Bed-based patient care apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patient care facilities face challenges in accommodating varying mattress sizes and the integration of air-powered mattresses with traditional bedding, as well as the need for effective repositioning of patients with special needs, due to conflicts between bedding and pneumatic tubing or inadequate design of repositioning sheets.
Innovation Solution
The development of a fitted bottom sheet with diagonal straps and tube-receiving holes for compatibility with air-powered mattresses, and a repositioning sheet with a low-friction surface and webbing for easy sliding, along with adjustable handhold and strap-connection openings to facilitate patient movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional fitted sheets are used, then they work well with one size of mattress, but they do not work with other sizes of mattresses at the same facility
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet system is designed to perform multiple functions: it can be used as a traditional fitted sheet for standard mattresses, as a repositioning sheet for patient transfer, and as a protective barrier for air-powered mattresses. The universal design allows one sheet to serve multiple purposes across different mattress types and patient care needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet incorporates adjustable features including removable straps with buckles that can be configured in different positions, and a bottom sheet depth adapter that can be adjusted to fit various mattress depths. This dynamic adjustability allows the same sheet to accommodate different mattress sizes and configurations.
2Ease of operation
If air-powered mattresses with pneumatic tubing are used, then automatic pneumatic adjustments of mattress firmness are enabled, but traditional fitted sheets physically conflict with the pneumatic tubing
Solution Approach 1:
The bottom sheet depth adapter acts as an intermediary component between the air-powered mattress and the fitted sheet. It provides a interface that accommodates the pneumatic tubing while allowing the fitted sheet to be properly installed and secured, thus mediating the conflict between the tubing and traditional sheet designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The bedding system is segmented into separate functional components: the fitted sheet, the bottom sheet depth adapter, and the repositioning sheet. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together as a integrated system that accommodates pneumatic tubing.
3Ease of operation
If repositioning sheets are used to facilitate moving difficult patients, then patient movement is improved, but existing repositioning sheets are not completely well-suited to each application setting and lack consideration of the bottom sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The repositioning sheet is merged with the bottom sheet depth adapter and fitted sheet components to form an integrated system. The repositioning sheet includes features like a low-friction surface for easy patient sliding, and it can be secured using the same strap system as the fitted sheet, creating a unified solution that addresses both patient repositioning and sheet securement needs.
4Ease of operation
If a low-friction repositioning sheet is used, then patient sliding is facilitated, but the sheet may not secure properly to the mattress
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet system uses different materials and surface properties in different locations: the repositioning sheet has a low-friction surface where the patient contacts it for easy sliding, while the bottom sheet depth adapter and fitted sheet have high-friction surfaces and mechanical fastening features (straps with buckles, elastic corners) that provide secure attachment to the mattress. This local differentiation of surface properties resolves the conflict between sliding ease and securement reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A fitted bottom sheet (which may be comprised of low-friction material if desired) can include at least one tube-receiving hole formed therethrough. By one approach the corners of the fitted bottom sheet can include a strap to help retain the fitted bottom sheet on a mattress. By one approach the aforementioned tube-receiving hole can be formed at each corner of the fitted bottom sheet. A strapless repositioning sheet can have a low-friction mattress-facing side in combination with webbing disposed along and attached to at least two side edges of the strapless repositioning sheet to thereby form a plurality of handhold openings and a plurality of strap-connection openings.