Pressure ulcers (PUs) break down the skin & underlying tissue, and develop when pressure,
shear & friction is applied to skin, disrupting the flow of blood through the skin, starving the
skin of oxygen & nutrients. PUs affect people confined to lying in a bed or sitting for
prolonged periods of time. 0.5 million people in the UK will develop a PU per year. PU
treatment costs the NHS over £4bn/year, and costs are increasing as the population ages.
Pressure relieving devices (PRDs) are deployed by health and social care providers, as
specialist mattresses, overlays for standard mattresses, or as complex full bed systems, to
reduce the incidence of PUs.
Raised skin temperature and increased moisture levels around patients are risk factors
implicated in the development of PUs. Temperature and moisture levels induce a
‘microclimate’ around the patient, and current medical literature suggests that microclimate
control could also help reduce the incidence of PUs.
Currently, there are no commercially available PRDs that have intrinsic microclimate control
properties. In this 15 month, £201k development of prototype project, Medstrom will develop
the ‘Aerospacer’ overlay, which enables pressure reduction and maintenance of an optimal
skin microclimate.
The Aerospacer enables microclimate control due to its pressure-relieving core being
manufactured from an innovative, 3D-woven spacer fabric which has an open core structure
permitting air to pass underneath the patient, this airflow can be augmented with driven air
provided by a low voltage fan accessory. The core is covered with a moisture-vapour
permeable fabric that enables moisture to move away from the skin. The entire unit benefits
from being fully washable.
Conservative sales projections indicate 5.5% of all NHS beds could be fitted with an
Aerospacer within 5 years of project close; if the Aerospacer prevented PU formation across
the NHS by 5.5%, a cost saving of £220M could be realised per year