Support apparatus which cradles a body portion for application of localized cooling to high contact-pressure body surface areas
First Claim
1. An apparatus for supporting at least a portion of a human or animal body ("body portion"), while cooling a weight-bearing area of the body portion, the apparatus comprising:
- a weight-bearing article;
a surface on the article;
the surface including a shaped portion corresponding to a shape of the body portion for fitting to the body portion; and
at least one cooler positioned to cool a zone of the shaped portion that receives pressure exceeding 20 Torr from a weight-bearing area of the body portion.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A weight-bearing apparatus such as a cushion, prosthetic device or bed mattress includes a support surface having a shaped or sculpted portion that conforms to the shape of a body portion being supported. The shaped portion fits to the body portion, thereby to position the body portion so as to situate one or more weight-bearing parts of the body portion over specific zones of the support surface that are cooled below normal body temperature. The reduced temperature applied to the zones of the support surface removes heat from the weight-bearing areas, thereby reducing, the risk of injury to tissue in those areas.
87 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for supporting at least a portion of a human or animal body ("body portion"), while cooling a weight-bearing area of the body portion, the apparatus comprising:
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a weight-bearing article; a surface on the article; the surface including a shaped portion corresponding to a shape of the body portion for fitting to the body portion; and at least one cooler positioned to cool a zone of the shaped portion that receives pressure exceeding 20 Torr from a weight-bearing area of the body portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A cushion for supporting at least a portion of a human or animal body ("body portion"), comprising:
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a surface; the surface including a means for cradling the body portion on the surface; and means for cooling a zone of the surface that receives pressure exceeding 20 Torr from a weight-bearing area of the body portion. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for supporting a body on a weight-bearing article that includes a surface with a shaped portion that corresponds to a shape of a portion of the body, while selectively cooling areas of the body in contact with the article, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a portion of the body ("body portion") in the shaped portion of the surface; and cooling one or more zones of the shaped portion of the surface, each zone receiving pressure exceeding 20 Torr from a weight-bearing area of the body portion.
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Specification