Expertise: Pressure / Force Analysis Additional Information
SAM3 Expertise Areas: Pressure / Force Analysis
The applications of pressure and force sensors by the team has covered an extensive series of applications:
Vital Sign Assessment
- These mats have been validated the use of these unobtrusive mats for central sleep apnea screening / detection such as the placement under a mattress within a bed.
- Signal processing algorithms have been proposed to measure the breathing characteristics of a bed occupant including respiratory disturbances and respiratory effort.
- Additional work proposed a robust coherent sensor combining algorithm with decision directed reversal correction.
Movement Assessment
- They have also been used for torso movements measurement of bed transfer characteristics such as sit-to-stand transfer duration, symmetry and bouncing.
- The mats have also been used on the floor to better characterize bed exits and to measure the standing stability of patients.
- Methods to detect the lying posture is important in optimizing the parameters of the breathing detection algorithms leading to posture assessment work.
- The sensor has been tested to determine bed occupancy within long term patient monitoring.
- Work proposed a subject dependent algorithm capable of automatically detecting when and where pressure points have been relieved from underneath a supine subject, without any user inputs or assumptions.
- The work proposed an algorithm for the automated assessment of mobility in bedridden patients and was able to distinguish between stable and unstable sit-to-stand transfers using pressure sensors.
- Additional work has been conducted to monitor motion in palliative care.
- Also the centre of pressure feature was proposed to analyze bed exits and distinguish stable versus unstable transfers.
Other applications
- Strain gauge and load cell sensors have been used to measure the forces applied to a push handle for a motorized assist system.
- Force sensitive resistors have been applied to develop a novel sensor to assess normal and shear forces applied to skin.
- Force sensors have been applied to grab handles to assess where handle is held and the forces applied by the user.
Other results
- The work has also proposed an adaptive information content management algorithm for robust real-time streaming of the data.
MUSE (Interaxon) project story
Did you know sleep apnea affects nearly 1 billion adults worldwide? It disrupts breathing, fragments sleep, and raises risk for heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive …
Canadian-made patient-transferring robot launches in Ottawa – Able Innovations ALTA
CBC story about the Able Innovations ALTA. SAM3 is proud of all of the work we have done to support Able Innovations creation of this …
P. Masson, J. Larivière-Chartier, P. Forster, L. Ault, B. Wallace, H. Sveistrup, “Measurement of Dynamic Forces Applied to Skin During Lateral Patient Transfers using the ALTA System”, 2024 Sensor Applications Symposium (SAS), 2024
Link to Paper
SAM3 Book “Supportive Smart Homes: Their Role in Aging in Place” now available
Supportive Smart Homes: Their Role in Aging in Place By: Frank Knoefel, Bruce Wallace, Neil Thomas, Heidi Sveistrup, Rafik Goubran, Christine L. Laurin Our book …
Chimehi, B. “Sensor System to Determine Force and Direction for Push Handles on Patient Transport System”, M.A.Sc. Thesis, Carleton University, 2023.
Link to Thesis
P. Chang, B. Chimehi, J. Huang, N. Levi, B. Wallace, and R. Wang, ‘Transportation Assistant for Patient Transfer Device’, Provisional US Patent and Trademark Office, #63/456,132, March 31, 2023