Combined molecular and mechanistic methods for early detection and individual prevention of pressure ulcer formation in vulnerable patients

This project aims to develop a novel method for identifying early tissue damage related to pressure ulcer (PU) development in vulnerable patients by measuring biomarkers of inflammation on the skin surface. PUs are common and costly injuries that result from prolonged pressure on the skin. Current methods to assess PU risk are unreliable, and the mechanisms of PU development are not well understood.

This project contributes to new knowledge of PU etiology as well as the individual variability at a molecular level combined with new knowledge about nursing actions and clinical factors linked to PU progression and outcomes of prevention.

The project will use non-invasive techniques and model-based analysis to identify specific biomolecules that reflect individual susceptibility to pressure exposure in different PU risk scenarios.

We will perform a series of work packages (WPs) that will involve vulnerable patient populations with different susceptibility to pressure exposure both related to medical devices, (WP 1, months 0-18, and WP 2, month 0-12) and in routine care of immobilized patients (WP 3, month 12-20 and WP 4, month 26-50).

The project will also use modeling to extract mechanistic insights of the inflammation process in different patient populations (WP 5, month 0-50).

The project will provide more objective, sensitive and specific methods for individualized prevention strategies that can improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the healthcare costs.