Intelligent control system based on smart textiles to reduce pressure injury risk by real time measure of tissue viability, and intelligent trigger of prevention strategies adapted to user and context
85% of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) patients will develop a Pressure Injury (PI), and 8% of them will die due to associated complications. PI treatment costs €20 billion per year to the European Public Health System (EPHS), uses a lot of resources (e.g. caregivers and hospital beds) and causes injuries to the caregivers that perform repositioning of the patients, resulting in compensation costs and extra human resource reduction. PI are preventable, however 38% of PI appear using current commercial prevention devices because PI risk assessment is only based on pressure instead of Tissue Viability (TV) which also takes into account user status and context. The aim of this project is to demonstrate in operational environment, produce and commercialise in the Assistive Technology market LiveRest system, a disruptive ICT solution that is able to avoid the development of PI, being the only device on the market that clinically demonstrates PI prevention. LiveRest will be embedded on a personalised wheelchair, and its novelties are: a) to measure PI risk in real time based on TV with impedance, pressure, temperature and humidity textile sensors; b) to decide the best combination of PI prevention strategies based on risk, user and context; and c) to perform the selected strategy based on combined actuation systems. LiveRest is aligned with key EU global challenges: disability, independent living, job inclusion, reduction of social and health care costs, and increase of labour. Target customers are SCI patients and hospitals. Benefits for the patients are increased sitting time and enhanced health, social inclusion, independent living and ageing well. EPHS savings will result in more than €40 million per year, plus avoid loss of medical resources. During Phase 2, we will achieve the free marketability of LiveRest, demonstrate the system in operational environment and elaborate an investor-ready business plan, including commercialisation and mass-production strategies.