Abstract
Pressure ulcers are localized areas of tissue breakdown in skin and underlying tissue caused by pressure, shear, friction, and/or a combination of these. Pressure ulcer patients have fragile skin structure and, the slight external force causes skin breakdown. In the skin of pressure ulcer patient, it is thought that concentration by the external forces of the distortion causes pressure ulcers. In this study, we evaluated dynamic viscoelasticity of the human skin and specified the origin of skin drift. The model of pressure ulcers was made in consideration of that drift origin. This model consisted of a cellulose sponge and styrene. Then, the strain of the human skin and the model was measured. We examined the strain measuring method of the skin from those results, and visualized the strain of a patient's pressure ulcer circumference.
