Monitoring the risk for pressure sore onset

Summary form only given. Pressure sores, caused by extensive and prolonged loading of tissues, are considered one of the most severe complications in geriatric and paralyzed patients. Two major biomechanical factors are involved in the injury process: (i) prolonged pressure on skin overlying bony prominences and (ii) the skin moisture, constituted by the surface temperature. The risk for a pressure sore arises immediately with the patient's immobilization and requires early prevention. In this project, a monitor for predicting the risk for pressure sore onset at the common sites for injury (head, scapula, sacrum, buttocks, and heels) is developed. The system includes 20 contact pressure sensors and 8 skin temperature (standard thermistor) sensors, which are being sampled simultaneously and continuously using two A/D cards. A LabView 6i algorithm is implemented to acquire the pressure/temperature data. Through this process, external pressure is converted to internal mechanical stress in deep soft tissues by applying numerical models of the body-surface contact problem.