People confined to a bed or wheelchair due to chronic illness have constant pressure exerted on certain parts of the body, causing ulcers. These ulcers are difficult and expensive to treat and can be detrimental. A water mattress can help prevent the formation of ulcers and facilitate the healing of ulcers.
KTC Water Mattress is a small business operator, manufacturing water mattresses for bed-ridden patients. Its water mattress is made of natural rubber. The company had problems with the durability and leakage-prone of its products and reached out to MTEC-NSTDA due to its expertise in materials technology.
Through close collaboration with the company, MTEC research team identified the replacement of current material with food-grade rubber and re-designed mold and cap. Water mattresses manufactured with the MTEC solutions passed the temperature and 120-kg pressure tests, suggesting that the products meet requirements of the company.
In addition to providing R&D service, MTEC also connected KTC Water Mattress to a rubber products supplier, specializing in forming rubber tubes for water mattress, so that KTC Water Mattress can scale up its production.
