壓瘡為皮膚長時間受壓而導致組織損傷之病理變化，壓瘡之發生造成病人痛苦、醫療支出、與甚至併發死亡的可能性。國內外相關研究，壓瘡盛行率為一成至兩成之多，並無有效機制控制壓瘡之發生。由於臨床人員照護的超重負荷，交換班的工作形式，與對壓瘡的低度警覺性，病患翻身檢查未能有效的實行，不能及時減壓，是壓瘡無法控制的重要因素。
本研究發展一壓瘡監控與預警系統，利用壓力感測元件與ZigBee感測接收的傳輸，記錄於壓瘡好發位置附近的壓力變化，並進行靜態姿勢或翻身的即時監測，當診斷出患者固定於某個姿勢過久而無翻身減壓的情形，系統將發送訊息給照顧人員，提醒前來協助患者翻身與確認皮膚組織的完好性。
本研究針對受試者以指定姿勢與自由姿勢兩種情況進行無線監控，實驗設定10秒的監控資料接收頻率，實驗結果除分析傳輸率，測試警訊通知，並以叢集分析辨識其躺姿，並將叢集分析結果、錄影編碼結果與本系統的監測下的壓力診斷與姿勢，三者相互比較。測試結果發現本研究資料傳輸的方法可達91.5%的接收率；叢集分析與錄影結果比對下，壓力診斷與姿勢確認達100%一致性；實驗亦完成逾時的通知警訊傳送。因此，本系統可用以遠端監測姿勢變化，記錄並及時通知照顧人員給予注意，可用以預防壓瘡的發生，進而增加健康照護產業的照顧品質。

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are caused by tissue necrosis due to long term pressure. The incidences across the world, are about 10-20% averagely. Because of the heavy load of patient care, duty-shift patterns, and unawareness of the ulcer risk in clinical practice, current guidelines for the preventive management of PUs, such as repositioning and skin examination, are difficult to complete to relieve the pressure.
This study developed a PU monitoring and caution system (PUCS), which used pressure sensors in a ZigBee network to monitor the pressures and to identify positions for immobile patients remotely. The system also makes position diagnosis, identifies a position at the risk, and actively sends alarm messages to the designated care-person of the patient to prevent PU development.
Experiments were conducted to monitor the fixed and free lying positions of participants, and to validate data transmission, position monitoring, and alarm delivery. With 10 second interval of transmission, PUCS data were recorded and compared with clustering results and videotaping records for sensor states and position diagnosis. Results showed that the wireless transmission rates were about 91.5%; the sensor state diagnosis and position identification were 100% consistent; alarm message was successfully sent and displayed; the position-time relationship showed dynamic change of participant's positions. The results demonstrated that PUCS is a feasible tool to remotely monitor one's position change and to send messages to users to complete early preventative management. Therefore, PUCS is a promising method to reduce the incidence of PU and increase both the quality of healthcare and the quality of life for at risk patients.

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