圧力分配測定装置の底板周辺部の丸み付けが装置とウレタンフォームマットレス接触面での圧力分配に及ぼす影響

抄録

Pressure redistribution is a key feature for foam mattresses to smoothen the pressure of the body surface and consequently to prevent pressure ulcer. We developed a portable device to evaluate the characteristics of pressure redistribution for foam mattresses by placing it on the mattress. This device consists of a circular bottom plate, a protruding shaft, and a load cell which detects the compressive load on the shaft when a load is applied to the mattress through the bottom of the device. We rounded the circumference of bottom plate with a radius of 5 mm and compared the pressure redistribution and a vertical deformation on a polyurethane foam mattress to a case of no rounding. The results shows that rounding caused a larger displacement and a larger load on the shaft when the device had a large amount of load. Effect of rounding is one of the key factors to evaluate the pressure redistribution quantitatively.