Treatment of Pressure Ulcers – Easier for Patients and Caregivers
The treatment of pressure ulcers is hard on the caregiver and the patient. The wounds are painful and may require months of careful attention: daily skin inspections, frequent repositioning, dressing changes and painful debridement, and even multiple surgeries to heal.
The wound or vulnerable area must be protected from excessive pressure and contamination or the wound will quickly worsen . Pressure redistribution is the key to prevention and treatment. Poor pressure management can turn a less severe Grade I wound into a life-threatening Grade IV wound in a matter of days.
Current treatment solutions rely on pressure redistribution primarily by one of two technological concepts: Low Air Loss surfaces and Air-Fluidized beds for the most serious cases. These technologies have changed little over the decades. These technologies suffer from inconveniences for the caregivers and the patients including excessive heat and noise, discomfort for the patient, difficult transfers to and from bed, frequent disruptions for repositioning, and risk of injury for patient and caregiver when repositioning.
Transformative Treatment Surface – LeviSense SensorCells™
SensorCell technology provides an innovative approach to powered pressure redistribution medical mattresses and air flotation support.
The SensorCell is a vertically oriented discrete and independent lifting element that conforms to the contours of the body, including the boney protrusions that are so vulnerable. Thus, alleviating excessive tissue interface pressure – the primary cause of pressure ulcers. The LeviSense system consists of hundreds of SensorCells that form a therapeutic surface.
The vertical orientation is a key design feature of the SensorCell, allowing the SensorCell to behave like a piston:
- The pressure generated by the cell is controlled by the air pressure in the cell.
- The cell diameter does not change when it is compressed.
- The cell exerts the same pressure over its entire vertical displacement.
The independent SensorCells allow the patient to sink into the support surface and fully support and stabilize the body.
In comparison, horizontal cell orientation — the prevailing design common to all contemporary low air-loss (LAL) surfaces — does not provide the same benefits. Horizontally oriented air chambers flatten as the patient sinks into them, increasing the contact area of each chamber, generating unwanted forces and significant shear.
SensorCell Active Intelligence Pressure Control
Setting the SensorCells at a low pressure creates a very compliant surface that cradles the patient and protects from excessive pressure. The reactive support surface comprised of SensorCells can operate within a system pressure of 13 – 26 mmHg, well below the capillary occlusion pressure, which allows a clinician to comfortably float a patient while promoting healthy blood profusion.
Using the LeviSense Active Intelligence Comfort Modes will monitor the patients form, position and movements hundreds of times per minute and adjust the surface to protect the patient from excessive pressure.
Comfort Modes maintain a patient or caregiver set pressure for to maximize patient comfort and protection from excessive pressure. The settings are easily achieved with system presets and comfort fine-tuning adjustments. The three zone Custom Comfort preset permits adjustment of the torso and lower body cells within the comfort adjustment range (10 – 32 mmHg). The lower the pressure, the deeper the emersion into an enveloping surface.
LeviSense Cavity Creation
For treating the most serious and painful wounds, LeviSense offers a unique feature – Cavity Creation. It is the ultimate of personalized protection and comfort for the patient, the caregiver can create a void – a completely depressurized area – anywhere and in any shape on the surface. A patient with a serious pressure injury on the lower back or buttocks may not have been able to rest on her back for weeks. By creating a cavity at the site of the wound, the area will be completely unloaded so the patient can find a restful position.
Bed Mobility
Exiting, repositioning, or transferring from a bed to a chair or wheelchair is difficult for many patients. They are precarious moments for the patient as well as the caregiver and typical pressure redistribution mattresses can make those moments even more difficult. The soft surfaces require much more effort to change position and form an unstable surface from which to exit, leading an elevated risk of a fall.
LeviSense has a one-touch bed mobility mode that pressurizes the surface to a very firm 75 mmHg. During the Bed Mobility Mode, the effort to change position is cut almost in half, reducing the friction that can cause additional skin tears for the patient and strains and sprains for the caregiver. The Bed Mobility setting helps restore a level of independence to patients that are ambulatory. Bed mobility Mode is time limited to protect the patient and automatically returns to the previous, personalized comfort setting.
Active Intelligent SensorCells in Action
Functions – Elapsed Time
0:00-0:08 Begin from Bed Mobility0:08-0:45 Comfort Mode.Drop pressure 2mmHg 2x.0:30-0:47 Custom Comfort.Drop torso pressure 2mmHg 3x.0:46-0:53 Show height contour.0:53-0:56 Show Heel Floatation0:56-1:09 Heel Floatation – Create void1:09-1:28 Turn off Heel Floatation1:28-1:42 Bed Mobility. Filling/Ready1:42 End