Title
Wheelchair Pressure Ulcer Prevention Using FBG Based Sensing Devices.
Abstract
In this work, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) based sensing system for wheelchair pressure ulcer prevention was developed. Six FBGs were strategically positioned in a wheelchair to monitor the more prominent bone areas, namely scapulas (right (SR) and left (SL)), ischiatic zone (right (IR) and left (IL)), and heels (right (HR) and left (HL)). The sensing architecture was tested by a female user during pressure relief exercises, to verify its effectiveness on pressure monitoring. The proposed system proves to be a compact and reliable solution for wheelchair pressure ulcer prevention, making it a suitable alternative to existing conventional electronic sensors, with the advantage of being immune to electromagnetic interferences and usable in humid environments. In addition to the pressure, the breathing rate was also monitored. By combining the proposed sensing architecture with a wheelchair user detection software, it is possible to create alerts for the user to know when a new position should be adopted, in order to relieve the pressure in a specific area, thus avoiding one of the biggest problems for such patients, pressure ulcers.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.3390/s20010212
SENSORS
Keywords
DocType
Volume
fiber Bragg grating,pressure ulcers,wheelchair,pressure sensors,breathing rate
Journal
20
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
1.0
1424-8220
2
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.45
0
6
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Catia Tavares152.34
M Fátima Domingues220.78
Tiago Paixão320.78
Nélia Alberto421.12
Hugo Silva520.45
paulo antunes6116.08