Abstract
The purpose of this study is to propose a lying location on a gatch bed for bedridden elderly people or patients, in order to decrease pressures around the abdominal region during backrest lifting. A proposed lying location is defined as the location where an ischial tuberosity of the patient is positioned right above the rotational axis of the backrest. A patient dummy has been developed to directly measure the abdominal pressures. Experiments were carried out to verify the effects of the proposed lying location during the backrest lifting and lowering. The pressures and slipping displacements were measured using the developed patient dummy in the conventional and proposed lying location. As a result the pressures and slipping displacements were decreased in the proposed lying location.
