Support Surface with Bottom Cutouts to Reduce Seating Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Foam cushions, commonly used in seating, can cause discomfort due to high sitting pressures and shear forces, leading to irritation and potential tissue breakdown when used for extended periods, as they do not adequately distribute pressure across the user's ischial tuberosities and coccyx.
Innovation Solution
A support surface with cutouts on its bottom surface that allow for controlled structural collapse, reducing peak pressures and incorporating a low-friction interface to minimize shear strain, thereby enhancing comfort and reducing the risk of pressure injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If single density foam cushions are used, then durability and cost-effectiveness are improved, but sitting pressure and shear force increase causing discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The foam cushion is segmented into multiple density zones with different foam densities positioned at specific locations to optimize pressure distribution. This segmentation allows the cushion to provide both durability in high-wear areas and pressure relief in sensitive areas, resolving the contradiction between durability and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the cushion are assigned different foam densities tailored to local requirements. High-density foam is used in areas requiring durability and support, while lower-density foam is used in areas requiring pressure relief, creating local quality variations that simultaneously achieve durability and reduce harmful pressures.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If foam cushions are made softer to reduce pressure, then comfort is improved, but structural support and durability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion is divided into multiple foam sections with different densities, where softer foam provides pressure relief and harder foam maintains structural support. This segmentation allows the cushion to be both soft where needed for comfort and strong where needed for support.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushion uses a composite structure combining foam materials of different densities in a single unit. This composite approach allows integration of both soft and hard properties within one cushion, achieving pressure relief without sacrificing overall structural support and durability.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform density foam is used throughout, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but pressure distribution capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion is segmented into different density zones that can be manufactured using standard foam pouring or injection molding techniques. By designing the mold to create different density regions directly during manufacturing, the complexity is managed while achieving improved pressure distribution capabilities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The support surface effectively reduces peak pressures on the ischial tuberosities by up to 60 mmHg and shear strain, allowing users to sit comfortably for longer periods without repositioning, while being cost-effective and accessible to a wider audience.
Implementation Method 1
The cutouts provide a controlled structural collapse of the support surface by varying a stiffness in a cross-section
Implementation Method 2
The support surface also includes a low-friction interface extending across a top surface of the support surface, the low-friction interface positioned between the cutouts on the bottom surface and the user's bony prominences, wherein the low-friction interface is a low-friction fabric
Data Source
AI summary
A support surface including a cutout on a bottom surface of the support surface. The cutout, which can include a plurality of cutouts, provides a controlled structural collapse of the support surface by varying a stiffness in a cross-section. That is, the area in which the cutouts are positioned collapses more easily than the surrounding area of the support structure, thus making the area with the cutouts perceived as being softer. The cutouts can reduce the peak pressures on the portion of the user's body (for example, the user's ischial tuberosities) that is positioned over the cutouts. The support surface can also include a low-friction interface extending across a top surface of the support surface.