Evaluating Pressure Ulcer Development in Wheelchair-Bound Population Using Sitting Posture Identification

Farve Daneshvar Fard, Sahar Moghimi, Reza Lotfi

Department of Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/eng.2013.510B027                

Abstract

Pressure ulcers are a common complication among wheelchair-bound population. They are resulted from prolonged exposure to high pressure, which restricts blood flow and leads to tissue necrosis. In this work, a continuous pressure monitoring system is developed for pressure ulcer prevention. The system consists of 64 pressure sensors on a 40×50 cm² sheet. Real time pressure data and corresponding maps are displayed on a computer simultaneously. Furthermore, a posture detection procedure is proposed for sitting posture identification. Having information about the patient’s postural history, caregivers are capable of a better decision about repositioning and treating the patient.

Keywords

Interface Pressure Monitoring; Pressure Ulcer; Sitting Posture

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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