Pressure sores
Pressure ulcers are a classic underestimated health problem that is devastating to both the individual and the healthcare system. Pressure ulcers are sores that develop in deep muscle tissue as a result of constant pressure and reduced mobility; typically, in people who are wheelchair-bound. The sores can worsen, causing severe pain; doing extensive damage to muscles, tendons, and bones; and leading to severe infection, in which case they can be fatal. The direct annual cost of treating pressure ulcers is high: in Canada alone, the cost is $3.5 billion per year.
The treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers is one of three interconnected projects being tackled by the AHFMR Interdisciplinary Team on smart neural prostheses. This 16-member team brings together neuroscientists, biomedical researchers, engineers who specialize in microelectronics and wireless communication, nanotechnology experts, physicians, nurses, and rehabilitation medicine professionals. They come from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, as well as clinical-partner centres, industrial partners, and patient groups.
The goal of the pressure ulcer project is to design form-fitting garments that will stimulate muscles of wheelchair-bound and bedridden patients to prevent pressure ulcers from developing. When these patients stay in one position for a long time without shifting, blood flow to the muscles and skin is cut off, and the tissue dies because it lacks oxygen. Pressure ulcers form when this dead tissue becomes infected. The project is led by AHFMR Senior Scholar Dr. Vivian Mushahwar, a biomedical engineer at the University of Alberta and a co-leader of the AHFMR Interdisciplinary Team.
Her team is working on a device that would detect increased pressure and lack of oxygen in the muscles of the buttocks and then stimulate nerves to clench those muscles in response. The idea is to incorporate the sensors and stimulators into a kind of "smart underwear" that would simulate the fidgeting movements that a person with sensation would normally make. Even such small movements are enough to keep the tissues supplied with blood and oxygen, and thus prevent pressure ulcers from forming.
The device could make a tremendous difference in the life of anyone who is confined to a wheelchair. "It would take me 20 years to get the results that this team will be able to achieve in five years," says Dr. Mushahwar. "Our team is designing neural devices with input from the people who will use them, and from the doctors and rehabilitation specialists who know the risks, and themselves have dreamed of creative solutions."