Performance Assessment of a Humidity Measurement System and Its Use to Evaluate Moisture Characteristics of Wheelchair Cushions at the User-Seat Interface.

Little is known about the changes in moisture that occur at the body-seat interface during sitting. However, as increased moisture can add to the risk of skin damage, we have developed an array of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) humidity sensors to measure at this interface. Sensors were first evaluated against traceable standards, followed by use in a cross-over field test ( = 11; 20 min duration) using different wheelchair cushions (foam and gel).

Wearing American Football helmets increases cervicocephalic kinaesthetic awareness in "elite" American Football players but not controls.

Background: While there have been investigations into the reduced neck injury rate of wearing protective helmets, there is little information on its effects on normal kinaesthetic neck function. This study aims to quantify the kinaesthetic and movement effects of the American football helmet.

Methods: Fifteen British Collegiate American football players (mean age 22.

Microenvironment temperature prediction between body and seat interface using autoregressive data-driven model.

There is a need to develop a greater understanding of temperature at the skin-seat interface during prolonged seating from the perspectives of both industrial design (comfort/discomfort) and medical care (skin ulcer formation). Here we test the concept of predicting temperature at the seat surface and skin interface during prolonged sitting (such as required from wheelchair users). As caregivers are usually busy, such a method would give them warning ahead of a problem.

Settling down time following initial sitting and its relationship with comfort and discomfort.

This study examined the subjective rating of wheelchair comfort and discomfort (numerical rating scale questionnaire) and the duration of objective in-chair movement reduction "settling down time" following initial contact with the seating surface. Healthy young subjects (n = 22) sat for 5 min on contoured foam or wood cushion surfaces fitted to otherwise identical wheelchairs. Force sensing resistors attached to each quadrant of the sitting interface measured the relative movements of the subjects over time.

Studying thermal characteristics of seating materials by recording temperature from 3 positions at the seat-subject interface.

Aim Of The Study: To determine whether 3 fixed positions of seat-subject interface temperature measurement offer more information than a single point of measurement.

Materials And Methods: Temperature data was simultaneously acquired (sampling frequency 1 Hz/sensor) from each of three sensor positions (right & left mid-thigh and coccyx), from the subject-seat interface. The data was acquired whilst subjects (6 males, 5 females: 21-40 yrs: BMI 19.

The patient: a novel source of error in clinical temperature measurement using infrared aural thermometry.

Introduction: The vital signs are an important component of patient assessment. With respect to body temperature; there has been a move away from mercury-in-glass thermometers toward the relatively inexpensive, safer to use infrared tympanic, auricular, or ear thermometer. Although already in widespread use, the reliability of these devices has increasingly been called into question.