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Pressure ulcer prevention system based in capacitive sensors

Abstract:

Excessive pressure applied on bony prominence during a long period is the main extrinsic factor associated to pressure ulcers (PU). This is a common situation in patients using a wheelchair as a movement support for most of the day activities and patients with cerebral palsy. In this work, a system to measure and monitor the pressure levels generated between a person and a wheelchair is developed for pressure ulcer prevention. The system consists of 64 capacitive sensors on an xx cm2 area; the pressure levels are shown permanently on a smart-phone and recorded to analyze on a computer through a graphical user interface (GUI) in Matlab. Each sensor support a load of 9.00 kg and the complete system has an energetic independence of 48 h. The results indicated a high-pressure level of 479.56 kPa on 12 cm2 area during long periods of time.