University of Alberta researcher Vivian Mushahwar with Smart-e-Pants
We often speak of the luxury of sinking into bed, but if you really sank in, and couldn’t get back up, things would go badly for you. People immobilized by neurological injuries often develop nasty wounds called bedsores, which form when soft tissues, such as the buttocks, heels, and back of the head, get pressed against the surface of a bed or wheelchair so that the tissue’s oxygen supply is cut off and it starts to die. The resulting open wounds can penetrate all the way down to muscle and bone and are often infected. Bedsores, unfortunately, affect 25 percent of nursing home residents, 10 percent of hospital patients and 60 percent of quadriplegics.
A group of Canadian researchers has looked to underwear for a potential solution. They’ve developed underpants implanted with electrodes that periodically (and painlessly) shock the gluteal muscles. The muscles contract slightly, much the same way they do when people fidget unconsciously, and relieve the pressure on tissues to give them the gasp of oxygen that they need. The team calls the invention Smart-e-Pants.