Two-N input output mapping relationship fuzziness adaptation approach for fuzzy based negative pressure wound Therapy system

Abstract

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is a vacuum assisted wound therapy technique. It has been widely applied for the chronic wound treatment due to its excellent performance on the wound healing promoting. However, there are several NPWT related cases which are caused by the unstable regulation of negative pressure have been reported. This has shown that there is a need to improve the performance of NPWT for reducing the NPWT wound injuries cases. Based on the review, the performance of NPWT is able to be improved with the incorporation of Fuzzy Logic based Negative Pressure Regulator (FL-NPR) but there are difficulties in the development of appropriate fuzzy sets setting for FL-NPR. This limitation could significantly affect the fuzziness of the algorithm and performance of NPWT. In this research, the Two Relationship Equation (2(n)RE) Fuzziness Adaptation approach for improving the performance of NPWT has been proposed. It is developed based on the theory of three-valued logic which can be applied for resolving the limitation of Classical Controller (CC). A set of Fuzzy based NPWT system with artificial wound model have been successfully developed with the support of experienced plastic surgeon. The research experiment of Fuzzy based NPWT with the proposed 2(n)RE Fuzziness Adaptation approach have been carried out. Based on the result obtained, it is clearly shown that the performance of NPWT can be significantly affected by the different fuzziness layer. The percentage of ± 1 Tolerant Band achieved by the NPWT with 4RE FL-NPR is the highest where this result obtained is proving that the capability of wound healing process promoting of NPWT with 4RE FL-NPR is the highest. Furthermore, the percentage of undershoot achieved by the NPWT with 4RE FL-NPR is the lowest in which it is showing that its risk of low angiogenesis and wound healing failure is the lowest. According to the result obtained, the performance and safety feature of NPWT with 4RE FL-NPR is relatively better than that of 6RE FL-NPR and 8RE FL-NPR. In this research, the proposed 2(n)RE Fuzziness Adaptation approach for improving the performance and safety feature of NPWT have been successfully demonstrated and it is applicable for resolve the limitation of FL algorithm.