Patient Support Surface Position Feedback for Turn Assist Therapy
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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 compromised efficacy due to reliance on caregiver visual assessment, which can result in improper patient alignment.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a graphical user interface (GUI) and control circuitry with sensors to determine and display the patient's position, allowing caregivers to initiate turn assist and therapy functions while providing visual feedback on improper positioning, enabling corrective action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual assessment by caregiver is used to determine patient positioning, then the system remains simple without additional sensors or interfaces, but the accuracy and reliability of patient positioning detection deteriorates
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 detect patient position objectively, while optical cameras provide visual confirmation. This substitution eliminates human error in positioning assessment and provides continuous monitoring without requiring caregiver expertise or attention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a graphical user interface as an intermediary between the sensor data and the caregiver. The GUI processes raw sensor signals and presents them in an easily interpretable visual format, bridging the gap between complex sensor technology and simple caregiver interaction. This intermediary layer maintains system simplicity from the user perspective while enabling sophisticated detection capabilities.
2Reliability
If no patient positioning feedback is provided, then the device operation remains simple, but the efficacy and safety of turn assist and therapy functions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback loop where sensors continuously monitor patient positioning and provide real-time information to the caregiver through the graphical user interface. The system alerts caregivers when patients are improperly positioned for turn assist or therapy functions, enabling corrective action. This feedback mechanism ensures therapy efficacy while maintaining operational simplicity through intuitive visual cues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary positioning verification before allowing turn assist or therapy functions to execute. The system checks patient position in advance using sensors and provides advance warning to caregivers, preventing ineffective or potentially harmful operation. This preliminary action ensures proper positioning is achieved before therapy begins, improving reliability without complicating the actual therapy delivery.
3Measurement precision
If real-time patient positioning monitoring is implemented, then patient alignment accuracy improves, but the cost and complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monitoring system into separate functional modules: pressure sensors embedded in the mattress for position detection, optical cameras for visual verification, and a graphical user interface for information presentation. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies integration and maintenance while achieving high measurement precision through multiple complementary sensing approaches.
Data Source
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AI summary
A patient support apparatus (10) includes a patient support surface (22) 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 (22). A graphical user interface (GUI) (142) is configured to receive user inputs from a caregiver to initiate the turn assist or therapy functions. The patient support apparatus (10) has control circuitry (98) coupled to the GUI (142). The GUI (142) is controlled by the control circuitry (98) to display information indicating that the patient is improperly positioned on the patient support surface (22) for either the turn assist function or the therapy function. Alternatively or additionally, the control circuitry (98) indicates that the patient is improperly positioned for raising a head section of a bed frame (20).