# Measure skin pressure and comfort in oncology infusion chairs

Source: https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-mach-infusion-chair-pressure-study/  
OnCo record `idea-mach-infusion-chair-pressure-study` (Idea). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

People having chemotherapy can sit in the same chair for many hours, often thin and in pain, yet nobody seems to have studied whether infusion chairs cause pressure sores or discomfort. A simple study could find out.

## Summary

Infusion recliners are sold specifically for long oncology treatments, and FDA regulation covers their mechanical safety, not comfort or skin outcomes. OnCo found no published study of interface pressure, pressure injury or comfort in oncology infusion; the nearest, a pressure-mapping study of a hospital recliner, enrolled 34 healthy adults and found body weight and seat surface, not recline angle, drove pressure. The proposal is a prospective study in oncology infusion units measuring interface pressure, skin checks and patient-reported comfort by chair model, surface and session length, including scalp-cooling sessions.

## Fields

- Kind: Idea
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Tags: machines-wave3; proposal
- Hypothesis: Long oncology infusions in standard recliners produce interface pressures and discomfort that differ by seat surface, and a cushion or surface change reduces both.
- Rationale: The population (cachexia, neuropathy, pain, long sessions) is at higher risk than the healthy adults in the only pressure-mapping data, and the measurement tools exist.
- Proposed test: Pressure mapping and structured skin and comfort assessment in 200 infusion sessions across two chair models and two surfaces, published with the protocol.
- Maturity: speculative
- Actor: research

## Sources

- Slayton et al., pressure mapping of a standard hospital recliner in 34 healthy adults (J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs 2017): https://doi.org/10.1097/won.0000000000000300
- Champion Healthcare Solutions: oncology and infusion medical recliners: https://championchair.com/clinical-applications/oncology-infusion-chairs/
- 21 CFR 890.3110, electric positioning chair (eCFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-890/subpart-D/section-890.3110

## Connected records

- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- technologies: [Oncology infusion and treatment chairs](https://onco.cc/technologies/oncology-infusion-chairs/), [Scalp cooling (cold caps: DigniCap, Paxman)](https://onco.cc/technologies/scalp-cooling/)
- bottlenecks: [Cachexia, toxicity and the limits of the patient](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-cachexia-supportive/), [Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/)
- roadmaps: [Comfort devices at the chemotherapy chair: scalp cooling, cold caps, limb cryocompression and infusion chairs](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/chemo-chair-comfort-devices-roadmap/)

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