Customized Cushions For Wheelchairs Could Prevent Pressure Ulcers

Patients who use wheelchairs for long periods of time suffer from broken skin ulcers from time to time due to their skin's constant contact with the synthetic material products of the wheelchair, such as friction and pressure. Over time, pressure ulcers can become a chronic condition, allowing for skin infections or additional damage. The International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology has taken notice of this problem and is actively seeking solutions for wheelchair users to alleviate their suffering.

Sivasankar Arumugam, Rajesh Ranganathan and T. Ravi of the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, India, point out that every wheelchair user is different, with different body shapes, weights, postures and different mobility problems. Therefore, a single answer to pressure sore problems is not feasible if all wheelchair users are to be helped. Their study of a group of volunteer users showed that, based on pressure measurements, each user needs to be individually tailored to reduce the shear and frictional forces that lead to pressure sores.

Wheelchair patients who sit for long periods of time are at risk of developing pressure ulcers due to a range of health issues such as spinal cord injury (SCI), paraplegia, quadriplegia and quadriplegia. When seated, approximately three-quarters of a person's total body weight is distributed through the hips and the back of the thighs. In general, this part of a wheelchair user's body has less muscle tissue and is therefore less able to resist the tissue deformation that makes these tissues susceptible to damage that can lead to ulcers. Universal cushions for wheelchairs do not offer customization for specific wheelchair users due to their off-the-shelf ailments and therefore offer only limited protection against pressure ulcers.

With pressure ulcers being the third major health problem after cancer and cardiovascular disease, there is a need to find solutions that not only significantly benefit wheelchair users themselves, but also bring down the cost to these users and the healthcare system they rely on. The team emphasized the urgent need for a scientific approach to customizing cushions and other components that may help reduce tissue damage and ulcers. Their work provides an outline of the problems that wheelchair users have with pressure ulcers. They hope that a scientific approach will ultimately lead to the best way to customize wheelchair cushions and padding to fit the individual wheelchair user.