A REVOLUTIONARY cushion developed by the University of Bolton for wheelchair users has been showcased to the House of Lords.

Professor of Technical Textiles, Subhash Anand, gave a presentation on his invention — the Airospring pressure cushion — after being selected as one of five new materials which can further aid UK growth.

The event in Westminster was organised by the Knowledge Transfer Network of Materials to focus on how the UK economy can benefit from high value materials.

The ground-breaking smart material product, which is set to revolutionise the prevention of pressure sores, was created after seven years of research by Professor Anand who is based at the university’s Institute for Materials Research and Innovation, retired Golborne Engineer, Bryan McArdle and Derbyshire company, Baltex Technical Textiles.

The research for the cushions was carried out at the university, and 25 per cent of sales are going directly to the University of Bolton.

The cushions are formed from new, high tech 3D spacer fabrics, produced via CADCAM (Computer Aided Design/Manufacturing), and are a major innovation in the field of textiles.

For more information about the cushion visit at airospring.com