Patient Support Height Adjustment with Stored Actuator State
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern hospital beds require caregivers to manually adjust patient support surfaces to ideal heights for egress and ingress, which is time-consuming and relies on judgment, lacking efficiency and ease of use.
Innovation Solution
A system with height adjustment actuators and a controller that stores a desired height setting, allowing for automatic return to that height with a single user input, reducing caregiver effort and providing visual or tactile confirmation of reaching the ideal height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual height adjustment is used, then device complexity is reduced, but time consumption and effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by storing the ideal height setting in memory before the actual adjustment is needed. When bed egress or ingress is required, the controller automatically retrieves the stored actuator state and operates the height adjustment actuators to return to that pre-stored position, eliminating the need for manual adjustment each time.
Solution Approach 2:
The bed system performs self-service by automatically adjusting its own height without requiring continuous caregiver intervention. The controller monitors user inputs, stores the ideal height state, and autonomously operates the actuators to return to the stored state, making the system self-regulating and reducing caregiver effort.
2Ease of operation
If automatic height return is implemented, then ease of operation improves, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring the state of the height adjustment actuators and using this information to determine when the ideal height has been reached. The controller provides feedback to the caregiver through indicators when the stored actuator state is achieved, ensuring precise positioning without requiring manual judgment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple height settings are stored, then adaptability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by using a single stored actuator state to represent the ideal height for multiple different scenarios (bed egress, bed ingress, patient transfer). The same memory location and control logic serve multiple functions, allowing the system to adapt to different patient sizes and situations without requiring separate stored settings for each scenario.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for adjusting the height of a patient support surface on a bed includes one or more height adjustment actuators operable to adjust a height of the patient support surface above a floor surface; a controller connected to the one or more height adjustment actuators, the controller including a memory; and one or more user interface units connected to the controller, wherein the controller is configured to record as a stored actuator state a current state of the one or more height adjustment actuators in the memory in response to a first input signal from the one or more interface units, and is configured to operate the one or more height adjustment actuators to automatically return them to the stored actuator state in response to a second input signal from the one or more interface units. Alternatively, or in addition, the controller may be configured to provide an indication to a user when the one or more height adjustment actuators have returned to the stored actuator state during a subsequent height adjustment operation.