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I know this is odd question because it is related to wheelchairs (which at least have two wheels :) and use of sealant.

Anyway, my father in law use anti-decubitus cushion (similar to the one picture) in order to prevent wounds from prolonged sitting in his wheelchair. However, there are frequent punctures which are hard to fix. These cushions are also very expensive so he is trying to avoid buying new one (current one is just few months old).

enter image description here

Cushions comes with few self-adhesive patches but those can't be applied very well to narrow surfaces between cells. I've even tried to use bike tire repair kit (patches and glue) but glue doesn't stick to material from which cushion is made (some kind of coated rubber).

I was wondering if tire sealant can be used in this case? Are there any other products or advice how to solve this problem?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

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    Have you tried air bed repair kits? Also, I'm not sure Bicycles.SE is the right place for this.
    – Batman
    Sep 5, 2017 at 22:59
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    You also might want to look at forums for people in wheelchairs. Presumably if this is a problem with decent quality cushions, people in wheelchairs have a way of repairing them.
    – Batman
    Sep 5, 2017 at 23:47
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    I think it's ok as wheelchairs are human powered vehicles with two wheels main wheels. We'd certainly allow hand cranked bikes here!
    – RoboKaren
    Sep 6, 2017 at 1:41
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    The vulcanising fluid is not working because the cushion is not made of butyl rubber and you're not abrading it. Give up on that one.
    – Criggie ♦
    Sep 6, 2017 at 7:59
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    Search around - I see a heap on ebay for $10-$20 each, or alibaba has them for ridiculously low prices, but quality always an issue there. Could buy one-off samples and see which ones work, and then go into business on-selling them to other wheelchair riders.
    – Criggie ♦
    Sep 6, 2017 at 8:05

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I'll do my best to help with my knowledge of sealant, and this was too long to comment.

Sealant MIGHT work.... but it may cause more issues than it fixes.

My main concern would be getting it from cell to cell, as in a tire or tube it is easily distributed along the entire tire/tube, whereas this look would take some work to get it all the way to the other corner from that of the valve. Also it depends on the size of the hole or puncture as sealant is made for relatively small holes. (1/4" to 1/8" depending on brand)

Also it may impede air from getting to some of the cells if it gets clogged up, it's hard to tell how large the airways between the cells are from the image.

The other kicker is sealant does not last forever, in a tire or a disposable tube it can be removed if it begins to clump or harden, or the tube can be easily and cost effectively replaced. Where as this, you have said is semi-expensive so if the sealant clogs some of the airways and cells no longer inflate you are kind of stuck with a defective cushion that will then put more pressure on certain areas.

Further more there is not much to get it to the top of the cells, so it will collect in the lower regions, and if there is a puncture near the top of a cell, may or may not do anything.

If you have an older one you can try it on without losing too much i would try that. Otherwise it may cause more frustration than it fixes. Hope this helps.

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