Skip navigation View an alternate layout of this website with limited styles and no horizontal scrolling
Menu

Toward Real-Time Detection of Deep Tissue Injury Risk in Wheelchair Users Using Hertz Contact Theory

By Agam, Limor; Gefen, Amit; Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 537-550
Publication Date: 2008

Study assessed the suitability of a new portable system based on the Hertz contact theory for evaluating internal gluteal muscle stresses under the ischial tuberosities of wheelchair users in real-time as a risk indicator for deep-tissue injury. The Hertz contact theory consists of a series of mathematical equations to calculate normal, hoop, radial, and shear stress components on and within a soft flat surface or half-space when pressed by a rigid hemisphere. Five individuals with paraplegia and a control group of 6 individuals participated in the study. Participants were monitored and processed with the portable system while seated in a wheelchair with an air cell cushion. The resultant internal peak and average stress doses of the control group were compared with those of the paraplegic group and the results were validated against previously-published finite-element (FE) stress data for the same participants. Individuals with paraplegia were characterized by peak muscle-compression stresses that were 2.4-fold higher than those in the control group. A Bland-Altman comparison, a method of data plotting used in analyzing the agreement between two different assays, indicated that stresses recorded by the system used in the study were in satisfactory agreement with the previously-published FE analyses. The study concludes that the new stress-monitoring system has the potential to be a practical means of evaluating internal muscle stresses during everyday life for individuals with paraplegia.
Published by:

VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Service    (Web Site: http://www.rehab.research.va.gov )
Link to text: http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/08/45/4/agam.html
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J55040
  • Home
  • Alternate Layout
  • My AbleData
  • Contact
  • Site Map
  • A-Z Index
  • Help
  • Privacy

    • AbleData, 8630 Fenton Street, Suite 930, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 1-800-227-0216.
    Maintained for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Dept. of Education
    by ICF Macro under Contract No. ED-04-CO-0018/0007.

    The records in AbleData are provided for information purposes only. Neither the U.S. Department of Education nor ICF Macro has examined, reviewed, or tested any product, device, or information contained in AbleData. The Department and ICF Macro make no endorsement, representation, or warranty express or implied as to any product, device, or information set forth in AbleData. The views expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Department of Education, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, or ICF Macro.