Physician Innovators at Carle Illinois College of Medicine are developing a new device to help immobilized hospital patients avoid painful and potentially deadly blood clots. The simple pedal device helps patients remain active and maintain healthy blood flow while confined to bed, offering a low-cost, easy-to-use option for preventing complications in the hospital and after discharge.
The new device, called PedalPro, targets deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – blood clots that develop in the extremities, especially the legs. DVTs are most common in patients who are immobile for long periods. Older age, recent surgery or trauma, pregnancy, contraceptive use, and chronic conditions (e.g., heart failure, obesity) are also risk factors. DVTs can be extremely painful and cause long-term complications, but they can become life-threatening when a clot breaks off and travels to the lungs. These clots, called pulmonary embolisms, are the single most common preventable cause of death in hospitals.
“Our novel, low-cost device is simple. Patients remain active in bed by pushing on pedals at regularly scheduled intervals to prevent DVTs,” team lead Michael Nguyen-Truong said. CI MED students Daniel Cheah, Christian Guerrero-Juarez, Jacob Prince, and Kristy Lin are also part of the development team.
PedalPro incorporates a pedal platform that adjusts to a comfortable angle for the patient, customizable resistance settings to account for the patient’s strength level, and foot straps and heel cups that hold the foot in place during pedaling. It operates without a motor or electricity and is fully portable.
DVT prevention measures commonly used in hospitals include medications (such as blood thinners), compression stockings, and sequential compression devices (SCDs) that wrap around the legs and periodically inflate to stimulate blood flow. Each option has its drawbacks. Many patients can’t take blood thinners that are injected under the skin of the abdomen because of the increased risk of bleeding or other health conditions. Compression stockings can be uncomfortable, and SCDs require a pump and a power source, leaving the patient passive during use.
“The PedalPro stands out due to its simple design that requires little effort while ensuring patients can actively participate in their own DVT prevention and regain mobility sooner,” Nguyen-Truong said. “The use of straightforward, non-strenuous movements is adaptable to patients of varying abilities, from surgical to trauma to elderly to healthy patients who may be a fall risk.”
At a projected cost of about $500 per device, with little or no maintenance needed, PedalPro may be more affordable than SCDs for hospitals in limited-resource settings.
“Our device has enormous potential for impact globally. In care centers with limited funds or staff, this easy-to-use, low-maintenance innovation will engage hospitalized patients in their health.”
PedalPro is among thirteen CI MED teams advancing to the semifinals of the Global Health Innovation Grand Challenge Competition in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 10-12.
PedalPro is one of the 2026 Capstone Innovations developed by CI MED students in collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams made up of engineers from The Grainger College of Engineering and MBA students from the Gies College of Business to design a solution to a health care challenge. The team includes Gies College of Business MBA candidate Emily Chen and Mechanical Science and Engineering students (Fall 2025) Mary Chronopoulou, Daniel Chun, Daniel Kim, Bella Tortorici; (Spring 2026) Jonah Matanky, Shiraz Baxamusa, Justin De Leon, Pranav Rao, Dylan Harkness, and Neil Thakker.
The Fall Mechanical Engineering student team was awarded the Senior Design Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Engineering Design, including Best Final Presentation, in December 2025.