Adaptive Posture Advisory System for Spinal Cord Injury Patient during Long Haul Air Travel

PhD candidate and author of correspondence, Phone: (31) 2472514, Email: [email protected]. ABSTRACT Today, air travel is popular as a way of transportation for different purpose such as business and tourism. The numbers of air travel passengers are increasing every year. At the same time the flight distance is increased because of better fuel efficiency and technology advancement of airplanes. Sitting is the most common activity during the flight. The US Department of Health advised the disable people to change their sitting posture frequently to relieve sitting pressures at least every 1 hour, and every 15 minutes for normal people. Decubitus is widely recognized as serious complication for a person with spinal cord injury. Motor paralyses affected a person’s ability to respond unconsciously to potential noxious stimuli. Decubitus affect the quality of life of spinal cord injury patient. For the spinal cord injury patient who travels with long haul flight, which is more than 5 hours, the decubitus risk will increase. The paper describes the development of an adaptive posture advisory system for spinal cord injury passengers. The aim of the system is to reduce the decubitus risk of the spinal cord injury patient during long haul flight.