Technology-Assisted Pressure Ulcer Prevention: The Automatic Mattress

Abstract

Hospital acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs) are a significant issue affecting approximately 5% of patients admitted to thehospital with sudden illnesses. These ulcers are commonly found in patients who have limited mobility and cannot repositionthemselves in bed. The traditional method to prevent HAPUs involves turning the patient every two hours and using specializedmattresses to redistribute pressure. However, low compliance with turning protocols has made this method difficult to maintainin many healthcare facilities. A novel strategy utilising a wearable gadget that continuously tracks the patient’s position hasbeen presented to deal with this problem. A tablet and the device wirelessly interact, and the tablet notifies the carer when thepatient has to be turned in accordance with hospital policy. The device’s embedded technology records the turning procedure andcontinuously tracks the patient’s location. This information is updated on the hospital’s cloud system for centralised monitoring.During testing, the system demonstrated its ability to reliably identify typical patient poses and track the patient’s location