Evaluierung von Elektroaktiven Polymeraktoren für den Gebrauch in einem Sitzkissen

Patients who are bound to a wheelchair or bed, especially those with spinal cord injuries, often suffer from decubitus ulcers or pressure sores with great detrimental effects to their quality of life and productivity. This subset of people is most affected by pressure sores, up to 85 % of these patients suffer from decubitus ulcers at least once in their lifetime, because due to their spinal cord injuries they lack feedback from their bodies regarding pain and do not perform sufficient pressure relief movements. In addition to a better lifestyle for any individual at risk from pressure sores, improving the prevention of decubitus ulcers also bears the potential cost reduction in the health care sector. An interesting option to provide such an improvement is an intelligent seat cushion, which is capable of measuring the pressure distribution and then use this information to perform some form of pressure relief. The potential of Electroactive polymer actuators to be used in a seat cushion is evaluated in this thesis.