Method and system for redistributing body pressure in a support device

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for redistributing body pressure using a support device. Based on medical mechanisms, the present invention accurately alleviates pressure-induced injuries on bony prominences of the body. When a user's body is supported by a support device such as a mattress, the user's body posture is first estimated from the measured two-dimensional pressure distribution on the body. Next, the coordinate positions of one or more bony prominences on the user's body are located with reference to the user's body shape characteristics. The pressure received by each bony prominence and the risk of compression injury are then compared and analyzed, and a ranking is performed. The shape and hardness of the support device are then adjusted locally or globally to redistribute the pressure distribution on the user's body, thereby reducing or avoiding the risk of compression injury on all bony prominences.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for redistributing body pressure in a support device, and in particular to a method and system for redistributing body pressure in a support device. Noma This improves the drawback of mattresses that cannot accurately predict areas of the human body that are prone to compression injuries and provide effective treatment. By combining artificial intelligence technology with a clinical research database and a mattress drive unit, it can accurately predict areas of the user's body that are prone to compression injuries and provide effective treatment. against Compression injury occurs This effectively reduces the probability. [Background technology]

[0002] Directly reducing the air cell pressure on high pressure areas of the body reduces the Compression injury can reduce the probability of occurrence .but, The area or areas of the human body that are prone to pressure injury do not necessarily coincide perfectly with the area or areas that are subject to relatively large pressure. For example, the buttocks are often Compression injury occurs Although it is not a high-risk area, the coccyx, located just 10 cm above the buttocks, is often Compression injury occurs In other words, the positions of the bony prominences in the human body are unevenly distributed, and therefore the critical pressure that each part can withstand is different. Areas with thin skin and bony features have low resistance, while areas with thick skin and flesh have high resistance. This makes it difficult for certain parts to withstand Compression injury occursTherefore, existing commercial products and related technological developments often fail to provide specific treatment for one or more areas of the human body that are prone to pressure injuries. This is because when a user lies, sits, or lies face down on a support device, the areas of the user's body that experience significant pressure are often areas with a lot of muscle, fat, and subcutaneous tissue, such as the buttocks, thighs, calves, shoulders, and abdomen, which can buffer the effects of pressure on blood circulation and body tissues and distribute the pressure to nearby body parts, thereby reducing the likelihood of injuries caused by sustained or sudden high pressure.

[0003] The bones of the human body's apophysis are mostly covered by skin, with little muscle, fat, or subcutaneous tissue between the skin and bone, and few blood vessels for sufficient blood circulation. This makes it difficult for pressure to be buffered or dispersed at the apophysis, making them more susceptible to injury than other body parts even when subjected to the same pressure. In particular, the small amount of subcutaneous tissue and muscle present at the apophysis are easily damaged by sustained pressure over a long period of time or intense pressure over a short period of time. In other words, apophysis are susceptible to pressure injuries even when they are not the areas of the user's body that receive the greatest pressure. Therefore, existing methods for directly reducing pressure at high-pressure areas (e.g., adjusting the air volume in air cells to change the contact pressure between the human body and the air cells) essentially fail to effectively alleviate the problem of apophysis being susceptible to pressure-induced pressure injuries, even when the apophysis is adjacent to the high-pressure area. FIG. 1A shows coordinates of high-risk areas of bony prominences where the user's body comes into direct contact with the support device in various body postures (supine, lateral, and semi-recumbent).

[0004] It is generally recognized that the internal pressure of an air cell is uniform; however, the reaction pressure on the external surface that occurs when an air cell is subjected to an external force is not uniformly distributed, but varies depending on the irregularities in the shape of the contact point between the object applying the force and the air cell surface. Taking Figure 1B as an example, even when a disk-shaped object and a cone-shaped object of the same weight act on the same air cell, the resulting local pressure action shows different reaction pressure distributions, and the greater the irregularity in the shape, the more severe the pressure non-uniformity becomes (see Figure 1C).

[0005] The human body is not a flat structure, but rather has an uneven appearance. Therefore, when a human body lies on a flexible mattress, the resilience and tension of the mattress body cause the reaction pressure to the body pressure to show a varying degree of uneven pressure distribution depending on the unevenness and hardness of the mattress (see Figure 1C). If this mattress has air cells divided into multiple compartments as its main structure, the shape and hardness of the mattress body can be changed by changing the filling pressure of each compartment's air cell. The commonly referred to saturation pressure is often mistakenly thought to mean the air pressure inside the air cells, but saturation pressure refers to the saturated internal air pressure, and its actual pressure sources are body pressure and air cell internal pressure.

[0006] Therefore, adjusting the air cell pressure in each compartment affects the overall distribution of surface action and reaction pressures. Taking Figure 1C as an example, when the air cells in compartments P1 through P6 are uniformly filled, an extremely high external surface pressure distribution is observed in the buttocks area. Applying further pressure to the air cell in compartment P3 (e.g., by filling it with air to make it firmer) gradually increases the pressure in the lower back and decreases the pressure in the buttocks. This is because, since the total weight of the human body remains constant, an increase in the support force distribution in one area inevitably decreases the support force in other areas, forming a new equilibrium state. Based on physical principles, an air mattress can redistribute the local pressure distribution patterns of body pressure action and reaction forces during recumbency by adjusting the air cell pressure in each compartment. Traditionally, it has been intuitively thought that air mattresses can directly increase or decrease the surface reaction pressure of the human body simply by inflating or deflating the air pressure in the air cells. However, this method does not meaningfully reduce the actual body surface pressure. All existing technologies are based on adjusting a single air cell, that is, first calculating a single location on the human body where pressure injury may occur, and then adjusting the internal pressure of the single air cell corresponding to that location. However, with this method, no matter how precisely the injury location is analyzed, the treatment method is still limited to simply adjusting the internal air pressure of the corresponding single air cell, which cannot be used to effectively adjust the relative risk locations.

[0007] As described above, there is currently an urgent need in the related industry to develop new methods and systems for redistributing body pressure using support devices to reduce or eliminate the risk of pressure injuries to the user's body. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a new method and system that reduces the risk of pressure injuries by taking into account the overall balance of body pressure distribution, as opposed to conventional methods that simply reduce pressure in high-pressure areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] Unlike conventional methods that directly inflate and deflate air cells, controlling the pressure distribution on the human body requires comprehensive consideration and calculation of the overall pressure distribution on the air mattress covering the human body and the mutual influence of each compartment air cell, understanding how to redistribute and combine the magnitude of the internal gas pressure of all compartment air cells, and ultimately achieving a uniform redistribution of the reactive pressure experienced by the human body when lying down, or achieving another desired distribution pattern, thereby eliminating the risk of epidermal compression injury in bedridden patients. One objective of the present invention is to provide a method for redistributing body pressure distribution using a support device. First, when a user is supported by the support device, for example, while sitting or lying down on a mattress, multiple pressure sensors within the support device are used to measure and generate a two-dimensional pressure distribution corresponding to the pressure exerted by the human body on the support device (or the pressure experienced by the human body through contact with the support device). Next, this two-dimensional pressure distribution is analyzed to estimate the user's current body posture. That is, the distribution of the user's skeletal muscles on the support device is estimated from the measured pressure distribution, and the user's current posture is determined by calculating characteristic parameters of this pressure distribution. The system then analyzes the user's body posture and locates the location of one or more bony prominences on the support device. That is, rather than locating areas where the user's body is under high pressure, it locates areas where the user's body is susceptible to injury due to sustained or sudden high pressure. Next, it determines whether the probabilities of compression injury corresponding to one or more bony prominences are all within an acceptable range. For example, it determines whether the probabilities are equal to or less than a critical probability value common to all bony prominences or each individual bony prominence's critical probability value. If this condition is met, the probabilities are deemed to be within the acceptable range, and no further processing is performed. If not, it is necessary to repeatedly adjust the support force generated by one or more support units until the probabilities of compression injury corresponding to all bony prominences are within the acceptable range.

[0010] The present invention provides a method for redistributing body pressure using a support device, and the existing Compression injuryThe main difference from the improved method is that the method of the present invention first locates the specific location of one or more bony prominences on the user's body on the support device, and then adjusts the different support forces that the support device applies to different parts of the user's body as needed to reduce the pressure that these one or more bony prominences receive, thereby reducing or eliminating the probability of compression injuries at these bony prominences. In other words, the main features of the method provided by the present invention are how to locate the location of a bony prominence, how to determine the probability of compression injuries at the bony prominences, and how to adjust the different support forces that the support device applies to different parts of the user's body to reduce or eliminate the probability of compression injuries at the bony prominences.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for redistributing body pressure on a support device, which reduces or eliminates pressure injuries that tend to occur on bony prominences and adjusts the pressure experienced by each part of the user's body. Existing commercially available products and technological developments have been developed to reduce or eliminate pressure injuries that tend to occur on high-pressure areas of the body. Compression injuryWhile previous methods focused on directly reducing the pressure on high-pressure areas and areas of the body, the technical feature of the present invention is that it first calculates a two-dimensional pressure distribution over the entire body surface, then determines the user's body posture on the support device, finds the locations of the bony prominences on the body, and then determines the probability of compression injury at each bony prominence, and then determines how to adjust the pressure applied to the user's body by the support device to reduce the probability of compression injury at each bony prominence. That is, from the time the user sits, lies, or lies face down on a support device such as an air mattress, how to measure the pressure generated by mutual contact between the user's body and the support device, how to generate a two-dimensional pressure distribution for the user's body, and how to generate the user's body posture from the two-dimensional pressure distribution may be similar to existing products / technologies. However, existing products / technologies directly determine one or more areas of the body that are subject to high pressure from the user's body posture, and then directly adjust the pressure applied to these one or more areas by the support device. However, the present invention further identifies one or more bony protrusions on the body from the user's body posture, and adjusts the support force applied to the body by the support device to reduce the pressure on the one or more bony protrusions and the probability of compression injury, i.e., redistributes the corresponding pressure of each part in the overall body pressure distribution. Next, the new two-dimensional pressure distribution of the entire body surface is re-associated, and if the optimized two-dimensional pressure distribution has not been reached, the above steps are repeated until the optimized two-dimensional pressure distribution is achieved, and in the process, each air cell of the air cell group is also continuously adjusted to the optimal pressure configuration.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for a support device to redistribute body pressure, which method includes acquiring a two-dimensional pressure image, analyzing and acquiring characteristic parameters from the two-dimensional pressure image, acquiring body shape factors (height, weight, waist circumference, limb loss), and using the above to perform machine learning and big data matching and judgment to obtain the recumbent posture and the coordinate position of each bony prominence point, determining which points are compressed from the recumbent posture (this differs between supine and lateral positions), locating specific bony prominence coordinate positions based on the pressure image characteristics and the recumbent posture, matching with a clinical database to calculate how much the coordinate pressure of the bony prominence risk area needs to be reduced to be safe, converting what shape or hardness the support unit should have and adapting it to the pressure redistribution pattern, feeding back the pressure distribution while driving the support device, and repeating the operation until the target pressure is achieved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1A] 1 is a schematic diagram of a human body posture and corresponding bony prominences; [Figure 1B] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between pressure distribution on a human body and pressure equalization inside an air cell. FIG. [Figure 1C] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between pressure distribution on a human body and pressure equalization inside an air cell. FIG. [Figure 2A] 1 is a schematic diagram of how a support device redistributes body pressure, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2B] 1 is a schematic diagram of how a support device redistributes body pressure, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2C] 1 is a schematic diagram of how a support device redistributes body pressure, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2D] 1 is a schematic diagram of how a support device redistributes body pressure, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3A] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system configuration of a method for redistributing body pressure using a support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3B] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system configuration of a method for redistributing body pressure using a support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a basic flowchart of a method for redistributing body pressure using a support device according to the present invention. [Figure 5A] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application of the present invention. [Figure 5B] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an application of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0014] 300 Pressure Injury Improvement System 301 Support device 3011 Support unit 3012 Pressure Sensor 3013 Interface Module 302 Control device 309 User body 410, 420, 430, 440, 450 step blocks DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The basic concept of the method for redistributing body pressure using a support device according to the present invention is illustrated in Figures 2A to 2D. First, as shown in Figure 2A, when a user's body is placed on the support device, a two-dimensional pressure distribution corresponding to the user's body posture is obtained by measuring the pressure experienced by different parts of the support device. This figure shows an example in which the user is lying on their back or side on the support device, and it can be seen that relatively large pressure is exerted on the areas corresponding to the user's shoulders and buttocks. Next, the user's body posture is estimated based on this two-dimensional pressure distribution. This estimation is generally performed using artificial intelligence, which can take advantage of its enormous computing power and learning ability, which improves accuracy the more it is performed. Next, as shown in Figure 2B, the positions of each bony prominence where the user's body comes into contact with the support device are located based on the estimated user's body posture. In this figure, the user's body posture is shown as being supine or sideways, and the bony prominences are indicated by crosses. The reason why the body posture must be identified first is that the bony prominences where the user's body comes into contact with the support device do not completely match in different body postures. For example, when sleeping on one's side, the user's tailbone cannot be in direct contact with the support device, and when sleeping on one's back, the user's hip bones cannot be in direct contact with the support device. After body posture identification is complete, it is necessary to calculate which bony prominences are in contact with the support device and determine the coordinates of each of these bony prominences on the support device (e.g., by locating them based on the external contour and internal relief features).

[0016] As shown in Figure 2C, areas of the user's body that receive high pressure are not necessarily bony prominences (represented by triangles), although they are often adjacent. As shown in Figure 2D, when viewed along the line AA that runs through the center of the human body from head to tail, different areas of the body receive different amounts of pressure, but one or more areas will always receive pressure above the critical pressure value. As can be seen from the figure, the pelvis directly corresponds to a relatively high critical pressure (pressure in a high-risk area). However, because this area has a relatively large amount of muscle and fat, which can buffer and distribute the pressure, the peak pressure does not necessarily correspond to the actual injury site; rather, this area is a safe area. In contrast, certain vertebrae (e.g., sacral injury) that receive pressure so that the skin directly surrounds the bone have a lower corresponding critical pressure, making them a relatively dangerous area. The amount of pressure that causes tissue degeneration when pressure is applied continuously for more than three hours is defined as: Compression injuryThe critical pressure value that induces compression injury is defined as the critical pressure value. This critical pressure for compression injury is related to body type, build, and health status, and can be defined from clinical research data and literature on compression injury. Prior art techniques were based on inference, directly assuming that the peak pressure was the injury site, and as a result, directly adjusting the air pressure in the air cell where the peak pressure was present, which failed to effectively mitigate damage to the actual injury site. Therefore, the present invention provides a method for adjusting the pressure experienced by different body parts, for a given user's weight, to reduce or even eliminate the probability that any part of the body will be subjected to pressure exceeding this critical pressure value, i.e., to reallocate pressure. Because the user's weight remains constant, reducing the pressure in one part inevitably involves increasing the pressure in other parts. Therefore, the general principle when adjusting the pressure experienced by each part of the body is to ensure that the pressure experienced by one or more parts susceptible to compression injury is below this critical pressure value after adjustment. It is even more preferable that the pressure experienced by all body parts after adjustment be below this critical pressure value. This does not simply reduce the pressure at each body part that was above a critical pressure value before the adjustment. Additionally, when actually adjusting each support unit (e.g., air cell) to adjust the pressure at each part of the user's body, the number of support units that need to be adjusted (e.g., the number of air cells whose filling is adjusted) is generally minimized.

[0017] The basic system configuration of the method for redistributing body pressure using a support device provided by the present invention is shown in Figures 3A and 3B. This pressure injury improvement system 300 includes at least a support device 301 and a control device 302. The support device 301 includes at least a plurality of support units 3011, a plurality of pressure sensors 3012, and an interface module 3013. These support units 3011 are located inside the support device 301 and arranged to form a two-dimensional array (first two-dimensional array) with each other, and each can generate the same or different support force. These pressure sensors 3012 are located between these support units 3011 and a specific side of the support device 301 that comes into contact with (or supports) the user's body, and are arranged to form a two-dimensional array (second two-dimensional array) with each other inside the support device 301. As a result, each of the support units 3011 generates a support force to support the body of a user who is sitting, lying, or lying face down on a specific side of the support device 301, and the pressure sensors 3012 sense the pressure experienced by each part of the user's body on the specific side, thereby generating a two-dimensional pressure distribution corresponding to the user's body posture. The interface module 3013 is connected to each of the support units 3011 and the pressure sensors 3012, and transmits information for adjusting the support force generated by each of the one or more support units 3011, and receives pressure values ​​from the specific side (i.e., pressure values ​​between the user's body and the support device) measured by each of the one or more pressure sensors 3012. The interface module 3013 is connected to the control device 302, which adjusts the support force generated by the support units 3011 based on the measurement results of the pressure sensors 3012, thereby adjusting the pressure experienced by different parts of the user's entire body on the specific side. The controller 302 can analyze the two-dimensional pressure distribution to estimate the user's body posture and further locate the position of one or more bony prominences on this particular side of the user's body.If the probability of compression injury occurring at at least one bone protrusion is unacceptable, the control device 302 repeatedly adjusts at least one support force generated by at least one support unit until the probability of compression injury occurring at all one or more bone protrusions where the user's body and the support device come into contact with each other becomes acceptable.

[0018] The control device 302 of the present invention can interact (dialogue, exchange information) with the support device 301 via the interface module 3013, for example, to receive measurement data from the pressure sensor 3012 or to control the support unit 3011 to adjust the support force applied to different parts of the user's body. The control device 302 can be any electronic device, such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop PC, that has an application (app) for interacting (dialogue, exchange information) with the support device 301. The interface module 3013 can be any wired or wireless communication module, such as a cable, Bluetooth® module, Wi-Fi® module, infrared module, or wireless communication module. The support device 301 and the control device 302 can be two separate pieces of hardware or two integrated pieces of hardware. For example, one control device 302 can be configured to support multiple support devices 301, simplifying the task of caring for multiple devices simultaneously.

[0019] The system provided by the present invention for redistributing body pressure using a support device has several commonly used options, including the following: The present invention aims to adjust the pressure received by bony prominences of the human body to reduce or eliminate the probability of compression injuries to the bony prominences. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1B above, the area of ​​any bony prominence of the human body is often no larger than the size of a coin. Therefore, in order to accurately identify the position of each bony prominence on the support device 301, the distance between adjacent pressure sensors 3012 should not be an integral multiple of the size of a coin. According to some test results, the distance between adjacent pressure sensors can be kept less than 3 cm, for example, the distance between their edges should be less than 3 cm, or the distance between their centers should be less than 3 cm. The support units 3011 may be air cells whose filling level can be adjusted to adjust the support force they generate. Considering the sizes of both the air cells and the pressure sensors 3012, the distribution density 3012 of these pressure sensors is usually higher than the distribution density of these support units 3011. Alternatively, multiple smaller air cells arranged closely together can be used as the support units 3011. Furthermore, in order to effectively measure the degree of contact (represented by the applied pressure) between different parts of the user's body and different parts on a specific side of the support device 301 when the user comes into contact with the support device 301, because the user's body posture and which part of a specific side of the support device 301 can change at any time, the pressure sensors 3012 are often arranged in a two-dimensional array (first two-dimensional array) and the support units 3011 are usually arranged in another two-dimensional array (second two-dimensional array), thereby allowing the different pressures generated by the user's body at different parts on a specific side of the support device 301 to be measured completely and accurately.

[0020] Furthermore, each support unit 3011 can change the support force it generates to change the different pressures it exerts on different parts of the user's body. Because the contour of the human body is not composed of only straight edges like a rectangular parallelepiped, when the user's body is supported by multiple support units 3011, different support units 3011 that contact different parts of the user's body 309 often have different adjustable contours, thereby appropriately supporting the user's body and adjusting the support force applied to the user's body. That is, the support units 3011 can adjust their vertical height, hardness, and even horizontal size, and can change the support force and / or size contour they generate by changing the amount and flow rate of fluids, such as gas or liquid, flowing inside. Because the support device 301 is used to reduce damage to the user's body caused by excessive and / or prolonged pressure, the support units 3011 already generate their respective support forces (whether the same or different) before the user is positioned on that particular side. Before the user's body is supported by the support device 301, the air cells of these support units 3011 are already filled to different heights, thereby providing appropriate support for the user's body and reducing discomfort to the user. Also, the surface of this particular side is covered with a flexible or deformable material, thereby alleviating pressure on the user's body when it comes into contact with this particular side.

[0021] The control device 302 may have built-in artificial intelligence, which is used to process information from the pressure sensors 3012 and adjust the supporting force generated by the support unit 3011. The control device 302 may use artificial intelligence to implement the compression injury improvement method provided by the present invention, thereby continuously optimizing the artificial intelligence using various databases, various reference information, and tests performed one by one to improve the compression injury more and more precisely and accurately. The control device 302 may use artificial intelligence to analyze the two-dimensional pressure distribution measured by the pressure sensors 3012 and estimate the body posture of the user positioned on the support device 301, and may also use artificial intelligence to locate the positions of one or more bony prominences of the body on a specific side of the support device 301 based on the user's body posture. The control device can use artificial intelligence to determine the probability of occurrence of compression injury at each bony prominence, and if the probability of occurrence of compression injury at at least one bony prominence is unacceptable, for example, if all are greater than a single critical probability value common to all bony prominences, or if each is greater than the critical probability value for each bony prominence, it can iteratively adjust the support force generated by at least one support unit 3011 until the probability of occurrence of compression injury at all bony prominences becomes acceptable. Alternatively, the artificial intelligence can be trained with reference to the correlation between the body posture and the position of one or more bony prominences obtained by other methods, and can also be trained with reference to the effect that adjustment of one or more support units has on improving compression injury.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 4, the present invention provides a basic flowchart of a system for redistributing body pressure using a support device. First, as shown in step block 410, a support device is provided. The support device includes a plurality of support units and a plurality of pressure sensors, each capable of generating an individual support force and arranged in a first two-dimensional array with respect to each other. All of the pressure sensors are located between the support units and a specific side of the support device and arranged in a second two-dimensional array with respect to each other. Next, as shown in step block 420, when a user is supported by the specific side, the pressure sensors measure and generate a two-dimensional pressure distribution. Next, as shown in step block 430, the two-dimensional pressure distribution is analyzed to estimate the user's body posture. Next, as shown in step block 440, the user's body posture is analyzed to locate the position of one or more bony prominences on the user's body on the support device. Finally, as shown in step block 450, it is determined whether the probabilities of pressure injuries corresponding to all of the bony prominences are all within an acceptable range. For example, it is determined whether all of the probabilities are lower than the critical probability value common to all bony prominences or whether each is lower than the individual critical probability value for each bony prominence, and if so, the adjustment of the supporting forces generated by these support units is stopped; if not, the supporting forces generated by one or more support units are repeatedly adjusted until the probabilities of occurrence of compression injuries corresponding to all bony prominences are all within an acceptable range. In other words, when a user is supported by the support device, the two-dimensional pressure distribution between the user's body and a specific side of the support device is measured, and then the two-dimensional pressure distribution is analyzed to identify one or more bony prominences (particularly the respective positions of each bony prominence on the specific side of the support device) where the user's body and the specific side of the support device are in direct contact, and finally, the different supporting forces applied by the support device to different parts of the user's body are adjusted until the pressure of each bony prominence where the user's body and the specific side of the support device are in direct contact is reduced to an acceptable range.

[0023] Obviously, mainstream commercially available methods directly reduce pressure at points on the user's body that are subject to relatively large pressure, but the specific content of step blocks 410 and 420 of the present invention is to locate the positions of one or more bony prominences between the user's body and the support device from the pressure distribution experienced by various parts of the user's body, thereby obtaining a two-dimensional pressure distribution corresponding to the support force applied to the user's body by a specific side of the support device. Also, while commercially available methods directly adjust the pressure at specific points, the present invention further processes the two-dimensional pressure distribution to obtain the positions of all bony prominences, as shown in step blocks 430 to 450, and simultaneously makes related adjustments to reduce the probability of compression injuries at these bony prominences.

[0024] In step block 430, there are two options for analyzing this two-dimensional pressure distribution to estimate the user's body posture. One option is to analyze this two-dimensional pressure distribution with reference to the user's physiological information to estimate the user's body posture. Because the force experienced by bony prominences is usually not the maximum force experienced by the user's body, the two-dimensional pressure distribution only indicates the magnitude of the pressure experienced at each location on a specific side of the support device and cannot directly indicate the location of each bony prominence. Therefore, based on the specific details of the user's body, it is necessary to map the two-dimensional pressure distribution of the user's body to estimate various body postures when the user is positioned on the support device, such as lying down, lying on one's back, sitting, lying forward, lying on one's side, lying on one's side, lying on one's stomach, lying with limbs spread apart, hands in front of the chest, legs stretched, hands clasped under the head, sitting cross-legged, sitting upright, on all fours, lying down, lying on one's stomach, lying on one's side, and crossed limbs. For example, based on the presence or absence of a prosthetic limb or assistive device and its size profile, it is possible to exclude portions of the two-dimensional pressure distribution corresponding to the prosthetic limb or assistive device because the two-dimensional pressure distribution of those portions does not correspond to any bony protrusions on the user's body. Furthermore, based on the user's disability status, such as limb loss, it is possible to reduce the number of possibilities to be considered in the process of analyzing which body posture the two-dimensional pressure distribution may correspond to. If a user is missing one arm and does not use a prosthetic limb, it is not necessary to consider body postures in which both hands are in contact with a specific side of the support device. Furthermore, based on the user's body type and disease status, for example, whether the user has fat on the lower back, abdomen, thighs, buttocks, or limbs, or whether the user has a disease and its severity, such as edema, sarcoma, fracture, bone curvature, or joint stiffness, it is possible to more efficiently identify the portions of the two-dimensional pressure distribution that correspond to those bones when analyzing the body posture corresponding to the two-dimensional pressure distribution.

[0025] On the other hand, the user's height, limb length, and weight are basic physiological information of the user, and can be used to determine which high-pressure areas in the two-dimensional pressure distribution correspond to the same user's body and to eliminate excessive or light signals that are unrelated to the user's body (at least unrelated to the user's bone positions). In contrast, another option is to analyze the two-dimensional pressure distribution by referring to a database model and estimate the body posture. This database model includes multiple two-dimensional pressure distributions generated in previous tests and multiple corresponding verified body postures. That is, by comparing with a large amount of data, a specific past two-dimensional pressure distribution that is closest to the current two-dimensional pressure distribution (or several past two-dimensional pressure distributions that are quite close) is found, and then the past body posture corresponding to this past two-dimensional pressure distribution (or if these several past two-dimensional pressure distributions all correspond to a specific past body posture) is directly used as the current body posture or as a starting point for estimating the current body posture. Obviously, the former option can accurately determine the body posture based on the user's personal situation, while the latter option can quickly determine the body posture.

[0026] In step block 440, there are four general options for analyzing the user's body posture and locating the position of one or more bony prominences on the support device. One method is to first locate one or more body parts based on the body posture and two-dimensional pressure distribution, and then locate the position of one or more bony prominences on the support device based on the user's physiological information. For example, first, determine which body part in this body posture each high-pressure point in the two-dimensional pressure distribution corresponds to, and then determine the position of one or more bony prominences in each body part at each high-pressure point based on various related information about the user's body. For example, if the body posture is supine, first determine which high-pressure points each correspond to for the head, shoulders, back, hips, or limb joints, and then determine the specific position on the support device of the bony prominences of the user's body, such as the occipital bone, based on the general human anatomy, such as the fact that the occipital bone is approximately in the center of the head when in the supine position.

[0027] The other method is to first analyze the body posture to estimate the positions of the body's skeletal muscles on the support device, and then perform graphic calculations to locate the positions of one or more bony prominences on the support device. That is, after obtaining the user's body posture, first determine the distribution state of each skeleton and each muscle in the user's body in this body posture based on the general human body structure or even the user's physiological information, then convert the corresponding position on the support device based on the two-dimensional pressure distribution, and finally locate the positions of each bony prominence on the support device from the positions of the skeletons on the support device based on the general human body structure or the user's physiological information.

[0028] Alternatively, information on which bony prominences of the body are prone to compression injuries in different body postures may be introduced based on one or more clinical study results, and the positions of one or more bony prominences on the support device may then be located based on the user's body posture and the two-dimensional pressure distribution. For example, if the results of thousands of experiments show that compression injuries are particularly likely to occur in the ischial tuberosities when the user's body posture is a semi-recumbent position with an upper body tilt angle of 66 degrees, then only the positions of the ischial tuberosities of the user's body on the support device may be located based on the two-dimensional pressure distribution and the user's body posture when the user's body posture is exactly a semi-recumbent position with an upper body tilt angle of 66 degrees.

[0029] Another option is to first convert the user's three-dimensional anatomy into a two-dimensional projection on the plane where these pressure sensors are located based on the user's body posture and physiological information, and then compare this two-dimensional pressure distribution with the two-dimensional pressure distribution to thereby locate the position of one or more bony prominences on the support device. For example, first determine how the user's body is distributed in three-dimensional space based on the specific details of the user's body in this body posture, and then project it onto the support device to obtain a two-dimensional projection parallel to the plane where these pressure sensors are located. Next, first find three reference points on the skeletal structure in the two-dimensional projection and locate their coordinates (because three points define a plane), then connect these reference points to each other to generate a reference plane and a reference line. Then, for each bony prominence point that is in direct contact with the support device in this body posture, gradually perform coordinate conversion with respect to these three reference points to obtain the coordinates of each bony prominence on the support device.

[0030] In step block 450, there are two options for adjusting the one or more support forces generated by all the support units based on the probability of compression injury of each bony prominence to reduce or eliminate compression injuries of all the bony prominences: First, determine the probability of compression injury of each bony prominence by comparing it with one or more medical models, generate a decompression strategy sorted by the magnitude of the probability, and then iteratively adjust the one or more support forces generated by one or more support units and applied to different parts of the user's body until the probabilities of compression injury of all the bony prominences are all within an acceptable range, for example, all below a critical probability value common to all the bony prominences, or individually below the critical probability value for each of these bony prominences. That is, after identifying the position of each bony protrusion, the pressure received by each bony protrusion (or the supporting force received by a bony protrusion divided by the area of ​​the bony protrusion) is calculated from the two-dimensional pressure distribution. Next, based on the results of medical research already conducted, the probability that each bony protrusion will cause compression damage under the influence of factors such as the magnitude of the pressure and its contour shape is determined. Next, the probability of compression damage is gradually reduced in order of the magnitude of the probability of compression damage, starting with the bony protrusion most susceptible to compression damage, until the probability of compression damage for all bony protrusions falls within an acceptable range.

[0031] Another option is to identify one or more bony prominences, then adjust the support forces generated by one or more support units, and if this does not bring the probability of compression injury for all bony prominences within an acceptable range, for example, so that they are all below a critical probability value common to all bony prominences or individually below the critical probability value for each of those bony prominences, then again adjust one or more support forces generated by one or more support units and applied to different parts of the user's body until the probability of compression injury for all bony prominences is within an acceptable range. That is, a trial and error method can be used, for example, using the computing power of a computer or mobile device to quickly analyze and test multiple possible configurations in which each support unit applies a different support force to a different part of the user's body, until a configuration of a group of support units is found that brings the probability of compression injury for all bony prominences within an acceptable range.

[0032] In step block 450, there are four options for adjusting the one or more supporting forces generated by all support units based on the probability of compression injury for each bony prominence to reduce or eliminate compression injury for all bony prominences. The first option is to first find a specific bony prominence among one or more bony prominences that has the highest probability of compression injury corresponding to its location, then adjust the supporting forces generated by one or more support units until the probability of compression injury corresponding to this specific bony prominence falls below a critical probability value. This is then repeated for the remaining one or more untreated bony prominences in descending order of their corresponding probability of compression injury, until the probabilities of compression injury corresponding to all bony prominences fall below the critical probability value. That is, the risk of compression injury for each bony prominence is determined based on whether the critical probability value is exceeded, and this is also used as the criterion for determining whether the supporting force applied by the support unit has been adjusted to an acceptable standard. Starting with the bony prominence with the highest risk, the probability of compression injury for each bony prominence is successively reduced until it falls below the acceptable critical probability value.

[0033] The second option is to adjust the pressure generated by one or more support units only for the N bony prominences corresponding to M positions where the probability of compressive injury is greater than zero, so that the probabilities of compressive injury corresponding to all of the N bony prominences are below the critical probability value. Here, M and N are both positive integers, and M is greater than N. This is because several completed tests have found that in many human postures, the high probability or seriousness of compressive injury is often limited to a few specific bony prominences. While other bony prominences may also cause compressive injury, the probability and severity of such injury are significantly lower. Therefore, by adjusting only a few bony prominences with a relatively high probability of compressive injury, the probabilities of compressive injury for the remaining bony prominences that were not targeted for adjustment can essentially be reduced to below the critical probability value.

[0034] The third option is that when the probability of occurrence of compression injury corresponding to the positions of M bony prominences is greater than zero, the pressure reduction strategy when adjusting the pressure generated by one or more support units is to reduce the pressure of a bony prominence corresponding to the position with the highest probability of occurrence of compression injury by X1%, reduce the pressure of a bony prominence corresponding to the position with the second highest probability of occurrence of compression injury by X2%, and so on, reducing the pressure of a bony prominence corresponding to the position with the lowest probability of occurrence of compression injury by X1%. M % reduction. Here, X1, X2, . . ., X M are all greater than zero, and X1 is greater than or equal to X2, X2 is greater than or equal to X3, ..., X M-1 is X M That's all.

[0035] The fourth option is that when the probability of occurrence of compression injury corresponding to the positions of M bony prominences is greater than this critical probability value, the pressure reduction strategy when adjusting the pressure generated by one or more support units is to reduce the pressure of the bony prominence corresponding to the position with the highest probability of occurrence of compression injury by X1%, reduce the pressure of the bony prominence corresponding to the position with the second highest probability of occurrence of compression injury by X2%, and so on, reduce the pressure of the bony prominence corresponding to the position with the Nth highest probability of occurrence of compression injury by X1%. n %, and for other bone prominences where the probability of occurrence of compression injury corresponding to that position is lower than that, the amount of pressure reduction is not set. N are all greater than zero, and X1 is greater than or equal to X2, X2 is greater than or equal to X3, ..., X N-1 is X N or above, where M and N are both positive integers, and M is greater than N. These two options are both further developments of the previous option, and they avoid the need to repeatedly test various possible arrangements of these support units, and instead reduce the pressure received by each of the multiple bony prominences proportionally according to the probability of each of these bony prominences causing a compression injury. The greater the probability of compression injury, the greater the reduction in the pressure received. This allows all bony prominences to reduce the probability of compression injury through adjustment of the pressure they receive. Of course, this adjustment method is also based on empirical rules obtained from multiple previous tests, and each variable M, N, X1, X2, ..., X N , , X M are all adjustable variables.

[0036] Existing commercially available products only reduce the pressure at areas where pressure is high (i.e., reduce the supporting force generated by the support unit corresponding to that area), but in the present invention, in order to reduce the probability of compression injury at a certain bony prominence without excessively increasing the probability of compression injury at other bony prominences, the supporting force generated by one or more support units is simultaneously adjusted (i.e., the pressure received by one or more parts of the user's body is simultaneously adjusted), thereby keeping the probability of compression injury at one or more bony prominences lower than a common critical probability value or the critical probability value for each bony prominence. In other words, even if the probability of compression injury at a single bony prominence is higher than the allowable critical probability value, the adjustment does not necessarily involve adjusting only the supporting force applied by the one or more support units closest to that bony prominence, but it is also possible to adjust the supporting force applied by one or more support units farther from that bony prominence. Ultimately, under the assumption that the user's weight remains constant (and furthermore, that the total weight of the user's clothing, etc. remains constant), the redistribution of the different support forces exerted by each support unit must be taken into account, and it is necessary to avoid a situation where reducing the pressure on one bony protrusion to an acceptable level increases the pressure on another bony protrusion to an unacceptable level.

[0037] Furthermore, in step block 450, calculations can be performed by computer simulation first, and the final result shows that the support units need to be adjusted to a predetermined position, and then the support units can be adjusted based on the result. Alternatively, the position values ​​of the support units can be continuously adjusted to obtain the required position of the support units. In the spirit of the present invention, both of these two methods are possible. In particular, many previous tests have been conducted. SoIt has been found that, with less than five adjustments, a layout scheme for determining the support force to be applied by each support unit can be obtained that can reduce the probability of compression injury to an acceptably low level at all bony prominences. Therefore, whether using computer simulation or actual adjustment, the final desired result can be achieved quickly without causing significant side effects to the user's body in the process. That is, one option is to first use computer simulation to obtain a specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution that can reduce the probability of compression injury to an acceptably low level at all bony prominences, and then actually adjust the support forces generated by one or more support units based on this specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution. Another option is to actually adjust the support forces generated by these support units in the process of obtaining a specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution that can reduce the probability of compression injury to an acceptably low level at all bony prominences. Therefore, by the time this specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution is obtained, all of the support forces generated by these support units have already been adjusted.

[0038] The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device of the present invention can further use artificial intelligence to execute step 430, step 440, and / or step 450. For example, the two-dimensional pressure distribution is analyzed using artificial intelligence to estimate the user's body posture, and the obtained two-dimensional pressure distribution and the user's body posture are compared with the two-dimensional pressure distribution and the user's body posture obtained by another method to train the artificial intelligence. Alternatively, the body posture is analyzed using artificial intelligence to locate the positions of one or more bony prominences of the user's body on the support device, and the obtained positions of the one or more bony prominences are compared with the positions of one or more bony prominences obtained by another method to train the artificial intelligence. For example, the artificial intelligence is used to determine whether the probability of occurrence of compression injuries corresponding to all bony prominences is below a critical probability value, and to determine how to adjust the support force generated by one or more support units so that the probability of occurrence of compression injuries corresponding to all bony prominences is below the critical probability value, and to train the artificial intelligence using the effect of adjusting the one or more support units on the improvement of compression injuries.

[0039] As described above, the AI ​​used can be further adjusted and optimized by executing one of the step blocks using AI and comparing the results obtained by the AI ​​with results obtained by other methods, or by executing these three step blocks using AI and comparing the compression injury probabilities obtained by the AI ​​with the unadjusted compression injury probabilities. For example, if the correspondences between various human body shapes and various dangerous bony protrusions are classified into several groups after accumulating multiple cases, the human body shapes obtained by processing using AI can be directly compared with these accumulated cases to determine which possible dangerous bony protrusions are, and such correspondences can also be fed back and corrected based on the human body shapes and the possible dangerous bony protrusions identified by AI.

[0040] As described above, another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for redistributing body pressure using a support device, comprising the following steps: First, a support device for supporting a lying human body is provided. The support device includes a plurality of support units and a plurality of pressure sensor units, and all of the pressure sensors are positioned between the support units and the lying human body, and are continuously monitored by the pressure sensors during an adjustment process. The support units are arranged in a two-dimensional array, and different support units can generate individual support forces, while the pressure sensors are arranged in a two-dimensional array. Here, the initial internal equalization pressure of the support units is a specific saturated internal air pressure, which can be measured using a specific value measured by a Shore hardness scale. Here, "two-dimensional" refers to the X- and Y-axis directions formed by the plane on which the support units are distributed, and the pressure sensors are distributed at a higher density than the support units. Furthermore, the pressure sensors are arranged in a two-dimensional array, the support units are arranged in a two-dimensional array, and the distance between the edges of at least two pressure sensors is less than 3 cm, and the distance between the centers of at least two pressure sensors is less than 3 cm, and at least one support unit can adjust at least one of horizontal size, vertical size, and hardness, wherein the at least one support unit can change the support force it generates by changing the fluid inside it, and the at least one support unit can change its size contour by changing the fluid inside it.

[0041] When a human body surface contacts and applies pressure to a specific surface of the support device, the pressure sensors perform a pressure distribution measurement step to scan a recumbent pressure image of the human body, measure the pressure on the support device of the recumbent body, and generate a two-dimensional pressure distribution. The two-dimensional pressure distribution refers to the magnitude of vertical pressure generated at a position perpendicular to the plane by a body force acting on a two-dimensional coordinate position. The two-dimensional pressure distribution is then interpreted and analyzed to generate at least one characteristic parameter. The characteristic parameters further include the boundary contour, the number and location of area centroids, local pressure peak points, the size configuration of the centroid-peak connecting line, and the estimated composition ratio. The body condition parameters further include circumference, height, weight, and specific factors. A recumbent posture comparison step is then performed based on the characteristic parameters and the integrated factors to compare and identify recumbent postures. Here, the body shape factors include height, weight, waist circumference, limb defects, wound location information, etc., and the result of the comparison and judgment of the lying posture can be combined with the wound location information to warn of inappropriate pressure applications. The body shape factors can also be obtained from a clinical data database. All of the above steps of the present invention can be performed by machine learning using artificial intelligence and big data comparison, judgment, analysis, and automatic control. Among them, the lying posture comparison step estimates the user's lying posture under the above circumstances through comparative learning using artificial intelligence and can classify it into various categories, such as supine, left lateral side, right lateral side, prone side, and whether or not the limbs are crossed. Then, a bony prominence coordinate location step is performed based on the lying posture and the characteristic parameters to designate two-dimensional coordinate positions where important skeletal muscles lie on the mattress, and to locate at least one bony prominence of the body of the lying human body and one bony prominence coordinate where the bony prominence is compressed by the support device. Next, a compression injury probability determination step is carried out to detect one local peak pressure corresponding to the bone prominence coordinate, and at the same time, determine the compression injury occurrence probability of at least one of the bone prominence points, and generate a risk degree for each of the bone prominence points, where the higher the risk degree, the higher the local peak pressure of the bone prominence point, which means the higher the probability of compression injury occurring.Here, the above-mentioned compression injury probability determination step determines whether the magnitude of the support pressure is likely to cause compression injury based on the patient type of a clinical research database, calculates the probability of compression injury occurring at multiple bone prominence points, and then generates the risk level for each of the compression injury probability occurring at multiple bone prominence points, and ranks the risk levels based on this.

[0042] Then, a risk ranking step is performed based on the risk level to generate a risk level ranking for the probability of compression injury of at least one of the bony prominence points, and a redistribution model parameter is generated based on the risk level ranking to recalculate and distribute the support force of at least one of the bony prominence coordinates, thereby simultaneously redistributing the support force required by all of the support units in the multiple two-dimensional arrays. Then, an air pressure configuration is generated based on the redistribution model parameter, and an integrated pressure distribution redistribution step is performed to reduce the risk level of the bony prominence points. Based on the air pressure configuration, the individual shapes and hardnesses of the support units located in areas with a relatively high probability of compression injury are adjusted. Here, the air pressure configuration includes control air pressure data required by all of the support units located in the bony prominence points with the risk level, and based on this, the support pressure received by the support units when the human body lies on the support device is redistributed to reduce the local peak pressure corresponding to the areas with a relatively high probability of compression injury.

[0043] Furthermore, before performing the body pressure distribution redistribution step, a decompression step is first performed to reduce the specific saturated internal air pressure based on a decompression percentage and / or a decompression value. Here, the redistribution model parameters further include the decompression percentage and / or the decompression value, where the decompression percentage is 5% to 35% of the original saturated internal air pressure, preferably 15% to 25% of the saturated internal air pressure, and the decompression percentage is a decompression ratio to the preceding saturated internal air pressure. Finally, the pressure distribution measurement step is repeatedly performed to generate a second two-dimensional pressure distribution, and the above steps are repeated based on the second two-dimensional pressure distribution. If the second two-dimensional pressure distribution indicates that the local peak pressures corresponding to areas with a relatively high probability of compression injury cannot reduce the probability of compression injury occurrence at each bony prominence point below a predetermined critical probability value, it is necessary to repeatedly scan the recumbent pressure image of the human body and batch-tune the redistribution model parameters according to the second two-dimensional pressure distribution. This continues until the second two-dimensional pressure distribution indicates that the probability of compression injury occurrence at each of the bone prominence points has reached less than the predetermined critical probability value, and if not, the body pressure distribution redistribution step is repeated until the risk level of the bone prominence points is reduced to less than the predetermined critical probability value.

[0044] The pressure distribution adjustment method of the present invention is completely different from the single air cell adjustment method currently used on the market. The body pressure distribution redistribution method and system provided by the present invention seeks to find an optimized overall pressure distribution image and adjust the corresponding overall air cell pressure configuration method based on it, rather than a technology that seeks out a single pressure point and adjusts a single air cell. The body pressure redistribution system provided by the present invention aims to reduce the air cell surface pressure at vulnerable points on the entire body surface, rather than the pressure inside the air cells located at a single point. Adjusting the air cell internal pressure in the present invention is only intended to change the support force distribution method, thereby enabling adjustment of body surface pressure at the maximum coordinate position with the minimum number of air cells. As shown in Figure 5A, reducing the pressure of the P4 air cell increases the pressure of the P3 and P5 air cells. Furthermore, since the magnitude of the internal pressure of each air cell affects the firmness and height shape of the mattress in each region, combining air cells with several different internal pressure magnitudes will produce different body support pressure distribution images outside the air cells for the body pressure distribution of a recumbent person. As the support pressure in one area increases, the support pressure in another area decreases. This is because the total body weight remains constant. The present invention can find an optimized overall pressure distribution scheme based on various different air cell pressure distribution patterns, corresponding to different pressure distribution images outside the air cells, to avoid compression injuries. As shown in FIG. 5B, the present invention continuously operates the air cells, simultaneously repeatedly scanning the overall pressure image (initial state is as shown in the pressure distribution image on the far left), and then synchronously calculates and performs feedback control on the air cell pressure of all support units, continuously optimizing the surface pressure, and finally obtaining an optimized different body support pressure distribution image outside the air cells (as shown in the pressure distribution image on the far right).

Claims

1. A method for redistributing body pressure using a support device, comprising: providing a support device for supporting a lying human body, the support device having a plurality of support units and a plurality of pressure sensor units, the plurality of pressure sensor units are all located between the plurality of support units and the lying human body, and the plurality of pressure sensor units perform continuous monitoring during an adjustment process, the plurality of support units are arranged to form one or more sets of two-dimensional arrays with respect to each other, and different support units can respectively generate individual support forces, the plurality of pressure sensors are arranged to form one or more sets of two-dimensional arrays with respect to each other, the plurality of support units have an initial internal equalization pressure that is a specific saturated internal air pressure, and the two dimensions of the two-dimensional array refer to the X and Y axis directions formed by the plane on which the support units are distributed; When the body surface of the human body contacts and applies pressure to a surface on a specific side of the support device, the pressure sensors execute a pressure distribution measurement step to scan a recumbent pressure image of the human body, measure the pressure of the recumbent body on the support device, and generate a two-dimensional pressure distribution, the two-dimensional pressure distribution indicating the magnitude of vertical pressure generated at a position in a direction perpendicular to a plane by a body acting force on a two-dimensional coordinate position; interpreting and analyzing the two-dimensional pressure distribution to generate at least one characteristic parameter; performing a lying posture comparison step based on the feature parameters and body shape factors to compare and identify lying postures; A step of performing a bone protrusion coordinate locating step based on the lying posture and the feature parameters, designating two-dimensional coordinate positions where important skeletal muscles lie on the support device, and locating at least one bone protrusion of the body of the lying human body and one bone protrusion coordinate where the bone protrusion is pressed by the support device; A step of detecting one local peak pressure corresponding to the bone prominence coordinate, and simultaneously determining the probability of compression injury occurrence of at least one of the bone prominence points, and performing a compression injury probability determination step to generate one risk level for each of the bone prominence points, wherein the higher the risk level, the higher the local peak pressure of the bone prominence point, and therefore the higher the probability of compression injury occurrence; According to the risk level, a risk ranking step is carried out, and a risk ranking is generated for the probability of occurrence of compression injury of at least one of the bone prominence points; according to the risk ranking, the supporting force of at least one of the bone prominence coordinates is recalculated and distributed, and a redistribution model parameter is generated, thereby simultaneously redistributing the supporting force required by all of the supporting units of the plurality of two-dimensional arrays; a step of generating an air pressure configuration according to the redistribution model parameters and performing a body pressure redistribution step, in which the individual shape and hardness of the support units located in the areas with a relatively high probability of compression injury are controlled and adjusted based on the air pressure configuration, the air pressure configuration includes control air pressure data required by all the support units located in the bony prominence points with the risk level, and based on this, the support pressure received by the support units when the human body lies on the support device is redistributed, and the local peak pressure corresponding to the areas with a relatively high probability of compression injury is reduced; A method for redistributing body pressure using a support device, comprising:

2. The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the body shape factors include height, weight, waist circumference, limb deficiency, etc., and the body shape factors can also be obtained from a clinical data database.

3. The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the step of comparing and identifying the lying posture uses machine learning using artificial intelligence to estimate the user's lying posture in that state and classify it into various categories such as supine, left lateral side, right lateral side, prone side, and whether or not the arms and legs are crossed, and all steps can be performed through machine learning and big data comparison, judgment, analysis, and automatic control using artificial intelligence.

4. The method for redistributing body pressure distribution using a support device as described in claim 1, further comprising a step of performing a decompression step based on a decompression percentage and / or a decompression value to reduce the specific saturated internal air pressure before performing the step of redistributing body pressure distribution, wherein the redistribution model parameters include the decompression percentage and / or the decompression value, the decompression percentage being 5% to 35% of the saturated internal air pressure, preferably 15% to 25% of the saturated internal air pressure, and the decompression percentage being a decompression ratio to the saturated internal air pressure.

5. 2. The method for redistributing body pressure distribution using a support device according to claim 1, further comprising: repeatedly performing the pressure distribution measurement step to generate a second two-dimensional pressure distribution, and repeating each of the steps based on the second two-dimensional pressure distribution; if the second two-dimensional pressure distribution indicates that the local peak pressure corresponding to the area where the compression injury probability is relatively high has not been able to reduce the compression injury occurrence probability of each of the bone prominence points below a predetermined critical probability value, repeatedly scanning a recumbent pressure image of the human body and batch adjusting the redistribution model parameters according to the second two-dimensional pressure distribution, until the second two-dimensional pressure distribution indicates that the compression injury occurrence probability of each of the bone prominence points has been reduced to less than the predetermined critical probability value; if the compression injury occurrence probability is not less than the predetermined critical probability value, repeating the body pressure distribution redistribution step until the risk level of the bone prominence points is reduced to less than the predetermined critical probability value.

6. The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the distribution density of the pressure sensors is higher than the distribution density of the support units, the pressure sensors are arranged in a two-dimensional array, and the support units are arranged in a two-dimensional array.

7. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of: an edge-to-edge distance between at least two of the pressure sensors being less than 3 cm; and a center-to-center distance between at least two of the pressure sensors being less than 3 cm.

8. The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device as described in claim 1, characterized in that the support unit is adjustable in at least one of horizontal size, vertical size, and hardness, and the support unit is capable of changing the support force and size contour generated by changing the fluid inside it.

9. A method for redistributing body pressure using a support device, comprising: providing a support apparatus having a plurality of support units and a plurality of pressure sensors, all of the pressure sensors being located between the support units and a particular side of the support apparatus, the support units being arranged in a first two-dimensional array relative to one another, and different support units each capable of generating a separate support force, the pressure sensors being arranged in a second two-dimensional array relative to one another; measuring and generating a two-dimensional pressure distribution using the pressure sensor when the user is supported by the specific side; analyzing the two-dimensional pressure distribution and estimating a body posture of the user; analyzing the body posture and locating the position of each of one or more bony prominences of the user's body on the support device; determining whether the probabilities of occurrence of compression injuries corresponding to all of the bone protrusions are all within an allowable range, and if they are within the allowable range, stopping the adjustment of the support force generated by the support unit; if they are not within the allowable range, repeatedly adjusting the support force generated by the support unit until the probabilities of occurrence of compression injuries corresponding to all of the bone protrusions are all within the allowable range; A method for redistributing body pressure using a support device, comprising:

10. a distribution density of the pressure sensors is higher than a distribution density of the support units; the pressure sensors are arranged in a two-dimensional array; the support units are arranged in a two-dimensional array; the edge-to-edge distance between at least two of the pressure sensors is less than 3 cm; the center-to-center distance between at least two of the pressure sensors is less than 3 cm; At least one of the support units is adjustable in at least one of horizontal size, vertical size, and hardness; At least one of the support units is capable of changing the support force generated by changing the fluid therein; 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the support device redistributes body pressure, further comprising at least one of: at least one of the support units being capable of changing its size profile by changing the fluid therein.

11. all of the support units generate the same support force before the user is supported by the support device; 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising at least one of generating different support forces from at least two of the support units before the user is supported by the support device.

12. The two-dimensional pressure distribution is analyzed by referring to physiological information of the user, and the body posture is estimated, and the physiological information of the user includes at least one of the user's height, the user's weight, the length of the user's limbs, the user's body type, the user's disability status, the user's disease status, the size outline of the prosthetic limb used by the user, and the size outline of the assistive device used by the user; analyzing the two-dimensional pressure distribution with reference to a database model to estimate the body posture, the database model including a plurality of the two-dimensional pressure distributions generated in previous tests and a plurality of the corresponding verified body postures; Locating one or more body parts based on the body posture and the two-dimensional pressure distribution, and then locating the position of at least one of the bony protrusions on the support device based on physiological information of the user, wherein the body posture includes at least one of a recumbent posture, a prone posture, a lateral posture, and a crossed limb posture, and the physiological information of the user includes at least one of a height of the user, a weight of the user, a body type of the user, a disability condition of the user, a disease condition of the user, a size outline of a prosthetic limb used by the user, and a size outline of an assistive device used by the user; analyzing the body posture to estimate the location of the body's skeletal muscles on the support device, and then performing a graphic calculation to locate the location of at least one of the bony prominences on the support device; Incorporating information from one or more clinical studies that different body postures are more likely to cause pressure injuries to the bony prominences of the body, and then locating the position of at least one of the bony prominences on the support device based on the body posture of the user and the two-dimensional pressure distribution; The method for redistributing body pressure distribution using a support device as described in claim 9, further comprising at least one of converting the user's three-dimensional body structure into a two-dimensional projection on a plane on which the pressure sensor exists based on the user's body posture and the user's physiological information, and then comparing this with the two-dimensional pressure distribution, thereby locating the position of at least one bony prominence on the support device.

13. The criterion for determining whether the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all the bone protrusions is acceptable is whether the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all the bone protrusions is equal to or less than a single critical probability value common to the bone protrusions; The criterion for determining whether the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all of the bone protrusions is acceptable is whether the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to each of the bone protrusions is equal to or less than the individual critical probability value; determining the probability of occurrence of the compression injury for each of the bony prominences by comparing with one or more medical models, and generating a decompression strategy in order of the magnitude of the probability of occurrence, and iteratively and individually adjusting the support force generated by at least one of the support units until all of the bony prominences have an acceptable probability of occurrence of the compression injury; The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device as described in claim 9, further comprising at least one of the following: after identifying at least one of the bone protrusions, adjusting the support force generated by at least one of the support units; and if the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all of the bone protrusions cannot be made acceptable, repeatedly adjusting the support force generated by at least one of the support units until the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all of the bone protrusions becomes acceptable.

14. Finding a specific bone protrusion that has the highest probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to its position from among at least one of the bone protrusions, then adjusting the support force generated by at least one of the support units until the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to the specific bone protrusion becomes acceptable, and subsequently repeating this process for at least one other untreated bone protrusion in order of the magnitude of the corresponding probability of occurrence of the compression injury, until the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all of the bone protrusions becomes acceptable; When the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to the positions of the M bone protrusions is greater than zero, only for the N bone protrusions whose positions have a relatively high probability of occurrence of the compression injury, the pressure generated by at least one of the support units is adjusted so that the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to the positions of the N bone protrusions is all equal to or less than the critical probability value, where M and N are both positive integers, and M is greater than N; When the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to the position of the M number of bone prominences is greater than zero, the pressure reduction strategy when adjusting the pressure generated by at least one of the support units is to reduce the pressure of a certain bone prominence corresponding to the position with the highest probability of occurrence of the compression injury by X １ %, and the pressure at a certain bony prominence corresponding to the position where the probability of occurrence of the compression injury is second highest is reduced by X ２ %, and so on, the pressure at a certain bony prominence where the probability of occurrence of the corresponding compression injury is lowest is reduced by X. Ｍ Continue until the reduction is X%. １ , X ２ , ..., X Ｍ are all greater than or equal to zero, and X １ is X ２ That's all, X ２ is X ３ That's all...X Ｍ－１ is X Ｍ That is all, When the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to the position of the M number of bone prominences is greater than zero, the pressure reduction strategy when adjusting the pressure generated by at least one of the support units is to reduce the pressure of a certain bone prominence corresponding to the position with the highest probability of occurrence of the compression injury by X １ %, the pressure of a certain bony prominence corresponding to that position with the second highest probability of occurrence of the compression injury is reduced by X2%, and so on. Ｎ %, and for other bone prominences corresponding to the positions where the probability of occurrence of the compression injury is lower than that, the amount of pressure reduction is not set. １ , X ２ , ..., X Ｎ are all greater than zero and X １ is X ２ That's all, X ２ is X ３ That's all...X Ｎ－１ is X Ｎ The method for redistributing body pressure using a support device according to claim 9, further comprising at least one of the above, wherein M and N are both positive integers, and M is greater than N.

15. First, by computer simulation, a specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution is obtained that can make the occurrence probability of the compression injury corresponding to all of the bone prominences acceptable, and then the support force generated by at least one of the support units is actually adjusted based on the specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution; The method for redistributing body pressure distribution using a support device as described in claim 9 further includes at least one of the following: actually adjusting the support force generated by the support unit in the process of obtaining a specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution that can make the probability of occurrence of the compression injury corresponding to all of the bony prominences tolerable; and at the time this specific adjusted two-dimensional support force distribution is obtained, all of the support forces generated by the support unit have already been adjusted.

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