Contoured Sleep Surface for Side-Sleep Spinal Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sleeping on a flat mattress can lead to spine misalignment, causing discomfort and potential injury to vertebrae disks, back muscles, and ligaments, as well as reduced circulation and exacerbated nasal and sinus congestion, particularly during recovery from illness or injury.
Innovation Solution
A contoured sleep system comprising a trunk rest and a head rest that cooperate to form a cavity for the lower arm, facilitating spinal alignment along the Sagittal plane, with optional features like hip and leg concavities to enhance alignment and comfort, constructed from flexible materials similar to conventional or adjustable mattresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a person sleeps on a flat mattress, then the mattress provides simple support, but the spine becomes misaligned causing discomfort and potential injury
Solution Approach 1:
The mattress incorporates contoured surfaces with specific curvatures designed to match and support the natural curvature of the human spine. The head rest, trunk rest, and leg rest portions create a curved profile that maintains spinal alignment along the sagittal plane, preventing the misalignment that occurs on flat surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the mattress are designed with different support characteristics. The head rest portion has specific curvature for head and neck support, the trunk rest portion provides lumbar support, and the leg rest portion supports the lower extremities. Each region is optimized for its specific anatomical location to collectively achieve full spinal alignment.
2Ease of operation
If a person sleeps on their arm, then the arm position may be convenient, but circulation is hindered causing tingling, numbness, or pain
Solution Approach 1:
The mattress acts as an intermediary support structure that provides a dedicated rest surface for the arm. The arm rest portion offers an alternative support location that maintains arm comfort and accessibility while preventing the arm from being compressed under the body weight, thus avoiding circulation problems.
3Device complexity
If a person sleeps on a flat mattress, then the sleeping surface is simple, but nasal and sinus congestion is exacerbated
Solution Approach 1:
The elevated and contoured head rest portion creates an inclined sleeping surface that raises the head and upper body. This elevation uses gravity to facilitate sinus drainage and reduce nasal congestion, providing respiratory benefits without requiring complex adjustable mechanisms.
4Ease of operation
If the spine is not in alignment along the Sagittal plane, then the person may experience discomfort, but maintaining alignment requires complex positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The contoured surfaces of the mattress are shaped to naturally guide and maintain spinal alignment. The curvature of the head rest, trunk rest, and leg rest portions work together to position the spine along the sagittal plane without requiring active adjustment or complex mechanical systems. The shape itself provides the alignment function.
Solution Approach 2:
The mattress structure automatically maintains spinal alignment through its inherent contoured design. When a person lies on the mattress, the shaped surfaces naturally position the body in an aligned state without requiring the person to actively adjust their position or the mattress to provide alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for facilitating spinal alignment is disclosed. The contoured sleep system facilitates alignment of a person's spine along the Sagittal plane when laying in a sleep-on-side position. An exemplary contoured sleep system has a trunk rest having a trunk rest surface and a trunk rest face, the trunk rest surface operable to support a trunk of a person laying in a sleep-on-side position; and a head rest having a head rest surface and a head rest face, such that when placed in operative relation to the trunk rest, the head rest face opposes the trunk rest face and is separated from the trunk rest face by a separation distance such that the trunk rest and the head rest cooperate to define a cavity to receive a lower arm the person laying in the sleep-on-side position.