Pressure Distribution Model for Pressure Garment Development

This paper reports a pressure distribution model that will predict the pressure applied by a pressure garment onto a wounded body segment which could facilitate the production of custom made pressure garments. The model is generated by using the 3D data of the wounded body segment of a patient which are obtained by a non-intrusive non-contact measurement system. The circumference of the body segment is calculated from scanned digital data. Then, a circumference reduction factor is calculated to determine the circumference of the pressure garment in order to apply the design pressure by using a specific fabric with an experimentally determined modulus of elasticity in the circumferential direction. Then, the radius of curvature for each data point in a given layer is calculated and the pressure applied is obtained. Finally, a 3D pressure distribution model for the whole wounded part is constructed by stacking the pressure maps of adjacent layers. The model is verified through a comparison with the actual pressure measured by using custom made pressure garments and volunteer subjects. The comparison shows reasonable agreement. The model enables garment manufacturers/therapists to evaluate the effectiveness of a custom designed pressure garment before it is manufactured and eliminates the need for in-situ pressure measurements.