SBIR Fast-Track: Reducing Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries and Workforce Strain Through Automated Repositioning Technology

The broader impact and commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast-Track project are in developing a novel smart recliner, specifically engineered to support bariatric patients weighing between 250 and 350 pounds. The bariatric recliner will feature five independently articulating segments that will enable targeted repositioning to cyclically offload pressure from high-risk areas of a patient such as the buttocks, lower back, and shoulder blades. The design will be guided by data-driven understanding of seated pressure distribution and the impact of segment movement on pressure relief. This project will generate new pressure distribution data for medical care and treatment of people who are significantly overweight or obese, informing both the structural design and its automated repositioning algorithm. Embedded sensors will provide real-time feedback to both the system and clinical staff, ensuring effective and individualized pressure redistribution. This will serve the anatomical and clinical needs of larger patients, advancing both pressure injury prevention and clinical ergonomics. The proposed project addresses pressure injury development in the bariatric population, a population that is both at an elevated risk and is more difficult for nurses to care for without injuring themselves. Data shows that pressure injuries are the second most common preventable medical complication, making them a high priority for healthcare facilities. Little information is available about the bariatric population, particularly pertaining to the seated position. This work will create new methods, new data sets, and a critical understanding of how soft tissues affect seating. Specifically, it investigates the effects of adipose tissue on the seated position, key anatomical regions, and interface pressures. These are all integral to understanding how pressure injuries form and how to prevent them. Accomplishing the objectives of the proposed project will permit the development of a repositioning recliner specifically for the bariatric population as well as other critical information that will support future devices to support the bariatric population. This will be done by collecting measurements of bariatric individuals and testing a series of positions to ensure that positions included in the final design redistribute interface pressures. Evaluations by clinicians will ensure the recliner fulfills their needs, promoting adoption by healthcare facilities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.