about the mattress...

The large tubular air cells in the mattress will provide support and comfort and the alternating air cells promote blood circulation and prevent occurrence of bedsores. Air will flow alternately in the mattress by rows thus provide good blood circulation.An alternating air mattress is made up of a series of air cells, which are inflated with an air pump. Cells inflate in a cyclical manner; which one set of cells supporting the patient while the others deflate, enabling the patients’ tissues to perfuse with oxygenated blood. The cycle and the pressure of the supporting cells change approximately every ten minutes throughout the entire surface area of the bed. This mimics the subtle movement’s patient make during rest and sleep. The base foam on an air mattress affects its pressure distributing properties; a deeper foam base is important in case there is a short-term power failure or where a heavier person is using it.

29 JANUARY 2012

                        

this blog is purposely made for final year project update. It is like a log book, where there will be at least weekly update for my FYP progress. I'll update every progress for this ripple mattress project from beginning until the project success. Insyaalah..

For the beginning, i'll explain about the pressure sores and the operation of ripple mattress. next, I'll continue updating the progress weekly. enjoy reading...=)  

PRESSURE SORES

Patients who are immobile for long periods of time may develop pressure sores. A sore area of skin that develops when the blood supply to it is cut off for more than two to three hours due to pressure on it and lack of movement. As the skin dies, the pressure sore first appears as a red painful area, which in time turns purple. Left untreated, the skin can break open and become infected. A pressure sore can become deep (ulcerate) and extend into the underlying muscle. Once a bed sore develops, it is often very slow to heal. Untreated pressure sores can become gangrenous or seriously infected. These can be avoided by frequent turning and re-positioning of the patient, changing bedding frequently, providing soft padding in beds and wheelchairs to reduce pressure, and providing good skin care by keeping the skin clean and dry. These same measures help to prevent the progression of existing bed sores. An alternative method is to use a ripple matters. There are two types of these, water-filled and air-filled types. The water-filled types are also used to provide heat and are much thinner. The air-filled types may have large or small inflatable cells and there are cushions and seats which use the same principle. So, for the final year project, I’m planning on designing the air-filled type