Computational modelling of hospital mattresses made from spacer fabrics

Authors : Dimitroula Matsouka, Savvas Vassiliadis, Clio Vassou, Arzu Marmarali

Pages : 239-250

Doi:10.32710/tekstilvekonfeksiyon.585936

View : 23 | Download : 11

Publication Date : 2020-12-29

Article Type : Research

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