Preventing pressure ulcers using a new sitting concept

描述(申请人提供)：仅在美国，就有超过140万人依赖轮椅。除了这种不幸的情况，还有压疮(PU)形成的继发性并发症，这在慢性轮椅使用者中很常见。已确诊的脓液的治疗通常是困难和漫长的，极大地增加了轮椅使用者的发病率，并施加了巨大的经济负担。虽然最好的治疗策略是PU预防，但到目前为止，还没有任何预防策略被证明有效。我们开发了一种创新的座椅系统，并在正常受试者中进行了测试，该系统可以自动改变坐姿，事实证明，这种系统可以显著减少脊柱旁肌肉的活动，并重建脊柱的正常生理曲度。此外，我们的新型设备可以可靠地防止压力升高和持续，最大限度地提高软组织的活力，并防止热量积累，这些都是众所周知的PU形成的主要风险因素。因此，我们建议进一步改进和应用我们的创新座椅系统，用于脊髓损伤(SCI)患者的轮椅使用。研发的轮椅将在脊髓损伤患者身上进行严格的测试，以确定这一创新设备是否显著降低了PU形成的主要风险因素。此外，我们将进行广泛的测试，以优化用户功能，同时最大限度地提高安全性

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the United States alone, over 1.4 million individuals are dependent on wheelchairs. Added to this unfortunate situation is the secondary complication of pressure ulcer (PU) formation, common in chronic wheelchair users. The treatment of established PUs is often difficult and prolonged, dramatically increasing the morbidity of the wheelchair user and imposing a tremendous economic burden. Although the optimal treatment strategy is PU prevention, to date, no prevention strategies have proven effective. We have developed and tested, in normal subjects, an innovative seating system which undergoes automatic sitting posture change, which has proven to both significantly reduce paraspinal muscle activity and recreate the normal physiologic curvature of the spine. Furthermore, our novel device reliably prevents elevated and sustained pressure, maximizes soft tissue viability, and prevents heat accumulation, well-known major risk factors of PU formation. Thus, we propose to further refine and apply our innovative seating system for wheelchair use in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. The developed wheelchairs will undergo rigorous testing on SCI patients to determine whether this innovative device significantly decreases the major risk factors for PU formation. Furthermore, we will perform extensive testing to optimize user function, while maximizing safety