A new low-cost anti-decubitus mattress for home care

Abstract

An anti-decubitus mattress is introduced. Primary requirements were low costs, low pressure and shear in lying and sitting, favourable heat and humidity exchange and adaptation to body weight. The different media a mattress may consist of, are described. After analysis of physical properties air has been chosen because of equally distributed pressure along the body contour. Details of the construction of the mattress and the control system are described. A market research revealed that the price of the complete system has to be lower than Dfl 5000 (approximately US$ 3000). The present article describes how one of the main goals of the research has been achieved: a low-cost mattress. In part 2 pressure and shear are analysed in lying and sitting and a comparison is made with cheap as well as expensive anti-decubitus mattresses.