Optimization of the operation of a patient-support apparatus based on patient response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patient-support apparatuses, such as hospital beds, face challenges in minimizing patient migration towards the foot end, which requires frequent repositioning by caregivers, and existing systems lack efficient adaptive mechanisms to optimize patient comfort and mobility.
Innovation Solution
A patient-support apparatus equipped with inflatable bladders, pressure sensors, and a controller that adjusts air pressures based on patient-specific profiles, calculates target pressures, and updates profiles to minimize migration, optimize comfort, and enhance mobility by using a processor, timer, and memory device to iteratively adjust bladder pressures and deck configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If caregivers manually reposition patients frequently, then patient migration is reduced, but labor intensity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by using pressure sensors to automatically detect patient position and migration, then autonomously adjusts bladder pressures to reposition the patient without caregiver intervention. The controller continuously monitors pressure data and modifies air pressure in specific bladders to propel the patient toward the head end, making the repositioning function self-operating.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback control by continuously monitoring pressure sensor data from the mattress bladders, comparing actual patient position against target position, and automatically adjusting bladder pressures in response to detected migration. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the system to respond dynamically to patient movement and maintain optimal positioning.
2Stability of the object's composition
If bladder pressures are increased to prevent migration, then patient stability improves, but patient comfort deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by selectively adjusting the pressure in specific bladders located at different positions along the mattress. Instead of uniformly increasing pressure across all bladders, the controller identifies which specific bladders need pressure adjustment based on sensor data, and modifies only those local regions to achieve the desired repositioning effect while maintaining comfort in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamics by continuously varying bladder pressures in response to real-time patient movement detection. Rather than maintaining static high pressures to prevent migration, the system dynamically adjusts pressure levels and distribution based on current patient position and migration tendency, allowing pressures to be high only when and where needed for migration prevention.
3Reliability
If the system continuously monitors and adjusts bladder pressures, then patient outcome optimization improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies segmentation by dividing the mattress into multiple independent bladder zones, each with its own pressure control. This segmentation allows the complex control function to be distributed across multiple simple, identical modules (bladders controlled by manifold valves), making the overall system manageable through modular repetition rather than a single complex control mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements universality by using the same pressure sensor array, manifold, and control algorithm for multiple functions: detecting patient position, determining migration tendency, calculating target pressures, and executing repositioning. This multi-functional use of identical components reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate specialized systems for each function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces patient migration, optimizes comfort, and enhances mobility by dynamically adjusting air pressures and deck configurations based on real-time data, improving caregiver efficiency and patient outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
The plurality of pressure sensors are in fluid communication with the plurality of bladders and produce pressure signals indicative of air pressure within each of the plurality of bladders
Implementation Method 2
The manifold is in communication with the source of pressurized air and with the plurality of bladders. The manifold is also configured to control the flow of air between the source of pressurized air and the plurality of bladders
Implementation Method 3
Some mattresses may include inflatable bladders for supporting patients lying on the support surfaces at different pressures
Data Source
AI summary
A patient-support apparatus according the present disclosure has a head end and a foot end. The patient-support apparatus includes a source of pressurized air, a plurality of bladders, a manifold, a plurality of pressure sensors, and a controller. The controller includes a processor, a timer, and a memory device. The processor configured to execute instructions from the memory so that the processor retrieves a baseline patient-specific profile from the memory, calculates a first patient outcome corresponding to an amount of migration of a patient toward the foot end of the bed over time, updates the baseline patient-specific profile to include the first patient outcome, calculates a set of operating parameters based on the updated patient-specific profile, the set of operating parameters including a set of target pressures for the plurality of bladders, and adjusts the pressures in the bladders to the target pressures.