Repositioning Bladder Elevation Gradient for Bed Occupant Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hospital beds lack effective systems to preposition occupants laterally and longitudinally before initiating treatments like Continuous Lateral Rotation Therapy (CLRT) and Lateral Pressure Relief, as inflation of turn assist bladders can elevate rather than tilt mispositioned patients, reducing the effectiveness of these therapies.
Innovation Solution
A method and system utilizing inflatable repositioning bladders and a sensor array controlled by a microprocessor to establish an elevation gradient, guiding the occupant to a target position, ensuring proper alignment and distribution of load for effective lateral and longitudinal repositioning before therapeutic treatments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If turn assist bladders are inflated to tilt the occupant, then lateral rotation therapy can be applied, but the occupant must be laterally centered on the mattress first which requires additional positioning systems
Solution Approach 1:
The mattress is divided into multiple independently controllable air cells arranged in longitudinal rows. Each cell can be inflated or deflated independently to create localized elevation gradients, enabling precise control over occupant positioning without requiring complex external positioning systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The air cells serve multiple functions: they provide support during normal use, create elevation gradients for lateral repositioning, and enable both CLRT and LPR therapies. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate positioning devices while maintaining therapy effectiveness.
2Ease of operation
If the bed lacks prepositioning capability, then the system remains simple, but inflation of turn assist bladders may simply elevate the occupant rather than turn or tilt him
Solution Approach 1:
Before initiating turn assist or therapeutic bladders, the system first evaluates occupant position using sensors and automatically inflates appropriate air cells to establish the correct elevation gradient. This preliminary positioning action ensures that subsequent bladder inflation produces the desired turning effect rather than simple elevation.
Solution Approach 2:
Position sensors continuously monitor occupant location and provide feedback to the control system. The controller uses this feedback to determine when prepositioning is complete and to adjust bladder inflation sequences, ensuring effective repositioning while maintaining simple operation through automated control.
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 ensures that patients are correctly positioned for therapies like CLRT and LPR, enhancing the effectiveness of these treatments by ensuring the occupant's center of gravity is aligned with the bed's centerline, thereby improving the efficacy of lateral rotations and preventing decubitus ulcers.
Implementation Method 1
establishing an elevation gradient having a direction, magnitude and position compatible with moving the occupant from the existing occupant position to the target position
Data Source
AI summary
A method of positioning an occupant (98) of a bed includes identifying (204) the presence of a discrepancy between an existing occupant position and a target occupant position, and establishing (206) an elevation gradient having a direction, magnitude and position compatible with moving the occupant from the existing occupant position to the target position. In one variant of the method the step of establishing an elevation gradient is one substep of a preordained sequence of bladder inflations and deflations. In another variant, the method includes determining (210) if the discrepancy has been corrected and responding to any noncorrection of the discrepancy.