Computational modelling of hospital mattresses made from spacer fabrics

Year 2020, Volume: 30 Issue: 4, 239 - 250, 29.12.2020

Dimitroula Matsouka Savvas Vassılıadıs , Clio Vassou Arzu Marmaralı

https://doi.org/10.32710/tekstilvekonfeksiyon.585936

Cited By: 3

Abstract

The appearance of pressure ulcers is a very common occurrence, especially for 

people with limited mobility who are obliged to spend a long time prone on a support surface. 

Pressure ulcers in severe cases can cause damage to underlying muscle and bone. Damage to 

deeper tissues, tendons and joints may also occur. Serious complications, such as infection of 

the bone (osteomyelitis) or blood (sepsis), can occur if pressure sores progress. While the 

main strategy for dealing with pressure ulcers is centred around the interaction of patient and 

care-giver (manually changing the position of the patient every two hours in order to relieve 

pressure on critical body areas, examination of patient for signs of pressure ulcer formation) 

there are auxiliary approaches, such as the choice of a pressure relieving support surface. 

Currently, a variety of support surfaces exists. The criteria of choice are dependent on factors 

such as the medical history of the patient and economic. The emergence of 3D spacer fabrics 

as textile materials with good compression behaviour makes them suitable candidates for the 

production of support surfaces that contribute to the prevention of pressure ulcers. In order to 

decide on their suitability, extended clinical trials involving actual patients must be 

performed. In the present paper, a computational methodology utilizing a tool, widely used in 

the area of engineering namely Finite Element (FE) Method, is proposed as a supporting tool 

for the preliminary evaluation of the suitability in terms of mechanical behaviour of certain 

3D spacer fabrics, providing an insight of the deformation, stress and strain developed on the 

bodies (human body – mattress) as well as on their interface. 

 

Keywords

Pressure ulcers, medical support surfaces, spacer fabrics, finite elements method

References

• 1. Stannard, D. (2012). Support Surfaces for Pressure Ulcer Prevention. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 27(5), 341–342. DOI 10.1016/j.jopan.2012.07.007 2. McInnes, E., Jammali-Blasi, A., Bell-Syer, S. E., Dumville, J. C., & Cullum, N. (2011). Support surfaces for pressure ulcer prevention. In The Cochrane Collaboration (Ed.), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. DOI 10.1002/14651858.CD001735.pub4 3. Zeller, J. L., Lynm, C., & Glass, R. M. (2006). Pressure Ulcers. JAMA, 296(8), 1020. DOI 10.1001/jama.296.8.1020 4. Thomas, D. R. (2006). Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 7(1), 46–59. DOI 10.1016/j.jamda.2005.10.004 5. Landis, E. M. (1930). Micro-injection studies of capillary blood pressure in human skin. Heart, 15, 209–228. 6. Campbell, C., & Parish, L. C. (2010). The decubitus ulcer: Facts and controversies. Clinics in Dermatology, 28(5), 527–532. DOI 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2010.03.010 7. Support Surface Standards Initiative (S3I), Terms and Definitions, National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) accessed 12.03.14 8. Phillips, L. (2007). Interface pressure measurement: Appropriate interpretation of this simple laboratory technique used in the design and assessment of pressure ulcer management devices. Primary Intention: The Australian Journal of Wound Management, 15(3), 106–113. 9. Phillips, L., Goossens, R., Takahashi, M., & Clark, M. (2012). Defining ‘active’ pressure redistribution. Wounds International, 3(3), 52–56. 10. Tissue Viability Society. (2010) Laboratory measurement of the interface pressures applied by active therapy support surfaces: A consensus document. Journal of Tissue Viability, 19(1), 2–6. DOI 10.1016/j.jtv.2009.11.010 11. Whittemore, R. (1998). Pressure-reduction support surfaces: A review of the literature. Journal of WOCN, 25(1), 6–25. DOI 10.1016/S1071-5754(98)90009-2 12. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. (2001). Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. Bull World Health Organ, (79), 373–374. 13. DiMasi, J. A., Hansen, R. W., & Grabowski, H. G. (2003). The price of innovation: new estimates of drug development costs. Journal of Health Economics, 22(2), 151–185. DOI 10.1016/S0167-6296(02)00126-1 14. Taktak, A. F. G., Ganney, P., Long, D., & White, P. (Eds.). (2014). Clinical engineering: a handbook for clinical and biomedical engineers (First edition). Amsterdam Waltham, MA: Elsevier : Academic Press. 15. Yoshida, H., Kamijo, M., & Shimizu, Y. (2012). A Study to Investigate the Sleeping Comfort of Mattress using Finite Element Method. Kansei Engineering International Journal, 11, 155–162. DOI 10.5057/kei.11.155