Development of low-cost pressure mapping device to evaluate force distribution for seat cushion modification

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the reliability and concurrent validity of a low-cost pressure mapping system (Smart mat) and reference standard pressure mapping (MatScan). Thirty healthy volunteers aged 29.57 ± 4.50 years who could sit still for at least one minute and had a hip width of less than 40 cm (36 ± 2.05 cm) were recruited. The participants sat on the Smart mat system and MatScan for 60 s per trial for 3 trials. The reliability of Smart mat using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) showed an excellent ICC of normalised total force (nTF) and normalised ischial width (nIW) in sitting (0.93, 0.98). The validity was assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients, which showed that nTF in sitting had a significantly strong correlation (r = 0.70**) and nIW in sitting had a significantly moderate correlation (r = 0.67**). This study’s satisfactory results indicated that a low-cost pressure mapping system could be used for assessing forced distribution and ischial width during sitting.