Patient Support Surface Position Feedback for Turn Assist
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient support apparatuses, such as hospital beds, lack effective means to ensure proper patient positioning during turn assist and therapy functions, leading to degraded efficacy due to caregiver reliance on visual assessment, which can result in improper patient alignment.
Innovation Solution
A patient support apparatus equipped with a graphical user interface (GUI) and control circuitry that uses sensors to determine patient positioning, providing visual feedback through text, pictorial representations, and color-coded icons to indicate if the patient is improperly positioned, allowing caregivers to correct the position before initiating or continuing therapy or turn assist functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If caregivers rely on visual assessment to determine patient positioning, then the operation is simple and quick, but the positioning accuracy is insufficient leading to degraded therapy efficacy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual visual assessment mechanism with an automated sensor-based detection system. Pressure sensors embedded in the mattress surface automatically detect patient position and provide objective feedback, eliminating the subjectivity and inaccuracy of visual assessment while maintaining operational simplicity through automated monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-monitoring of patient positioning through automated sensor detection and real-time feedback display. The mattress itself serves the dual function of patient support and position detection, with sensors integrated into the mattress structure to autonomously track and report patient position without requiring external monitoring equipment.
2Ease of operation
If the head section is raised to place patient in sitting position, then patient comfort is improved, but patient tends to slide down toward foot end causing improper positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback through pressure sensors that continuously monitor patient position and provide immediate information to caregivers via display interfaces. When the head section is raised and the patient slides down, the sensors detect the position change and alert the caregiver, enabling timely correction to maintain proper positioning throughout the therapy process.
3Measurement precision
If caregivers pull patient back up in bed after sliding, then patient position is corrected, but patient may be pulled too far toward head end resulting in over-correction
Solution Approach 1:
The real-time feedback system provides continuous position information during the repositioning process, allowing caregivers to make precise adjustments. The display shows the patient's current position relative to the optimal position, enabling caregivers to stop exactly when the correct position is achieved without over-correction, making the process as easy as it is accurate.
Data Source
AI summary
A patient support apparatus includes a patient support surface to support a patient. The patient support surface has at least one air bladder that is inflated and/or deflated to achieve a turn assist function and/or a therapy function of the patient support surface. A graphical user interface (GUI) is configured to receive user inputs from a caregiver to initiate the turn assist or therapy functions. The patient support apparatus has control circuitry coupled to the GUI. The GUI is controlled by the control circuitry to display information indicating that the patient is improperly positioned on the patient support surface for either the turn assist function or the therapy function. Alternatively or additionally, the control circuitry indicates that the patient is improperly positioned for raising a head section of a bed frame.