Vicair Active O2 – 6cm

Paralympic champion + Vicair Active02… a good combination

Mirjam de Koning-Peper is a former professional swimmer and a specialist in the 50, 100 and 400 meter freestyle and the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter backstroke. She participated in 2 Paralympic Games (Beijing and London) and won 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal. During the closing ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic games she proudly carried the national flag of The Netherlands.

A few months before the London Paralympics Mirjam came to Vicair asking if we could help her during her preparation. At that time she was suffering from pressure injuries and they were affecting her Paralympic training schedule. Vicair immediately agreed to help and the same day she was using the Vicair Vector. The pressure injuries healed, Mirjam could train more and … she won a Gold medal on her last Paralympic race ever.

Actively assisting in healing a pressure injury with the Vicair Active O2

A week into the trial Mr R provided us with the following summary:
“The Vicair seating trial has gone extremely well showing a marked improvement over my current Jay Active. Of particular note is a fading of the dark patch and general skin colour improvement over a relatively short period of around 10 days Prior to this the dark patch has remained largely static in size and colour for some months sitting on the Jay Active. The only seating change has been the Vicair I would, therefore, assume its responsibility for the improvement.”

Clinical Case: Treatment of a category II pressure ulcer and improved asymmetric positioning through Vicair

Snippets of the conclusion:

Mr. de L’s pressure ulcer was healed due to the switch to the Vicair Positioner. Afterwards, his desired seating positioning and stability were achieved by using the Vicair Active with an asymmetrical setup. He now experiences a high level of seating comfort.

In sum, the Vicair Active was able to provide skin protection and it met Mr. de L’s positioning needs for a cushion that provides stability and can be set up asymmetrically.

Reducing pressure ulcer incidents and saving money in staff maintenance time, by using Vicair cushions

In the sub-acute setting, inappropriate seating is the cause of many problems that ultimately result in poor quality of life as well as associated medical issues and misfortunes for the patient. In our facility 9% of the residents experienced pressure injury incidences. Additionally, staff spends time maintaining and checking products daily. Resulting in a significant amount of time is being spend on maintenance on a weekly basis, taking time away that could be spent on patient care.

Measuring Pressure interface and shear on cushions fitted correctly versus upside down

At a recent seating seminar therapists were asked if they had experienced a client sitting on their wheelchair cushion placed upside down? The answer was yes! 80% Had experienced this more than once. Asked if in their opinion would this place their client at further risk? The Majority answered “Yes”! If the cushion is placed incorrectly in the chair. How can we minimise risk for pressure & shear?
The following 3 cushion types had their data measured: Vicair Aircell cushions, Flotation cushion and a Gel cushion.
The tools used where a pressure-map and an iShear. iShear is the world’s first tool to measure total shear force in the seat of a wheelchair.

Vicair cushions offer very good resistance against sliding and pelvic tilt. Out of the box, the Vicair cushions are already a better choice compared to the tested Jay J3 cushion (30 – 63% better). The Vicair Adjuster O2 is, out of the box, better than the set ROHO Quadtro Select (12% better). When the Vicair Vector O2 is ideally adjusted for the indenter, the positive difference becomes more apparent (16% better, 24N difference).

Postural stability refers to the continuous process of postural changes during sitting. The capacity to maintain postural stability in sitting position is a prerequisite to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and reduce risk of shoulder injury, but also social functioning, satisfaction with the equipment, and thus quality of life.

Moisture at the skin cushion interface in wheelchair users

Summary: Focus should be on protecting the user not the cushion with an incontinence cover

The skin performs a variety of important physiologic roles including protection from environmental exposure, preservation of internal homeostasis and thermoregulation amongst others. [Gray, 2011]
Moisture associated skin damage (MASD) pathophysiology is related to both recurrent chemical and physical irritation to the skin barrier, triggering inflammation and subsequent skin damage.

Additional research on moisture at the skin cushion interface in wheelchair users

Summary: Prolonged exposure to moisture makes the skin MASD (Moisture Associated Skin Damage) and pressure injury
The skin performs a variety of important physiologic roles including protection from environmental exposure, preservation of internal homeostasis and thermoregulation amongst others.

How effective is washing your Vicair wheelchair cushion?

The importance of cleaning your wheelchair cushion

Is there a risk of bottoming out when using a Vicair cushion incorrectly?

does washing a vicair cushion affect pressure redistribution?