Clinical bed
First Claim
1. Clinical bed apparatus for use in diagnosing sleep disorders by non-invasively monitoring a person reclining on a bed, which apparatus includesa bed for supporting a person reclining atop the bed, said bed having at least one isolated fluid-filled zone maintained at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure,readout and recording means including a readout and recording device, and connecting means extending between said readout and recording device and said fluid-filled zone, said readout and recording means being operative to measure and record movement of a person reclining on said bed as a result of fluid pressure changes in said fluid-filled zone measured and recorded on a record by said readout and recording device, said record being of a form and sufficiently sensitive to enable sleep disorders to be diagnosed from said record.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A clinical bed system for monitoring and recording movements of a person while reclining or sleeping on a bed of the system. The bed includes an air mattress having multiple isolated air-filled zones. Attached to each of these zones is a pressure-responsive readout device which is operative to read out and record pressure changes resulting from movement of a person reclining on the air mattress.
176 Citations
11 Claims
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1. Clinical bed apparatus for use in diagnosing sleep disorders by non-invasively monitoring a person reclining on a bed, which apparatus includes
a bed for supporting a person reclining atop the bed, said bed having at least one isolated fluid-filled zone maintained at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure, readout and recording means including a readout and recording device, and connecting means extending between said readout and recording device and said fluid-filled zone, said readout and recording means being operative to measure and record movement of a person reclining on said bed as a result of fluid pressure changes in said fluid-filled zone measured and recorded on a record by said readout and recording device, said record being of a form and sufficiently sensitive to enable sleep disorders to be diagnosed from said record.
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8. A clinical apparatus for use in diagnosing sleep disorders by non-invasively monitoring a person reclining on a bed, which apparatus includes
an enclosure having at least one fluid-filled zone maintained at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, readout and recording means including a pressure-responsive readout and recording device, and connecting means extending between said readout and recording device and said fluid-filled zone, said readout and recording means being operative to measure and recording movement of a person as a result of fluid pressure changes in said fluid-filled zone measured and recorded on a record by said readout and recording device, said record being of a form and sufficiently sensitive to enable sleep disorders to be diagnosed from said record.
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9. The method of diagnosing sleep disorders by non-invasively monitoring a person while sleeping on a bed, which method comprises
at least partially supporting a person on a fluid-filled enclosure while in a reclining position on a bed, which enclosure is maintained at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure, connecting the fluid-filled enclosure to a pressure-responsive readout and recording device, and while the person is sleeping with at least a portion of the body supported on the enclosure, measuring and recording the magnitude and duration of pressure changes in said enclosure with sufficient accuracy and sensitivity to enable sleep disorders to be diagnosed from the recording.
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10. The method of diagnosing sleep disorders by non-invasively monitoring a person while sleeping on a bed, which bed includes a mattress having at least one fluid-filled zone, which zone is maintained at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure, which method comprises
supporting the sleeping person while in a reclining position on the mattress with a portion of the person'"'"'s body supported on said fluid-filled zone, connecting the fluid-filled zone of the mattress to a pressure-responsive readout and recording device, and while the person is sleeping on the mattress with at least a portion of the body supported upon the fluid-filled zone, measuring and recording the magnitude of the pressure changes of said fluid-filled zone with sufficient accuracy and sensitivity to enable sleep disorders to be diagnosed from the recording.
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11. The method of diagnosing sleep disorders by non-invasively monitoring a person while sleeping on a bed, which bed includes a mattress having at least three fluid-filled zones, which zones are maintained at a pressure substantially above atmospheric pressure, which method comprises
supporting the sleeping person while in a reclining position on the mattress with a portion of the person'"'"'s body supported on each of said fluid-filled zones, connecting each of the fluid-filled zones of the mattress to a pressure-responsive readout and recording device, and while the person is sleeping on the mattress with at least portions of the body supported upon the fluid-filled zones, measuring and recording the magnitude of the pressure changes of each of said fluid-filled zones with sufficient accuracy and sensitivity to enable sleep disorders to be diagnosed form the recording.
Specification