AI-Driven Posture Recognition for Pressure Ulcer Prevention

Use Case:

Real-time analysis of body postures and pressure patterns in bedridden patients to prevent the onset of pressure ulcers improving patient care and relieving caregiver workload.

Outcome:

Development of an AI-based feasibility framework for postural analysis; TRL6 solution integrating sensor-based pressure mapping with AI image analysis; Supervised AI models trained to detect 6 key body postures; Digital repositioning assistant to support ulcer prevention protocols; Clear business plan supporting scale-up in hospital and home-care settings.

Ecosystem Support:

StairwAI provided expert mentoring, ethical guidance, and technical feedback; support in defining AI training strategies and business model structure.

AI Relevance:

This success story highlights how AI democratization can transform traditional healthcare workflows by: I) enabling cost-efficient and non-intrusive patient monitoring; II) supporting clinical decision-making through smart data analysis; III) reducing caregiver burden via AI-powered recommendations; IV) strengthening digital innovation within home and hospital settings.

Summary:

Sensing Tex, a Spanish SME specializing in smart textile technologies, proposed a transformative AI solution to address a critical healthcare challenge: the prevention of pressure ulcers in bedridden patients. These skin lesions, caused by prolonged immobility, are a major concern for caregivers and medical professionals. Leveraging their expertise in pressure mapping textiles, the company developed AI4PD—an AI-powered system that processes data from pressure sensors integrated into bed sheets, transforming it into images used to recognize patient posture. The AI models, initially trained through a supervised approach, identify six fundamental body positions (including supine, prone, lateral, and seated), and detect the presence of pressure hotspots. The system also tracks how long a patient remains in a given position, allowing it to recommend timely repositioning actions aligned with international pressure ulcer prevention guidelines. The solution is designed with flexibility in mind, suitable for deployment in hospital environments or as part of home care systems. Privacy and security are assured through local data processing or secure cloud-based anonymization, with future plans to explore blockchain-based data assurance. The business model envisions a scalable Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) approach, integrating hardware (smart bedsheets) and software (posture analytics interface), and targeting partnerships with hospital software providers to unify patient care platforms. Following the StairwAI program, the team reached TRL6 and is now pursuing co-creation pilots with healthcare institutions to further validate and refine the system.