KINEMATIC SYNTHESIS OF A MEDICAL BED FOR DECUBITUS ULCER PATIENTS

摘要

A decubitus ulcer or bedsore is a pressure-induced ulceration of the skin occurring in persons confined to bed for long periods of time. Reduction of pressure over bony prominences is of primary importance to prevent and cure bedsores. For this purpose, specially designed mattresses can be used and/or the patient should be turned frequently to avoid ischemia of soft tissue. In addition to pressure, other principal factors causing bedsore are friction and shear forces. In this paper, we designed a new 5 degree of freedom bed mechanism that can be used to change the posture of pressure ulcer patients, which generates 7 motions including backrest elevation, kneerest elevation, lounge position, left and right rotation, trendelenberg and reverse trendelenberg motion, and straight elevation. Particularly, we focused on the synthesis of a backrest and seatrest assembly that can reduce sliding between the bed and the patient.