United States Department of Veterans Affairs

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Use of weight-bearing MRI for evaluating wheelchair cushions based on internal soft-tissue deformations under ischial tuberosities

Nogah Shabshin, MD, et al.

Deep tissue injury is a serious pressure ulcer typically occurring in muscle tissues because of sustained deformations. No method currently exists for measuring internal tissue deformations noninvasively; so wheelchair cushion design and selection are based mostly on measuring sitting pressures. Here, we evaluated influences of different commercial cushions on internal tissue deformations in the buttocks, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although cushions reduced internal tissue deformations only about 10%, our interpretation suggests that they may theoretically add safe-sitting time. In the future, MRI can be a tool for evaluating the fit and design of cushions to the individual.

Volume 47 Number 1, 2010
Pages 31 — 42

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Researchers Dupret-Bories et al recently tested a titanium tracheal prosthesis in sheep to determine the best surgical implantation method. In time, the prosthesis may serve as a substitute for laryngeal cartilage. To learn more about this novel prosthesis, see the slide show, read the article, and listen to the podcast describing the research and other published research in Volume 48, Issue 7.