A decision support model for nursing chair design driven by patent literature analysis and trapezoidal fuzzy AHP

Abstract

The postpartum period presents significant ergonomic challenges for women. Prolonged and frequent breastfeeding often leads to fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), affecting maternal and infant health. Our preliminary study shows that 78 % of breastfeeding mothers experience lower back discomfort after just 15 min, and 62 % suffer from shoulder and neck tension due to forward-leaning postures. Current nursing chair designs struggle to meet postpartum needs due to the lack of standardized evaluation tools and user-centered design approaches. This study aims to address the significant ergonomic challenges faced by postpartum women by developing a novel decision-support model that integrates Patent Literature Analysis (PLA) and the Trapezoidal Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).PLA identifies key innovation trends in nursing chair design, while fuzzy AHP ranks evaluation criteria, forming a dynamic framework of “technology trend insights, quantitative indicator evaluation.” The model effectively aligns technical feasibility with user needs, providing a robust framework for optimizing nursing chair designs to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and enhance maternal-infant health. PLA clarifies technical boundaries by capturing evolution trends, while fuzzy AHP quantifies priority levels of user requirements and addresses uncertainties in subjective evaluations using fuzzy numbers. This enables a continuous design loop of “trend updates, weight adjustments, solution optimization.” Evaluation results highlight “structural rationality” (weight 0.2195) and “safety” (weight 0.1272) as top priorities. The optimized design achieved a score of 0.6669, significantly enhancing user comfort and product competitiveness. This framework offers a user-driven, technically grounded path for nursing chair optimization, aiming to reduce MSDs and promote maternal-infant well-being.