Systems for relieving pressure sores and methods therefor
First Claim
1. A pressure sore relief system for a hospital bed comprising:
- a plurality of pressure sensors adjacent a top surface of said hospital bed, wherein each said pressure sensor operates independently of one another for detecting changes in pressure forces applied to a particular region of said top surface of said bed and generating a feedback signal that corresponds to said detected changes in pressure forces applied to said top surface of said bed;
a system controller adapted to receive said feedback signals from said pressure sensors and generate a plurality of output signals in response to each of said feedback signals; and
a plurality of actuators in communication with said top surface of said hospital bed and being adapted to receive said output signals from said system controller, wherein each said output signal generated by said system controller is associated with one of said actuators;
wherein said system controller has an initial set-up phase when a patient is positioned atop said top surface of said bed so that a baseline, pressure threshold value is established for each of said pressure sensors for the patient, a first phase of operation during which said system controller receives said feedback signals for detecting whether the baseline, pressure threshold value for the patient has been exceeded for any of said sensors within one or more of regions of said top surface of said bed, and a second phase of operation during which said system controller transmits said output signals to said actuators within the one or more regions for vibrating said top surface of said bed within the one or more regions.
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Abstract
A pressure sore relief system includes a plurality of sensors in communication with a surface, whereby each sensor operates independently of one another for detecting a pressure level at a particular region of the surface and generating a feedback signal that corresponds to the detected pressure level, and a system controller adapted to receive the feedback signals from the sensors and generate a plurality of output signals in response to each of the feedback signals. The pressure sore relief system includes a plurality of actuators in communication with the surface and being adapted to receive the output signals from the system controller, whereby each output signal generated by the system controller is associated with one of the actuators. The actuators are adapted to selectively vibrate for minimizing the likelihood of a patient developing pressure sores. The pressure sore relief system may be positioned over a mattress or a chair.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A pressure sore relief system for a hospital bed comprising:
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a plurality of pressure sensors adjacent a top surface of said hospital bed, wherein each said pressure sensor operates independently of one another for detecting changes in pressure forces applied to a particular region of said top surface of said bed and generating a feedback signal that corresponds to said detected changes in pressure forces applied to said top surface of said bed; a system controller adapted to receive said feedback signals from said pressure sensors and generate a plurality of output signals in response to each of said feedback signals; and a plurality of actuators in communication with said top surface of said hospital bed and being adapted to receive said output signals from said system controller, wherein each said output signal generated by said system controller is associated with one of said actuators; wherein said system controller has an initial set-up phase when a patient is positioned atop said top surface of said bed so that a baseline, pressure threshold value is established for each of said pressure sensors for the patient, a first phase of operation during which said system controller receives said feedback signals for detecting whether the baseline, pressure threshold value for the patient has been exceeded for any of said sensors within one or more of regions of said top surface of said bed, and a second phase of operation during which said system controller transmits said output signals to said actuators within the one or more regions for vibrating said top surface of said bed within the one or more regions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 21, 22, 23)
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12. A pressure sore relief system comprising:
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a plurality of pressure sensors adjacent a surface adapted to support a patient, wherein each said pressure sensor operates independently of one another for detecting changes in pressure forces applied to a particular region of said surface and generating a feedback signal that corresponds to said detected changes in pressure forces applied to said surface; a system controller adapted to receive said feedback signals from said pressure sensors and generate a plurality of output signals in response to each of said feedback signals; and a plurality of actuators in communication with said surface and being adapted to receive said output signals from said system controller, wherein each said output signal generated by said system controller is associated with one of said actuators; wherein said system controller has an initial set-up phase when the patient is positioned atop said surface so that a baseline, pressure threshold value is established for each of said pressure sensors for said patient, a first phase of operation during which said system controller receives said feedback signals for detecting whether the baseline, pressure threshold value for said patient has been exceeded for any of said sensors within one or more regions of said surface, and a second phase of operation during which said system controller transmits said output signals to said actuators within the one or more regions for vibrating said surface within the one or more regions. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A pressure sore relief system comprising:
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a pad; a plurality of pressure sensors adjacent a top surface of said pad, wherein each said pressure sensor operates independently of one another for detecting changes in pressure forces applied to a particular region of said top surface of said pad and generating a feedback signal that corresponds to said detected changes in pressure forces; a system controller adapted to receive said feedback signals from said pressure sensors and generate a plurality of output signals in response to each of said feedback signals; and a plurality of actuators adjacent said top surface of said pad and being adapted to receive said output signals from said system controller, wherein each said output signal generated by said system controller is associated with one of said actuators; wherein said system controller has an initial set-up phase when a patient is positioned on said top surface of said pad so that a baseline, pressure threshold value is established for each of said pressure sensors for the patient, a first phase of operation during which said system controller receives said feedback signals for detecting whether the baseline, pressure threshold value for the patient has been exceeded for any of said sensors within one or more regions of said top surface of said pad, and a second phase of operation during which said system controller transmits said output signals to said actuators within the one or more regions for vibrating said top surface of said pad within the one or more regions. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification