A pressure monitoring approach for pressure ulcer prevention

Osuagwu, B., Mccaughey, E. and Purcell, M. (2023) A pressure monitoring approach for pressure ulcer prevention. BMC Biomedical Engineering, 5, 8. (doi: 10.1186/s42490-023-00074-6) (PMID:37563686) (PMCID:PMC10416505)

Abstract

Background: A pressure ulcer (PU) is a debilitating condition that disproportionately affects people with impaired mobility. PUs facilitate tissue damage due to prolonged unrelieved pressure, degrading quality of life with a considerable socio-economic impact. While rapid treatment is crucial, an effective  prevention strategy may help avoid the development of PUs altogether. While pressure monitoring is currently used in PU prevention, available monitoring approaches are not formalised and do not appropriately account for accumulation and relief of the effect of an applied pressure over a prolonged duration. The aim of this study was to define an approach that incorporates the accumulation and relief of an applied load to enable continuous pressure monitoring. Results: A tunable continuous pressure magnitude and duration monitoring approach that can account for accumulated damaging effect of an applied pressure and pressure relief over a prolonged period is proposed. Unlike classic pressure monitoring approaches, the presented method provides ongoing indication of the net impact of a load during and after loading. Conclusions: The tunable continuous pressure magnitude and duration monitoring approach proposed here may further development towards formalised pressure monitoring approaches that aim to provide information on the risk of PU formation in real-time.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: BO is funded by International Spinal Research Trust. EM has current funding from the New South Wales Government, Australia, and Wings for Life.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Osuagwu, Dr Bethel and Mccaughey, Mr Euan
• Authors: Osuagwu, B., Mccaughey, E., and Purcell, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: BMC Biomedical Engineering
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• ISSN: 2524-4426
• ISSN (Online): 2524-4426
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in BMC Biomedical Engineering 5:8
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License