GEKO Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Study

To join this study, you need to be at least 18 years old and have been diagnosed with a stroke within the last 36 hours. You also need to be unable to walk to the toilet without help.

There are several reasons why you might not be able to join. For example, if you already have a diagnosed blood clot, or if you're expected to need end-of-life care in the next couple of weeks. You also can't take part if you've recently been in another clinical trial in the last three months, unless the study team agrees it won't affect the results.

Certain health conditions or allergies might also mean you can't join, particularly if they prevent you from safely using the geko™ device or the IPC cuffs. These include serious leg ulcers, severe swelling in your legs, or if you are pregnant, have uncontrolled heart failure, or have had leg amputations.

If you decide to take part, you'll first go through a consent process to make sure you understand everything. You'll then be randomly assigned to receive either the standard IPC treatment or the geko™ device. Both treatments will be applied to your legs and kept on until you can walk without help, or for up to 30 days, whichever comes first.

Throughout the study, nurses or doctors will perform checks. Around 7 days or when you leave the hospital, they might do an optional scan of your legs to check for clots. A mandatory scan will be done after 14 days. At this 14-day mark, you'll also be asked to complete a questionnaire about how comfortable you found your device and to provide some general health information.

After 30 days, hospital staff will collect an update on your health from your medical records, looking for any signs of deep vein clots or lung clots. The final check will be a phone call 90 days after you started the study, where the team will ask about your overall recovery, health, how well you can move, and your quality of life.