The Institution for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) recently estimated that 2.5 million patients�in US health-care institutions develop pressure ulcers (PUs) each year, resulting in�60,000 predicted deaths (ref 1). These ulcers prevent functional recovery and cause substantial pain�and serious infection (ref 2). The annual estimate of treatment costs in the US hospitals is 11 billion dollars,�with a mean length of stay of 13 days (ref 1).

1 Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2008