Biomechatronics and Neuroprosthetics Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
J Med Eng Technol. 2021 Oct;45(7):574-581. doi: 10.1080/03091902.2021.1936238. Epub 2021 Jun 29.
Individuals with paraplegia spend their time on the wheelchair for life. Adapting to prolonged wheelchair seating for almost all activities of daily living is challenging. The loss of abilities to sense any pain or excessive seating pressure cause them to remain seated on the wheelchair without any pressure relief activities. This situation leads to secondary complications including pressure ulcer which further degrades the individual's health. To overcome this, a wheelchair seating pressure relief training system (WSETs) was developed. Optimal placement of the force sensitive resistors (FSR) as seating pressure sensors on the cushion were determined, and their responses were investigated with 5 paraplegics. Two different FSR orientations, A and B, were compared. Each paraplegic sat in resting position and then performed pressure relief activities (PRA) which included whole body push-up, left and right lean and forward lean, before returning to resting position. Orientation B, with more forward positioned FSRs, showed higher sensitivity, implying better capture of high-risk area of pressure ulcer development. The FSR sensor readings were significantly different among pressure relief activities in all subjects ( < 0.05) indicating the validity of FSR measures for the intended application. In conclusion, the WSETs system was proven suitable as a training tool for new paraplegics to habituate themselves in performing PRA.
截瘫患者一生中大部分时间都要坐在轮椅上。适应长时间坐在轮椅上进行日常生活的各种活动是具有挑战性的。由于丧失了感知任何疼痛或过度坐姿压力的能力，他们只能一直坐在轮椅上，而不进行任何减压活动。这种情况会导致继发性并发症，包括压疮，从而进一步降低个人的健康水平。为了克服这一问题，开发了一种轮椅座椅压力缓解训练系统（WSETs）。确定了在坐垫上作为座椅压力传感器的力敏电阻器（FSR）的最佳放置位置，并对 5 名截瘫患者进行了研究。比较了两种不同的 FSR 方向，A 和 B。每个截瘫患者先处于休息位置，然后进行压力缓解活动（PRA），包括全身俯卧撑、左右倾斜和前倾，然后再回到休息位置。具有更多向前定位 FSR 的 B 方向显示出更高的灵敏度，这意味着更好地捕捉了压疮发展的高风险区域。所有受试者在压力缓解活动中，FSR 传感器读数均有显著差异（<0.05），这表明 FSR 测量对于预期的应用是有效的。总之，WSETs 系统被证明是一种适合新截瘫患者的训练工具，可帮助他们习惯于进行 PRA。
