Developing the smart mattress of the future for healthcare

At the end of January, Göran Nordin from the partner company Järven Health Care and Valter Dejke from the research institute RISE visited Mid Sweden University to discuss the first prototype together with researcher Johan Sidén and research engineer Rickard Hamrin.

Different types of pressure sensors are demonstrated on a mattress.

Göran Nordin is CEO of the company Järven Health Care, which manufactures mattresses and pillows for healthcare. Everything from home health care, nursing homes and hospitals.

- We have a number of different mattress models for different purposes. Everything from the patient entering the emergency department to surgery, X-ray and then the caregiving. A very important function for all of them is that the mattresses should be pressure-equalizing to avoid pressure ulcers for the users, says Göran Nordin from Järven Health Care.   

In the project, Järven Healthcare, together with Mid Sweden University and RISE, will develop and evaluate various prototypes of pressure sensors for mattresses in healthcare. An important aspect to take into account in the development, is that the end product adds value without unwanted side effects. The prototype must not compromise on today's high quality when it comes to, for example, the mattress's pressure-relieving properties and hygiene.

The screen illustrates how the mattress's pressure sensors are loaded, with red markings indicating high pressure.

Valter Dejke works as a senior researcher at RISE - Research Institutes of Sweden in Mölndal. There, RISE's researchers work with the development and evaluation of textile materials and products. The researchers are examining, for example, how products such as furniture, mattresses and seat cushions in healthcare are perceived by users, how they transport moisture and heat, and what their pressure-distributing properties are.

- In this project, we aim to develope a high performance, pressure-reading mattress that. It is of great importance that we can trust the data that the technology delivers, and it must also be robust and withstand the environment in which it will be used. We at RISE will evaluate this and much more in our lab, says Valter Dejke, RISE.

The purpose of the meeting was to get a demonstration of the prototype developed by the researchers at Mid Sweden University and discuss the choice of technology and materials. The next step in the process is for the researchers, together with Järven Health Care, to develop various prototypes that RISE can characterize and evaluate in its lab in Mölndal.

- I've had a dream of making our mattresses smarter for a long time. The patient spends a lot of time on the mattress and it can capture and convey valuable information about the patient. For example, if the patient has been in the same position for too long so that the pressure becomes too high. This allows healthcare professionals to take the right actions in time. Our goal is to develop a commercially viable product that does not cost too much to manufacture and is easy to use for the healthcare sector. In the long term, we want to help reduce the number of pressure ulcers and reduce suffering in society, says Göran Nordin from Järven Health Care.

The project Pressure – IoT to reduce injuries from pressure ulcers, is funded with support from IoT Sweden, Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency and is led by Bron Innovation. In addition to Mid Sweden University, project participants include Sundsvall Municipality, Örnsköldsvik Municipality, Järven Health Care, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and Pro&Pro AB.

Research engineer Rikard Hamrin and Associate Professor Johan Sidén have developed different types of pressure sensors to be used in the mattress.