Sam Brusco, Associate Editor08.10.22
Thanks to new tech built by the University of South Australia (UniSA), tiny smart bed sensors embedded in hospital mattresses could end painful and potentially fatal pressure sores.
The minute opical fiber sensors can be attached to a mattress’s upper surface to monitor movement and record heart and breathing rates. They can also detect when a patient turns over, leaves a bed, or remains motionless, picking up their breathing.
That way, nurses are remotely alerted if a patient hasn’t moved in a few hours, prompting them to adjust the patient’s position. Lead UniSA researcher Dr. Stephen Warren-Smith said the technology could “significantly relieve” burden on hospital staff having to constantly monitor patients for pressure sores.
“Each year, millions of older people in hospitals and nursing homes experience pressure injuries, or ulcers, which take a long time to heal and can be fatal,” Dr. Warren-Smith told the press. “At the very least these injuries can cause severe pain, disrupt sleep, affect their mood as well as their rehabilitation, mobility and quality of life.”
The optical fiber sensors are embedded in the same spot as a person but not on them physically, unlike wrist-worn sensors to monitor physical activity and physiological signs. Hospitals currently use weight-based sensors or cameras installed in the room for monitoring, but both have limitations.
“Existing weight-based hospital sensors cannot predict when a patient leaves the bed until their feet touch the floor, leaving little time for nursing staff to respond in the event of a fall,” said Dr. Warren-Smith Also, there are privacy issues with camera-based technology.”
“Respiration rates are often the first sign that a patient is deteriorating,” he continued. This normally requires devices to be attached to the patient, either on the chest, as a mask on the face, or ventilator. These can be restrictive and sometimes inappropriate in an aged care setting. Monitoring vital signs continuously, unobtrusively and cheaply via the mattress-embedded sensors is a far better solution for both patient and nurse.”
Find more information on the technology here!
The minute opical fiber sensors can be attached to a mattress’s upper surface to monitor movement and record heart and breathing rates. They can also detect when a patient turns over, leaves a bed, or remains motionless, picking up their breathing.
That way, nurses are remotely alerted if a patient hasn’t moved in a few hours, prompting them to adjust the patient’s position. Lead UniSA researcher Dr. Stephen Warren-Smith said the technology could “significantly relieve” burden on hospital staff having to constantly monitor patients for pressure sores.
“Each year, millions of older people in hospitals and nursing homes experience pressure injuries, or ulcers, which take a long time to heal and can be fatal,” Dr. Warren-Smith told the press. “At the very least these injuries can cause severe pain, disrupt sleep, affect their mood as well as their rehabilitation, mobility and quality of life.”
The optical fiber sensors are embedded in the same spot as a person but not on them physically, unlike wrist-worn sensors to monitor physical activity and physiological signs. Hospitals currently use weight-based sensors or cameras installed in the room for monitoring, but both have limitations.
“Existing weight-based hospital sensors cannot predict when a patient leaves the bed until their feet touch the floor, leaving little time for nursing staff to respond in the event of a fall,” said Dr. Warren-Smith Also, there are privacy issues with camera-based technology.”
“Respiration rates are often the first sign that a patient is deteriorating,” he continued. This normally requires devices to be attached to the patient, either on the chest, as a mask on the face, or ventilator. These can be restrictive and sometimes inappropriate in an aged care setting. Monitoring vital signs continuously, unobtrusively and cheaply via the mattress-embedded sensors is a far better solution for both patient and nurse.”
Find more information on the technology here!