Sustainable Development of a Prototype of Air Mattress from Re-Used Materials for Pressure Ulcer Prevention

This paper presents the development of an air mattress to prevent pressure ulcers in patients who have limited movement. The major part of this mattress is a set of re-used dialysis bags that are a kind of waste from hospitals. This mattress prototype has been developed using Arduino Nano boards, force sensitive resistor (FSR) sensors and diaphragm air compressors. After completion, the first version of the air mattress prototype was evaluated by experienced nursing workers as acceptable with a score of 3.24±0.75, based on 5-point scale, which means further improvements for the next version are required.