Project Title: Accelerating Healing of Pressure Ulcers in People Living with Spinal Cord Injury Using Electrical Stimulation – Predicting Responders (AHPU)
Research Team Lead: Dr Liang Q Liu, Nursing and Midwifery, Middlesex University
Duration/Date/Cost: 30 months, from Jan 2026 to June 2028, £196,318
Summary of AHPU:
Pressure ulcers (PrU) represent a significant health, social, and economic burden for people with a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Electrical Stimulation (ES), combined with standard wound care, could accelerate PrU healing. Yet, existing evidence is not deemed robust, primarily due to the diversity within the SCI population, variations in PrU presentation, and discrepancies in ES paradigms.
A multicentre study is needed to address this, but before it can be undertaken, it is essential to first establish and define the ES as an intervention.
Dr Liu’s Team will combine ES with a non-invasive physiological monitoring method to personalise the stimulation and identify likely responders. The physiological parameters predictive of PrU healing will be identified through an observational study of patients with a PrU in the London SCI Centre (LSCIC) ward; the ES paradigm will be evaluated in a volunteer study, including people living with an SCI with or without a history of PrUs.
The findings of this project will form the basis for future research to assess the feasibility and efficacy of the new intervention on patients with a categorical II or above PrU among people with an SCI.