Caggiari Silvia, Jiang Liudi, Worsley Peter
Skin Sensing Research Group, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1HE, UK.
School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jan 11;25(2):398. doi: 10.3390/s25020398.
Measuring interface pressure is currently used in a variety of settings, e.g., automotive or clinical, to evaluate pressure distribution at support surface interfaces. Commercial pressure sensing arrays are employed to monitor and visualise these pressure distributions to aid mattress or cushion selection by assessing their ability to redistribute the pressure magnitudes over vulnerable areas, e.g., the buttock. These technologies vary in configurations and measurement principles, with manufacturers supplying calibration and specifications. This study evaluated the performance of six commercial pressure sensing arrays, which differed in sensor type, configuration, and spatial resolution. Each system was subjected to mechanical compression loading on a standard cushion using a dual hemispherical 'buttock shaped' standard indenter. Pressure parameters were estimated, e.g., contact area, peak pressure index, from the sensing arrays and a comparison between measured and predicted pressure values was performed. The results showed that both contact area and pressures are influenced by the spatial resolution, with higher values associated with systems with the highest resolution. A high variability between systems was observed in the measured pressure, with sensor type driving difference between the observed and the predicted pressures. Further research is needed to establish standards and performance analysis of these technologies.
目前，测量界面压力被应用于各种场景，如汽车或临床领域，以评估支撑表面界面处的压力分布。商业压力传感阵列用于监测和可视化这些压力分布，通过评估其在诸如臀部等易受压区域重新分配压力大小的能力，来辅助床垫或坐垫的选择。这些技术在配置和测量原理上各不相同，制造商提供校准和规格说明。本研究评估了六种商业压力传感阵列的性能，它们在传感器类型、配置和空间分辨率方面存在差异。每个系统都使用双半球形“臀部形状”的标准压头在标准坐垫上进行机械压缩加载。从传感阵列估计压力参数，如接触面积、峰值压力指数，并对测量值和预测压力值进行比较。结果表明，接触面积和压力均受空间分辨率的影响，分辨率最高的系统其相关值更高。在测量压力方面，各系统之间存在很大差异，传感器类型导致了观测压力和预测压力之间的差异。需要进一步研究来建立这些技术的标准和性能分析。
