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Design and Construction of a Low-Cost Pressure and Temperature Sensing Mattress with Software-Based Digital Countdown Timer for Bedsore Control and Prevention

Received: 21 September 2022     Accepted: 8 October 2022     Published: 27 June 2023
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Abstract

Bedsores, also called pressure ulcers, are localized injuries on the skin and/or the underlying tissues, usually over a bony prominence as a result of prolonged pressure and temperature on the skin due to lack of position changes for more than 2 hours. While there are caregivers saddled with the responsibility of repositioning immobile patients; the workload on the caregiver and/or nurses often limits consistency and efficiency in postural changes. Devices used to monitor these pressure ulcers are often expensive. The aim of this paper is on design and construction of an easily adoptable solution for the control and prevention of bedsores as well as addressing the relatively high cost, complexity and additional inconveniences posed by existing solutions. A low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress has been successfully designed and constructed using two LM35DZ temperature sensors, an MHT1 load-cells connected in Wheatstone-bridge configuration format with a HX711 load-cell amplifier, a software-based digital countdown timer implemented on Internet-ready Arduino Mega 2560 embedded system development board with an intelligent liquid crystal display unit as well as an overlapping mattress with an automatic backup uninterrupted power supply system such that the durations of the pressure and temperature occurrences between the patient and the pressure bed interface is measured and an alarm is triggered after or before 90 minutes to alert the caregivers and/or nurses for repositioning the patient. The designed, constructed, calibrated and validated low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress have been tested on patients with successful results. The designed and constructed pressure and temperature sensing mattress can be deployed to hospitals, clinics and healthcare centres. The complete software program for the implementation of the low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress is presented. Few recommendations are proposed for further improvements.

Published in American Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11
Page(s) 1-16
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bedsore (Pressure Ulcer), Embedded System, Pressure Sensing Mattress, Temperature Measurement System, Software-Based Digital Countdown Timer, Uninterrupted Power Supply System, Weight Measurement System

References
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    Andrew Akpan, Funmilayo Mofoluwaso Owolabi, Kolawole Oluwaseun Owoyemi. (2023). Design and Construction of a Low-Cost Pressure and Temperature Sensing Mattress with Software-Based Digital Countdown Timer for Bedsore Control and Prevention. American Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications, 10(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11

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    ACS Style

    Andrew Akpan; Funmilayo Mofoluwaso Owolabi; Kolawole Oluwaseun Owoyemi. Design and Construction of a Low-Cost Pressure and Temperature Sensing Mattress with Software-Based Digital Countdown Timer for Bedsore Control and Prevention. Am. J. Embed. Syst. Appl. 2023, 10(1), 1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11

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    AMA Style

    Andrew Akpan, Funmilayo Mofoluwaso Owolabi, Kolawole Oluwaseun Owoyemi. Design and Construction of a Low-Cost Pressure and Temperature Sensing Mattress with Software-Based Digital Countdown Timer for Bedsore Control and Prevention. Am J Embed Syst Appl. 2023;10(1):1-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11,
      author = {Andrew Akpan and Funmilayo Mofoluwaso Owolabi and Kolawole Oluwaseun Owoyemi},
      title = {Design and Construction of a Low-Cost Pressure and Temperature Sensing Mattress with Software-Based Digital Countdown Timer for Bedsore Control and Prevention},
      journal = {American Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-16},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajesa.20231001.11},
      abstract = {Bedsores, also called pressure ulcers, are localized injuries on the skin and/or the underlying tissues, usually over a bony prominence as a result of prolonged pressure and temperature on the skin due to lack of position changes for more than 2 hours. While there are caregivers saddled with the responsibility of repositioning immobile patients; the workload on the caregiver and/or nurses often limits consistency and efficiency in postural changes. Devices used to monitor these pressure ulcers are often expensive. The aim of this paper is on design and construction of an easily adoptable solution for the control and prevention of bedsores as well as addressing the relatively high cost, complexity and additional inconveniences posed by existing solutions. A low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress has been successfully designed and constructed using two LM35DZ temperature sensors, an MHT1 load-cells connected in Wheatstone-bridge configuration format with a HX711 load-cell amplifier, a software-based digital countdown timer implemented on Internet-ready Arduino Mega 2560 embedded system development board with an intelligent liquid crystal display unit as well as an overlapping mattress with an automatic backup uninterrupted power supply system such that the durations of the pressure and temperature occurrences between the patient and the pressure bed interface is measured and an alarm is triggered after or before 90 minutes to alert the caregivers and/or nurses for repositioning the patient. The designed, constructed, calibrated and validated low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress have been tested on patients with successful results. The designed and constructed pressure and temperature sensing mattress can be deployed to hospitals, clinics and healthcare centres. The complete software program for the implementation of the low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress is presented. Few recommendations are proposed for further improvements.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Andrew Akpan
    AU  - Funmilayo Mofoluwaso Owolabi
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    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajesa.20231001.11
    AB  - Bedsores, also called pressure ulcers, are localized injuries on the skin and/or the underlying tissues, usually over a bony prominence as a result of prolonged pressure and temperature on the skin due to lack of position changes for more than 2 hours. While there are caregivers saddled with the responsibility of repositioning immobile patients; the workload on the caregiver and/or nurses often limits consistency and efficiency in postural changes. Devices used to monitor these pressure ulcers are often expensive. The aim of this paper is on design and construction of an easily adoptable solution for the control and prevention of bedsores as well as addressing the relatively high cost, complexity and additional inconveniences posed by existing solutions. A low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress has been successfully designed and constructed using two LM35DZ temperature sensors, an MHT1 load-cells connected in Wheatstone-bridge configuration format with a HX711 load-cell amplifier, a software-based digital countdown timer implemented on Internet-ready Arduino Mega 2560 embedded system development board with an intelligent liquid crystal display unit as well as an overlapping mattress with an automatic backup uninterrupted power supply system such that the durations of the pressure and temperature occurrences between the patient and the pressure bed interface is measured and an alarm is triggered after or before 90 minutes to alert the caregivers and/or nurses for repositioning the patient. The designed, constructed, calibrated and validated low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress have been tested on patients with successful results. The designed and constructed pressure and temperature sensing mattress can be deployed to hospitals, clinics and healthcare centres. The complete software program for the implementation of the low-cost pressure and temperature sensing mattress is presented. Few recommendations are proposed for further improvements.
    VL  - 10
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Author Information
  • Department of Biomedical Technology, The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

  • Department of Biomedical Technology, The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria

  • Oak Agro Vet, Fagba, Nigeria

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