Title: Need for customisation in preventing pressure ulcers for wheelchair patients - a load distribution approach

Authors: Sivasankar Arumugam; Rajesh Ranganathan; T. Ravi

Addresses: Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, TN, 641014, India ' Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, TN, 641014, India ' Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, TN, 641014, India

Abstract: Pressure ulcer (PU) is a healthcare problem developed due to the factors such as pressure, shear and friction. The causes, stages, treatment methods along with mechanical factors and prevention methods for PU's are identified and analysed. A survey undergone revealed that as people in wheelchairs have different weights and sitting posture thereby, the pressure distribution varies from patient to patient. Therefore, using one type of product for all is found to be inappropriate. In this work, 22 healthy subjects are selected for analysing the pressure distribution. EMED sensor platform is used for measuring the interface pressure distribution, surface area and peak pressure distribution. From the results it was found that mostly the pressure distribution points for each individual varies drastically. Hence, the need is for individual customisation for PU reduction to reduce shear and frictional forces. Here surface customisation is identified to be a novel approach for patients in wheelchair.

Keywords: pressure ulcer; customisation; cushions; wheelchair patients; load distribution; surface customisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2022.120862

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2022 Vol.38 No.1, pp.44 - 64

Received: 02 Jul 2018
Accepted: 04 Oct 2018
Published online: 15 Feb 2022 *

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