Modular Bed-to-Bed Patient Transfer Sheet With Quick-Release Straps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient transfer sheets fail to meet the modern demands of biomedical and healthcare facilities, being non-customizable, cumbersome, and inefficient in use, leading to high biomechanical loads on care providers during lateral transfers.
Innovation Solution
A modular, reusable patient transfer sheet with a tubular plastic sheet and integrated straps, featuring quick-release fasteners, allowing secure attachment to various bed and gurney designs, facilitating easy deployment and re-deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional patient transfer sheets are used, then they provide basic transfer functionality, but they are cumbersome and non-customizable, leading to high biomechanical loads on care providers
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer sheet is divided into modular components including detachable straps with quick-release fasteners, allowing the sheet to be segmented and reconfigured. This segmentation enables care providers to attach only the necessary portions to different bed or gurney configurations, reducing complexity while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer sheet incorporates dynamic elements such as adjustable and detachable straps that can be quickly configured or reconfigured during patient transfers. This dynamic design allows the device to adapt to various transfer scenarios without requiring complex permanent structures, thereby improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing device complexity
2Reliability
If existing transfer aids are made available, then they reduce biomechanical loads, but care providers do not frequently use them due to time-restraints and equipment availability
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer sheet is designed with pre-attached straps and quick-release fasteners that allow for rapid deployment. The straps are preliminarily positioned and secured to the sheet during manufacturing, eliminating the need for time-consuming assembly during patient transfers. This preliminary preparation significantly reduces setup time while maintaining the safety and reliability of the transfer process
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer sheet employs a disposable or easily replaceable design where the sheet itself can be quickly discarded or replaced after use, while the more durable straps and fasteners are reused. This approach reduces the time investment for setup and cleanup, as providers don't need to spend time cleaning or storing the sheet, thereby reducing loss of time while maintaining reliability through consistent performance of each new sheet
3Adaptability or versatility
If a lightweight and flexible transfer sheet is used, then it enhances workflow efficiency and adaptability, but it may compromise structural strength and stability
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer sheet utilizes composite materials combining lightweight fabric or plastic sheeting with reinforced straps made of high-strength materials such as nylon or polyester. This composite construction maintains the lightweight and flexible characteristics of the sheet while the reinforced straps provide the necessary structural strength and stability to support patient weight during transfers, thereby achieving both adaptability and strength
Solution Approach 2:
The transfer sheet is segmented into different functional zones with varying material properties. The main sheet body uses lightweight material for flexibility and adaptability, while strategic reinforcement is applied only to high-stress areas such as strap attachment points and load-bearing regions. This segmented approach to material distribution maintains overall lightweight design while providing localized structural strength where needed
Data Source
AI summary
Provided herein are bed-to-bed patient transfer sheets that are flexible, easy to assemble, attachable and re-attachable, highly portable, endlessly customizable, and able to meet the needs of the biomedical community due to the modular design features of the bed-to-bed patient transfer sheet. The described patient transfer sheets provide sufficient functionality to meet the modern needs for transporting patients to and from different transportation vehicles, hospital locations such as operating rooms, and examination rooms, or laboratory, treatment, and recovery locations in hospitals or other off-site biomedical or health-care based locations. The transfer sheets are also easily decontaminated of human waste between uses, making them reusable.