Exploring patient pressure relief, repositioning and transfer while in a bed

Patients with limited body movement ability are subject to the development of pressure ulcers (PUs), especially when confined to a bed. Pressure relief and frequent repositioning help to mitigate complications associated with PUs. Manually moving a patient is a physically-demanding task that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders for the caregivers and skin abrasion for patients. The first study in this thesis reviewed devices (commercially-available or published research) that are meant to address patient pressure relief, repositioning and/or transfer while in a bed. The review findings indicated that current technologies have limitations such as design complexity, high cost, bulkiness, unidirectional patient transfer, and the need for a caregiver’s intervention. Inspired by waves in nature such as water waves that can carry objects, a proposed solution in the literature for patient transfer is to create traveling ways on a bed surface for multidirectional patient transfer and to minimize the caregiver’s physical effort for constant patient readjustment on the bed. Inspired by this idea, the second study in this thesis built upon prior work in the literature and presented the design requirements for moving a human body using traveling waves on a bed surface. Particularly, through kinematic analysis and simulation of traveling waves, this study explored how various wave parameters such as the wavelength, amplitude, frequency, and number of wave-generating actuators would affect human transportation speed and movement smoothness. Results are summarized into a set of design guidelines for the development of actuation systems to physically realize a traveling wave that can move a body on a bed.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Mansouri, Mahshidalsadat

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hsiao-Wecksler, Elizabeth T.

• Patient transfer
• traveling waves
• assistive device
• pressure ulcer mitigation
• patient repositioning
• bedridden

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2022 Mahshidalsadat Mansouri

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116161

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F116161