A health care company has invented a pair of electrically charged socks to help ward off deep vein thrombosis (DVT) on long flights.
High Tech Health promised the Circulation Booster Mobile would increase blood circulation by 50 per cent to help reduce the risk of developing the potentially deadly condition.
Sam Penny, the director of the Sunshine Coast-based company, said a battery controlled, handheld device sent electrical impulses to the socks, which are embedded with silver.
The impulses pass through the skin and stimulate nerves in the feet and lower legs.
Mr Penny said the socks, which cost $249, reduced the need to perform exercises to help blood flow during long flights.
"You get this excellent muscle contraction and release," Mr Penny said.
"You get basically all the blood pumping. It's like exercise but a lot more effective because we're also stimulating all of the muscles in the lower legs ... without having to pace up and down a plane."
DVT occurs when blood flow is restricted and clots form, usually in the legs after a person has been immobile for long periods of time.
The condition has become prevalent in air travellers in recent years.
It can be fatal if a clot breaks off and reaches the lungs.
Symptoms include swelling, pain and redness, especially on the back of the leg.
Mr Penny said the socks looked and felt like regular socks and could be washed up to 70 times.
The wire which attached the socks to the battery pack could be worn discretely under clothing.
Mr Penny said the 9v battery would last "a couple of trips to Europe and back".
"The only times you can't use it of course are on take-off and landing," he said.
Apart from their therapeutic value, he said the socks had another quality which would impress other plane passengers.
"Because we've impregnated them with silver they've got an excellent antibacterial property as well, so they're not going to stink like socks," Mr Penny said.
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