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，美国30万脊髓损伤（SCI）患者中有25%会患有与坐姿相关的压疮，每年的总治疗费用估计为惊人的63亿美元。当存在脓毒症时，溃疡复发率高达63%，死亡率高达50%;存在针对预防溃疡发展以避免包括死亡在内的严重并发症的关键临床需求。在康复诊所中进行的座椅界面压力映射可以有效地确定轮椅中的适当设备和定位，但将信息转化为日常生活往往是不成功的。一个准确、可靠、坚固和安全的 为SCI轮椅使用者提供的个人使用座椅压力系统有可能通过实时视觉生物反馈预防溃疡，促进皮肤健康的远程监测，并限制不必要的医疗访问。然而，迄今为止，由于成本和技术障碍，消费者无法直接获得这些产品。该拟议项目的目标是进一步开发我们的原型个人使用座椅压力监测系统，旨在参与，授权和激励使用轮椅的SCI患者预防座椅压力溃疡。我们的原型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连接克服了软件相关的障碍，并且合作伙伴关系允许使用商业上可批量生产的压力垫，以可负担的成本定位最终产品。本项目的目标是通过优化基于场的系统性能（目标1）和确定系统引起轮椅使用者压力缓解行为改善的能力（目标2）来推进我们系统的开发。拟议的额外开发将确保该系统在技术特征和人为因素方面取得成功，从而形成真正有用的临床有效的个人监测系统。该项目的基本原理是基于确凿的证据，即当患者参与并获得正确的工具时，他们能够更成功地管理自己的健康，并与临床团队合作，以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.