Pressure Injury Prevention: A Survey

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Healthcare Technology
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Pressure injuries (PIs) are prevalent, affecting 2.5 million US patients and costing $11 billion annually.
• PIs significantly impact patient quality of life and are often secondary conditions.
• Current prevention methods are insufficient, necessitating advanced solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey and classify literature on pressure injury prevention techniques.
• To assess active prevention and sensor-based risk-factor monitoring strategies.
• To identify gaps and recommend future directions for PI prevention.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of preventative techniques for pressure injuries.
• Classification into active prevention and sensor-based risk-factor monitoring.
• Assessment based on commercial availability, clinical trial results, time-saving potential, and individual tunability.

Main Results:

• Electrical stimulation, pressure monitoring, and inertial measurement unit (IMU) monitoring show promise.
• These solutions can supplement existing nursing guidelines for PI prevention.
• A need exists for integrated clinical software systems for custom sensors and data analysis.

Conclusions:

• Advanced technologies like electrical stimulation and sensor-based monitoring are crucial for effective PI prevention.
• Further development of integrated clinical software is required to support these technologies.
• Implementing these solutions can enhance patient safety and reduce healthcare costs.