Mobile and Remote Monitoring of Seating Pressure for Wheelchair Users with SCI

 描述(由申请人提供)：在任何给定的时间，在美国的30万脊髓损伤(SCI)患者中，25%的人会患有与坐着有关的压疮，每年的总治疗费用估计为惊人的63亿美元。当出现脓毒症时，溃疡复发率高达63%，死亡率高达50%；临床上迫切需要有针对性地预防溃疡的发展，以避免包括死亡在内的严重并发症。在康复诊所进行座椅界面压力测绘可以有效地确定轮椅上合适的设备和位置，但将信息转换到日常工作中往往不成功。准确、可靠、健壮、安全的 为患有脊髓损伤的轮椅使用者提供的个人使用的座椅压力系统具有通过实时视觉生物反馈预防溃疡的潜力，促进了对皮肤健康的远程监测，并限制了不必要的就医。然而，到目前为止，由于成本和技术障碍，它们无法直接提供给消费者。这个拟议项目的目标是进一步开发我们的原型个人使用的座椅压力监测系统，旨在参与、授权和激励使用SCI轮椅的个人，以防止座椅压力溃疡。我们的原型克服了与软件相关的障碍，通过使用智能手机操作系统的Web应用程序和用于数据传输的标准WiFi连接，以及允许使用商业上可批量生产的压力垫的合作伙伴关系，使最终产品以负担得起的成本定位。这个项目的目标是通过优化现场系统的性能(目标1)和确定该系统改善轮椅使用者的压力缓解行为的能力(目标2)来推动我们系统的发展。拟议的额外发展将确保该系统在技术特点和人为因素方面取得成功，从而产生一个真正有用的、临床上有效的个人监测系统。该项目的基本原理基于确凿的证据，即当患者参与并使用正确的工具时，他们能够更成功地管理自己的健康，并与他们的临床团队合作，获得积极的临床结果。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): At any given time, 25% of the 300,000 people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in the United States will have a pressure ulcer related to sitting, and total yearly treatment costs are estimated at a staggering $6.3 billion. With ulcer recurrence rates as high as 63% and mortality rates as high as 50% when sepsis is present; there exists a critical clinical need to target prevention of ulcer development to avert serious complications including death. Seat interface pressure mapping performed in rehabilitation clinics can effectively determine appropriate equipment and positioning in a wheelchair, but translation of the information to the daily routine is often unsuccessful. An accurate, reliable, robust, and safe personal-use seating pressure system available to wheelchair users with SCI has the potential to prevent ulcers via real-time visual biofeedback, facilitate remote monitoring of skin health, and limit unnecessary medical visits. However, cost and technical barriers have precluded their availability directly to consumers thus far. The goal of this proposed project is to further the development of our prototype personal-use seating pressure monitoring system that aims to engage, empower, and motivate individuals who use wheelchairs with an SCI to prevent seating pressure ulcers. Our prototype has overcome the software-related barriers by using a web application for Smartphone operating systems and a standard WiFi connection for data transfer, and partnership allowing use of a commercially available mass-producible pressure mat positions the end product at an affordable cost. The objective of this project is to advance the development of our system by optimizing field-based system performance (Aim 1) and determining the ability of the system to elicit an improvement in pressure relieving behaviors in wheelchair users (Aim 2). The additional development proposed will ensure that the system is successful in regards to technical features and human factors that will result in a truly useful an clinically effective personal monitoring system. The rationale for this project is based on solid evidence that when patients are engaged and empowered with the right tools, they are able to manage their health with far greater success and partner with their clinical team for positive clinical outcomes.