[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6173\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHi-tech bed linen helps patients and carers to sleep easy\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s part of a wave of research that is bringing smart technology to hospital beds in order to increase the comfort of patients and reduce the incidence of preventable problems, such as pressure sores.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new bed linen, which is being developed by the EU-funded PASTA project, consists of electrical yarns made from conductive fibres that link together flexible nodes with microchips. Yarn acting as electronic sensors is woven together with yarn that carries electrical signals from chips.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThanks to this combination, the resulting fabric can not only monitor moisture content from sweat and urine, but can also be wired up to a central communications unit to alert staff that the patient needs to be attended to.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProject coordinator Johan De Baets from Imec in Belgium says that the linen is even able to detect which part of the bed is wet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018These yarns are made into zones, for example five to seven zones, along the bed linen, and whenever there is some moisture in a certain zone, it is detected by the electronic circuit, and that sends a signal to the central control unit,\u2019 he said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBecause the electronic circuitry is completely covered with silicone it does not come into contact with moisture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDe Baets says the new technology could also help hospitals to better manage staff resources.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018It\u2019s more comfortable than a traditional electronic textile, because the modules we integrated are flexible, stretchable, and encapsulated in silicone.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EJohan De Baets, project coordinator, PASTA\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is the need, for example by hospitals, to first have diagnosis to see when and how much a bed has been wet, during certain periods, in order to adapt the changing routine or the control routine of the nurses \u2013 not on fixed times, as per now, but at intervals that are dictated by the sensing system.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to De Baets, the bed linen is functional, comfortable \u2013 and crucially, washable. \u2018It\u2019s more comfortable than a traditional electronic textile, because the modules we integrated are flexible, stretchable, and encapsulated in silicone so they are quite flexible and comfortably integrated into the textile.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGreater comfort\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne great cause of discomfort for people who are bedridden is pressure sores, which can easily lead to infections that can spiral out of control in people whose immune systems are already struggling with disease.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENurses normally have to adjust beds every few hours \u2013 a process that\u2019s not only awkward for patients, but is a leading cause for 85 % of nurses suffering a back injury at some point during their career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded EPOSbed-Demo project has designed an intelligent hospital bed, which comprises a moveable frame and a mattress containing sensors which work to automatically move the bed in response to the patient\u2019s movement. This would enable patients to adjust their position without help from nurses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The target of the project was to help people with disabilities, for example patients recovering after surgery, or elderly people with restricted movement,\u2019 said Manuel Chica Serrano, deputy principal researcher at the European Centre for Soft Computing, Spain, who led the bed\u2019s design.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe impression of a body made on the mattress\u2019s 1 000 sensors creates a pressure image. The intelligent software \u2013 based on image processing algorithms and artificial neural networks \u2013 then analyses this in real-time to decide upon the best movement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology is now being patented, with the aim of having a commercial product available by mid-2015. The frame and sensors could be retrofitted into standard hospital beds. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The technology could be applied to any sort of motorised beds, even to the air mattresses currently used in hospitals and care homes to relieve bed sores,\u2019 said Oscar Valdemoros Tobia, general manager and project leader based at Industrias Tobia S.A. in Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-33bhdthrossacuccfd4t3fb3ut03piwumrhdh9-rj4\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form--33BhDtHrossaCUccFD4t3FB3UT03pIwUMrhdH9-Rj4\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]