Bodypart localization for pressure ulcer prevention.

Abstract

Pressure ulcers, commonly called bedsores, are defined as injuries to the skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure usually on bony areas of the body, such as heels and hips. In order to alleviate pressure accumulation at high-risk regions, the current practice in clinics requires caregivers to reposition their patients every two hours. This relies on the engagement of nursing services and places large burdens on the caregivers. In this study, a bedsore monitoring method using Pictorial Structure models is introduced to localize pressure distributions of the body. A pilot study including 12 subjects reveals that the proposed method enables reliable localization of bodyparts with 89.8% accuracy in common lying postures.