UCLA and K Medical Researchers say that Alternating-pressure mattresses should increase--not decrease--pressure for preventing pressure ulcers (bedsores)

LOS ANGELES, June 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at UCLA and K Medical recently discovered that a major key to preventing pressure ulcers (a.k.a., bedsores, pressure injuries, or decubitus ulcers) using alternating-pressure support surfaces is to increase—not decrease—the pressures that they impart. This unexpected finding was identified using a programmable bed consisting of 1,260 closely packed actuators, which was created to rapidly impart numerous alternating-pressure patterns on users to collect large amounts of data. From this study the principles and parameters were learned for creating a fundamentally different alternating-pressure mattress that uses compliant mechanisms (i.e., mechanisms that deform to achieve their objective) to provide higher loading and lower off-loading pressures compared with existing technologies, which typically inflate air bladders to alternate pressure. Experimental results indicate that the compliant-mechanism mattress successfully eliminates areas that would be persistently occluded of blood flow in both states of alternating pressure because its peak pressures are higher than usual while remaining comfortable and safe. This new compliant-mechanism mattress, along with the nonintuitive insight that peak pressures should be increased—not decreased, are disruptive since the primary aim of alternating-pressure technologies has historically been to reduce peak pressures. Consequently, no affordable alternating-pressure solutions have been created for both homecare and hospital use that consistently and decisively prevent pressure ulcers for all individuals. Even though the United States spends $11 billion each year on pressure ulcers (second only in cost to cardiovascular disease and cancer), pressure ulcers remain the cause of 60,000 deaths and great suffering annually. Thanks to the work of UCLA and K Medical, this ancient scourge may finally be eliminated.

Alternating-pressure mattresses should increase—not decrease—pressure for preventing pressure ulcers (bedsores)

To learn more about the advantages of the compliant-mechanism mattress, see this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/KfIB_e_6rzY

UCLA and K Medical's study can be accessed through Science Robotics, where it was recently published as a peer-reviewed journal article: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.ads6314

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SOURCE K Medical LLC