have been altered, helping fluid continue its journey through the pathways still available to the body.

The thinking behind this approach began with Cheryl’s own experience of lymphatic disruption and her early experimentation with supporting fluid movement in her own body. Rather than focusing solely on where swelling presented, she began focusing on where normal lymphatic flow had been disrupted. That principle subsequently informed the development and positioning of the DP-Tx™ Bra Insert and continues to guide the development of DP-Tx™ applications for other areas of the body.

And as we have explored DP-Tx™ in increasingly complex clinical situations, particularly trauma and wound recovery, we have observed outcomes that are raising new questions about the potential role of lymphatic support in healing and rehabilitation.

Those are questions we now want to investigate.

This month, we are taking those questions with us to the Wounds Australia Conference, where we will be sharing some of the clinical experiences that have helped shape our thinking about DP-Tx™.

Alongside our established DP-Tx™ Bra Insert, we will be showcasing applications of the technology being explored across trauma, wound recovery, orthopaedics and head & neck care – including cases that have challenged us to look more closely at the relationship between lymphatic support, fluid management and recovery.

For us, the conference is not simply an opportunity to showcase what we have developed. It is an opportunity to start conversations.

We want to hear from wound care specialists, lymphoedema therapists, surgeons, researchers and other healthcare professionals about what they see in these cases, the questions they believe should be asked, and where DP-Tx™ may warrant further clinical investigation.

Because sometimes innovation begins not with having all the answers, but with seeing something differently – and asking the right questions.