# Chair to Prevent and Treat Pressure Injuries in Persons Living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

> **NIH NIH R43** · MINNESOTA HEALTHSOLUTIONS CORPORATION · 2024 · $356,548

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The goal of the proposed project is to develop an innovative chair built with a calibrated pressure-shifting
programmable surface to prevent and/or treat pressure injuries in persons living with Alzheimer's disease or a related
dementia (ADRD). Persons living with moderate to severe ADRD, either in long-term care facilities or private homes,
are at increased risk for the development of pressure injuries. Physical repositioning is the cornerstone of pressure
injury prevention; however, there are barriers that limit its use among persons with ADRD. While active devices to
spread or shift supportive pressure have been shown to have advantage over passive devices, the existing devices
on the market have limited use due to cost, safety, patient discomfort, noise, and energy use. The proposed system
would overcome these concerns and be suitable for widespread use in both homes and long-term care facilities for
persons with ADRD. Testing in phase I will include both testing of the effectiveness of the chair in shifting pressure
as well as acceptability and usability testing. The project team is uniquely suited to successfully carry out this
research due to our unique combination of skills and abilities, which includes a history of developing product for
injury prevention, age-related injury research, and research involving pressure injuries in dementia care, as well as
experience in the conduct and analysis of qualitative research and multi-methods research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10917838
- **Project number:** 1R43AG087785-01
- **Recipient organization:** MINNESOTA HEALTHSOLUTIONS CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Valentina Graci,
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $356,548
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-25 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10917838

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10917838, Chair to Prevent and Treat Pressure Injuries in Persons Living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (1R43AG087785-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-03 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10917838. Licensed CC0.

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