Session: MR-03-01

Paper Number: 148271

148271 - Using Compliant Mechanisms to Prevent Bedsores 

Bedridden patients face a high risk of developing pressure-induced bedsores, while existing commercial solutions aimed at preventing bedsores are not highly effective, lack strong medical endorsement, and suffer from drawbacks. This study proposed a compliant-mechanism-based mattress designed to prevent the formation of bedsores based on hypothesizing that alternating the support pattern beneath patients' bodies could keep any region from being subjected to prolonged pressure exceeding threshold levels. The researchers fabricated a custom-designed actuator bed featuring a tightly packed array of linear actuator pistons spaced apart and capable of changing patterns to identify the optimal configuration parameters for the mattress. A control strategy was implemented for the actuator bed to generate modified 2D sine wave patterns with adjustable parameters such as pitch, depth, and phase. Pressure data collected from an anatomically accurate dummy positioned on the actuator bed was analyzed to determine the optimal parameters, which were then subsequently employed as inputs for a custom MATLAB tool to calculate the geometric dimensions of the proposed multi-stable compliant-mechanism-based (MSCMB) mattress. The mattress, consisting of staggered lattice-patterned panels arranged out of phase and other compliant peripherals, achieves a stable 2D sinusoidal undulating pattern of alternating peaks and troughs resembling a checkerboard layout under the user's weight and facilitates longitudinal mattress deformation to accommodate adjustments in the user's head and/or leg positions. Results demonstrate that regardless of whether the anatomically accurate dummy is positioned flat or inclined, the mattress significantly reduces the areas under prolonged pressure exceeding threshold levels compared to when the dummy is on a flat surface, with the applied switching force considerably less than the weight of the dummy.

Presenting Author: Zhidi Yang University of California, Los Angeles

Presenting Author Biography: Zhidi Yang is a Ph.D. student in the Flexible Research Group at UCLA. He earned his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and another B.S. degree in Computer Technology from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He received his M.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and his M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UCLA. His research interests include Compliant Mechanisms, Dynamics, Controls, and Robotics.

Authors:

Zhidi Yang University of California, Los Angeles
Jed Weida K Medical LLC
Siyuan Shao University of California, Los Angeles
Piyush Sheth K Medical LLC
Jonathan Hopkins University of California, Los Angeles