Clinical Studies & Case Report Summaries

The following are summaries of some of the clinical studies and case reports written on the Aquila wheelchair cushions

UAB Health Systems

A 56 year old male had been on a Roho cushion but he was unable to do the required pressure lifts and he developed ulcers which grew larger and deeper.  It was not recommended for him to sit longer than 30 minutes per day on the roho.

The Aquila wheelchair cushion was recommended by medical staff and he began using the APK wheelchair cushion. He reports no pain using the cushion. He went from being completely bed bound to participating in daily activities 6-8 hours per day on average.  The patients exact words were “I have my life back”

Authored by C. Henderson, PT, MS, ATP

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Client has a history of bilateral ischial and coccyx ulcers.  Cushions ruled out include Roho, Cloud and Jay gel wheelchair cushions.  To this point he was only able to sit an hour or two.  After receiving the Aquila wheelchair cushion he was able to sit up t 7 hours per day and it allowed Keith to continue to heal without setback and increased sitting times.  This Aquila wheelchair cushion is helping him to avoid costly surgery to correct pressure sores.

Authored by K. Gutowski, MD, FACS

Associate professor of surgery

Chief of Plastic Surgery,  WS M VA Hospital

Interim Healthcare

Patient Fred had been using an Aquila wheelchair cushion for 30 days.  A few weeks prior to using the Aquila wheelchair cushion he was hospitalized and upon discharge has two stage 2 pressure sores on the buttocks.  Instead of lying in bed until they healed the Aquila cushion allowed him to be up in his wheelchair and within 2 days the ulcers were healed with no further problems.  He also states that it is extremely comfortable.

  1. L. Wolf RN

Home care supervisor

Shepherd Center

Patient had a history of bilateral decubitus ulcers. Cushions ruled out include Jay Gel, Roho, and Ease alternating cushions.  The patient had open wounds when first seen at Shepherd Center and was using an Ease alternating cushion but was still unable to heal his wounds.

He was loaned an Aquila alternating wheelchair cushion for one month and his skin is now healed.  He is able to sit for 8 hours per day and this allowed him to return to work.

The medical doctors listed below said this is the only wheelchair cushion they have identified that allowed the patient to sit for more than 8 hours per day without skin breakdown.  Further this cushion will help the patient avoid costly surgery to correct pressure sores.

  1. Miller, MD
  2. Meeham, PTn

Lakeview Health Center

68 year old male patient with a stage 4 ulcer measuring 5.0cm x 5.1cm with a depth of 8.2 cm caused by loading pressure.

A decube mattress was installed on his bed.  In his unwillingness to give up his freedom and unload pressure in bed during the day meant that he spent time sitting so the wound was slow to heal.  Wheelchair cushions tried were a gel cushion and then a Roho cushion.

He began using the Aquila wheelchair cushion and within 60 days the wound decreased in size from a width of  5.1 cm to less than 1 cm  and the depth improved from 8.2 cm to 6.2 cm. Sitting charts indicate he was sitting an average of 12 to 14 hours per day.

He has been able to continue his independence and participate in activities of his choice and still offload pressure instrumental in healing with the use of the Aquila cushion.

The Aquila is highly recommended.

Nancy Gilligan-Anderson, RN,WCC

Nurse Manager

Clinical Study – Alternating Pressure Wheelchair Cushions

This was an 18 month long study with 7 subjects. It was performed by Gregory Jones MD Comprehensive Wound Care Deaconess Medical Center Spokane WA,  Eddie Lipan MD Arizona Wound Centers Mesa AZ and Julie Sohgan RN Wound Solutions.

The full write up of the study is on our website. 

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Aquila dynamic alternating wheelchair cushions for those who are high risk for pressure sores.

Objectives

The two objectives of this study are to

  1. Increase the sitting time of the subjects without them experiencing additional pressure sores.
  2. Reduce the size or facilitate healing of current pressure sores

Method

Increase the sitting time of each of the subjects while measuring current pressure sores to see evidence of healing and inspect skin to see if any new skin breakdown was evident.  Daily sitting logs were kept and skin was inspected on a daily basis.

Results

Although the pilot study group was small, three findings were demonstrated:

  1. Subjects were able to sit in their wheelchairs for extended periods of time while their pressure sores continued to heal.
  2. Subjects experienced no new occurrences of pressure sores after beginning to use the Airpulse PK wheelchair cushion system.
  3. Existing pressure sores improved even though sitting time was increased.

 Healing Progress of a pressure sore in a nursing home setting

The resident had a stage 4 pressure sore on the right ischial measuring 3.5 cm x 5.2 cm x 1.2 cm = 21.8 cubic cm

Less than 4 weeks after starting to use the Aquila SofTech Basic wheelchair cushion and sitting 12 hours per day the sore improved to 2cm x 4.8cm x 1.2 cm which is 50% improved while sitting 12 hours per day.

A second sore on the sacral area measured 11 cm x 8 cm x 4.3 cm = 378.4 cubic cm

This larger sore improved to 3.4 cm x 1.6 cm x1.3 cm = 7 cubic cm during the same time-frame.

The reporting nurse was Christopher F

Roseville MN