Optimising the design and material interface of cervical collars used in emergency and rehabilitation settings.

对于头部或颈部遭受过严重创伤的患者，在检查出潜在的骨折或韧带损伤之前，通常使用颈套（c型颈套）固定。在非急性情况下，通过在肌肉骨骼康复期间为头部和颈部提供生物力学支持，c -collar也被用于处理颈椎损伤。为了限制活动，项圈通过绑带和高度调节牢固地固定在颈部，在皮肤-设备界面产生压力增加的点，通常与剪切力相关。这些压力和剪切力可能导致皮肤破裂和压力性溃疡（PUs）的高风险，也称为压力性损伤。与c颈相关的皮肤损伤的常见部位包括枕骨、下颌骨、耳朵、下巴、喉突、肩部和胸骨。据报道，领口相关组织破裂的患病率在7%-38%之间，当佩戴超过5天时，患病率高达55%。这种由佩戴项圈造成的伤害风险归结于采用硬质聚合物材料的通用设计。这也是由于对装置的应用张力的指导有限。

Individuals who have experienced a serious trauma to the head or neck are routinely immobilized with a cervical collar (C-collar) until potential fractures or ligamentous injury are examined. C-collars are also used in the nonacute setting to manage cervical injury by providing biomechanical support to the head and neck during musculoskeletal rehabilitation. In order to limit mobility, collars are fixed securely to the neck via strapping and height adjustment, creating points of increased pressure often associated with shear forces at the skin-device interface. These pressure and shear forces can cause a high risk of skin breakdown and the development of pressure ulcers (PUs), also termed pressure injury. Common sites of skin breakdown specifically associated with C-collars include the occiput, mandible, ears, chin, laryngeal prominence, shoulders, and sternum. Prevalence values for collar-related tissue breakdown have been reported to range from 7%-38% and documented to be as high as 55% when worn for greater than 5 days. This risk of injury from wearing the collar is down to the generic designs incorporating stiff polymer materials. It is also due to the limited guidance on the application tension of the device.