Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers.
When immobile or neuropathic patients are supported by beds or chairs, their soft tissues undergo deformations that can cause pressure ulcers. Current support surfaces that redistribute under-body pressures at vulnerable body sites have not succeeded in reducing pressure ulcer prevalence. Here we sh...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2019-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227064 |
| _version_ | 1818578001068032000 |
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| author | Colin J Boyle Diagarajen Carpanen Thanyani Pandelani Claire A Higgins Marc A Masen Spyros D Masouros |
| author_facet | Colin J Boyle Diagarajen Carpanen Thanyani Pandelani Claire A Higgins Marc A Masen Spyros D Masouros |
| author_sort | Colin J Boyle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When immobile or neuropathic patients are supported by beds or chairs, their soft tissues undergo deformations that can cause pressure ulcers. Current support surfaces that redistribute under-body pressures at vulnerable body sites have not succeeded in reducing pressure ulcer prevalence. Here we show that adding a supporting lateral pressure can counter-act the deformations induced by under-body pressure, and that this 'pressure equalisation' approach is a more effective way to reduce ulcer-inducing deformations than current approaches based on redistributing under-body pressure. A finite element model of the seated pelvis predicts that applying a lateral pressure to the soft tissue reduces peak von Mises stress in the deep tissue by a factor of 2.4 relative to a standard cushion (from 113 kPa to 47 kPa)-a greater effect than that achieved by using a more conformable cushion, which reduced von Mises stress to 75 kPa. Combining both a conformable cushion and lateral pressure reduced peak von Mises stresses to 25 kPa. The ratio of peak lateral pressure to peak under-body pressure was shown to regulate deep tissue stress better than under-body pressure alone. By optimising the magnitude and position of lateral pressure, tissue deformations can be reduced to that induced when suspended in a fluid. Our results explain the lack of efficacy in current support surfaces and suggest a new approach to designing and evaluating support surfaces: ensuring sufficient lateral pressure is applied to counter-act under-body pressure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:38:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2c6dfd2dd7154afabb32a82bb357d77c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:38:51Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-2c6dfd2dd7154afabb32a82bb357d77c2022-12-21T22:40:44ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01151e022706410.1371/journal.pone.0227064Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers.Colin J BoyleDiagarajen CarpanenThanyani PandelaniClaire A HigginsMarc A MasenSpyros D MasourosWhen immobile or neuropathic patients are supported by beds or chairs, their soft tissues undergo deformations that can cause pressure ulcers. Current support surfaces that redistribute under-body pressures at vulnerable body sites have not succeeded in reducing pressure ulcer prevalence. Here we show that adding a supporting lateral pressure can counter-act the deformations induced by under-body pressure, and that this 'pressure equalisation' approach is a more effective way to reduce ulcer-inducing deformations than current approaches based on redistributing under-body pressure. A finite element model of the seated pelvis predicts that applying a lateral pressure to the soft tissue reduces peak von Mises stress in the deep tissue by a factor of 2.4 relative to a standard cushion (from 113 kPa to 47 kPa)-a greater effect than that achieved by using a more conformable cushion, which reduced von Mises stress to 75 kPa. Combining both a conformable cushion and lateral pressure reduced peak von Mises stresses to 25 kPa. The ratio of peak lateral pressure to peak under-body pressure was shown to regulate deep tissue stress better than under-body pressure alone. By optimising the magnitude and position of lateral pressure, tissue deformations can be reduced to that induced when suspended in a fluid. Our results explain the lack of efficacy in current support surfaces and suggest a new approach to designing and evaluating support surfaces: ensuring sufficient lateral pressure is applied to counter-act under-body pressure.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227064 |
| spellingShingle | Colin J Boyle Diagarajen Carpanen Thanyani Pandelani Claire A Higgins Marc A Masen Spyros D Masouros Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers. PLoS ONE |
| title | Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers. |
| title_full | Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers. |
| title_fullStr | Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers. |
| title_short | Lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers. |
| title_sort | lateral pressure equalisation as a principle for designing support surfaces to prevent deep tissue pressure ulcers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227064 |
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