Patient support having real time pressure control

• US 20060075559A1
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Lokhorst, David, Skinner, Andrew F., Soltani, Sohrab, Sleva, Michael Z., Mueller, Jonathan H., Clarke, Colin, Stacy, Richard B., Petrosenko, Robert, Branson, Gregory W., Bobey, John A., Yermaneni, Mayur, Stevens, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,883,478 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 5/615
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/34 for pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/42 for inclination
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/05769 with inflatable chambers

Abstract

A patient support having real time pressure control. The patient support includes a plurality of sensors located beneath a bladder including a plurality of upright cylindrical elements. The pressure within the bladder is controlled based on the pressure or force sensed by the plurality of sensors.

Claims

1. A pressure adjustable mattress system, comprising:

a plurality of air bladders;

a plurality of force sensors, each of the plurality of pressure sensors subtending at least one of the plurality of air bladders to sense a force transmitted through the subtended air bladder; and

a plurality of outputs, to transmit a signal representative of a sensed force, each of the plurality of outputs coupled to at least one of the plurality of force sensors.

2. The pressure adjustable mattress of claim 1, wherein the plurality of force sensors comprise a light responsive device disposed in a compressible medium.

3. The pressure adjustable mattress of claim 2, further comprising a converter operatively coupled to each of the plurality of outputs, the converter including a digitizer to digitize the signal representative of the sensed force, and a filter, to filter the signal representative of the sensed force.

4. A method for adjusting the pressure of a pressure adjustable mattress to a pressure value, the mattress including a plurality of force sensors wherein each of the plurality of force sensors generates a force signal representative of a sensed force transmitted through the pressure adjustable mattress comprising:

ordering the force signals in a predetermined order;

calculating an indicator signal as a function of the ordered force signals;

comparing the indicator signal to the predetermined value to generate a correction signal; and

adjusting the pressure of the pressure adjustable mattress based on the correction signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the ordering step comprises ordering the force signals in a predetermined order by reading the force signals in a predetermined sequence.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the calculating step comprises calculating an indicator signal as a function of the ordered force signals by detecting a bottoming-out trend.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the calculating step comprises calculating the indicator signal as a function of a standard deviation of the generated force signals.

8. In a pressure adjustable support, including a bladder to support a patient and having a pressure therein, a sensor subtending the bladder to sense a force transmitted through the bladder and generating a signal responsive to the sensed force, a method of comprising the steps of:

detecting a position of the patient on the bladder with the sensor;

detecting movement of the patient on the bladder with the sensor; and

adjusting the pressure within the bladder responsive to the detected position and the detected movement of the patient.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of pressurizing the bladder to an initial pressure.

10. The method of claim 9, the step of adjusting the pressure including reducing the initial pressure to a predetermined pressure.

11. The method of claim 10, the step of adjusting the pressure including reducing the predetermined pressure to a pressure determined according to the detected position of the patient and the detected movement of the patient.

12. The method of claim 11, the step of detecting the position of the patient including detecting a right side lying position and a left side lying position.

13. The method of claim 8, the step of detecting the movement of the patient step including detecting the patient in a sitting position.

14. The method of claim 13, the step of adjusting the pressure including adjusting the pressure within the bladder to a pressure sufficient for a patient in a sitting position.

15. In a pressure adjustable support, including a bladder assembly having a plurality of vertical bladders, to support a patient, a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of sensors subtending at least one of the vertical bladders to sense a force transmitted through the vertical bladders, a method of comprising the steps of:

detecting a position of the patient on the plurality of vertical bladders with the plurality of sensors;

detecting movement of the patient on the plurality of vertical bladders with the plurality of sensors; and

adjusting the pressure within the bladder responsive to the detected position and the detected movement of the patient.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of generating a plurality of signals responsive to the sensed force, each of the plurality of signals generated by one of the plurality of sensors.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising reading each of the plurality of signals generated by each of the plurality of sensors in a predetermined order.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising applying a mathematical function to the plurality of signals to determine an indicator signal to indicate a bladder pressure.

19. The method of claim 18, the step of reading each of the plurality of signals includes reading each of the plurality of signals over a predetermined time period.

20. The method of claim 19, the step of applying a mathematical function to each of the plurality of signals includes determining the standard deviation divided by the average.