Patient-Position Bed Motion Limiting for Safer Home Care
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bed devices require constant operator attention to prevent hazardous situations, especially in home care settings where operators are not skilled in controlling the devices, leading to increased risk and burden.
Innovation Solution
A bed device with an operation section, controller, detector, and limitation table that detects patient position and adjusts bed operations accordingly, including suspension of movements and alert notifications, to ensure safer operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If alarm notification is implemented when patient is in hazardous position, then patient safety is improved, but operator burden increases because manual intervention is still required
Solution Approach 1:
The bed device performs self-protection by automatically limiting its own operations based on detected patient positions. The limitation table enables the system to autonomously determine when to prohibit certain operations without requiring operator intervention, thus reducing operator burden while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors patient position through detectors and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust operation limitations. The limitation table stores pre-defined rules that are automatically applied based on real-time position data, creating a closed-loop safety mechanism that responds to patient status changes.
2Reliability
If operator constantly monitors patient position to prevent risks, then patient safety is improved, but operator attention requirement increases making the task heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The limitation table pre-stores operation prohibition information for various hazardous patient positions and operation combinations. This preliminary preparation allows the system to automatically determine appropriate limitations without requiring real-time operator analysis or decision-making, thereby reducing the cognitive burden on operators.
Solution Approach 2:
The bed device autonomously monitors its own operational state and patient position, then automatically applies appropriate limitations based on the limitation table. This self-monitoring and self-regulation capability eliminates the need for constant operator vigilance while maintaining high safety standards.
3Adaptability or versatility
If unskilled operators (family members) operate the bed device, then home care accessibility is improved, but safety risk increases due to lack of control knowledge
Solution Approach 1:
The bed device provides built-in protective functionality that operates independently of operator expertise. The limitation table automatically prevents hazardous operations regardless of who is controlling the device, enabling family members to safely operate the bed without requiring specialized training or knowledge of control nuances.
Solution Approach 2:
The limitation table pre-prohibits operations that would create hazardous situations, acting as a preemptive safety barrier. This preliminary anti-action approach blocks potentially dangerous operations before they can occur, protecting patients even when operated by unskilled individuals who may not understand the risks.
Data Source
AI summary
A bed device includes: an operation section that receives an operation input; a controller that controls a movement of the bed in accordance with the operation input; a detector that detects a position of a patient on the bed; and, a limitation table that stores a limitation area set on the bed in association with a limitation content, wherein when the position of the patient detected by the detector is included in the limitation area, the limitation content is read out from the limitation table so as to control the controller in accordance with the limitation content. With this configuration, it is possible to provide a higher safety bed device which can not only notify the danger based on the bed movement but also limit the movement of the bed in accordance with the status of the patient or the bed device.