Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
  • A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
  • A61G7/057—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor
  • A61G7/05738—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor with fluid-like particles, e.g. sand, mud, seeds, gel, beads
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G5/00—Chairs or personal conveyances specially adapted for patients or disabled persons, e.g. wheelchairs
  • A61G5/10—Parts, details or accessories
  • A61G5/1043—Cushions specially adapted for wheelchairs
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
  • A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
  • A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
  • A61G7/057—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor
  • A61G7/05715—Arrangements for preventing bed-sores or for supporting patients with burns, e.g. mattresses specially adapted therefor with modular blocks, or inserts, with layers of different material

Definitions

• This invention relates to cushioning pads, mattresses, and seats for supporting patients and others who must spend long periods in prone or seated positions. More particularly, the invention relates to a system for variably adjusting the distribution of sup porting force imposed over a support area of a person's body by a gel-filled cushioning device so as to reduce the incidence of decubitus ulcers (bed sores) .
• a substantial number of mattresses and mattress pads have been developed in the past having as their objective the reduction of the incidence of decu ⁇ bitus ulcers in patients and others who must spend long periods in bed.
• These prior ' devices comprise flexible enclosures containing various cushioning materials such as air, liquid, gel, foam or granular materials as dis closed, for example, in U.S. patents Nos.
• Cushioning devices of the type shown in U.S. patents Nos. 4,163,297 and 4,628,55" further include a plurality of small pillow-like ele ⁇ ments or inserts to permit the support surface cor. figuration to be varied by the addition or removal of the pillow elements or inserts as the case may be, thereby enabling some adjustability of the distribution of the supportive force over the person's body. How ⁇ ever, only adjustability in relatively large increments is provided by the addition or subtraction of such pillow elements or inserts, providing only a gross approximation of the optimum distribution of supporting force required by any particular patient depending on his individual weight, body shape, and posture required by his particular medical condition.
• mattresses have been proposed having separate internal cells which are selectively inflatable and deflatable by connection with a set of patient-operated or automatically-operated valves which alternatively supply pressurized air to, or exhaust air from, the individual cells. While such a system pro ⁇ vides infinitely-adjustable variability, as opposed to variability by gross increments, valving and controls therefor make the system expensive. More important, such a system of inflation and deflation is practical only if employed with an air-filled mattress where the individual compartments can thus be easily filled from, and exhausted into, the surrounding air. Unfortunate ⁇ ly, air-filled mattresses do not produce the lowest skin-surface pressures.
• a gel- containing cushioning device having separate co part- ments selectively capable of receiving or exhausting gel in infinitely variable increments to obtain infini ⁇ tely variable adjustability of the distribution of sup ⁇ porting force on a person's body, together with an inexpensive external system for selectively receiving or delivering the gel as needed.
• the present invention satisfies the foregoing need by providing a cushioning device, such as a mattress, mattress pad, seat cushion, or the li ' e, in the form of a flexible enclosure having multiple, flex ⁇ ible, gel-containing compartments structurally inter ⁇ connected with one another for containing a flowable gel, each underlying a different portion of a major supporting surface for supporting a person's body.
• the enclosure may be of a unitary type having compartments permanently interconnected with one another or, alter ⁇ natively, of a modular type composed of detachably interconnected compartments.
• a plurality of selec- tively openable and closable ports each communicating between the interior of a respective compartment and the exterior thereof, enable the flow of gel into and out of the respective compa tments.
• An exterior gel container separate from the compartments, has an aper- ture for matingly and sealingly coupling with the ports so that it can selectively deliver gel to or receive gel from each of the compartments to variably adjust the distribution of supportive force exerted by the major supporting surface against the user's body.
• the exterior gel container becomes a highly portable and easily handled accessory to the cushioning device, serving as a convenient reservoir into which excess gel may be exhausted from a particular compart ⁇ ment underlying a portion of the supporting surface where pressure is to be reduced, or as a reservoir from which additional gel may be injected into a compartment underlying a portion of the supporting surface where pressure is to be increased to compensate for decreased pressure elsewhere.
• the gel container also includes means for forcing the gel to flow into the respective compartments, which could conceivably be a pump but, for greater economy, preferably constitutes merely a variable-volume feature of the gel container itself.
• flexibly movable containment walls may be folded or rolled to decrease the volume of the gel con- tainer and thereby force the flowable gel into a respective compartment.
• the ports by which gel is injected into or exhausted from each compartment preferably include one- way checkvalves which permit the gel to flow into the compartment but prevent its exhaust therefrom unless mechanically opened by engagement with a valve-opening member associated with the gel container.
• a valve-opening member associated with the gel container.
• a small amount of a highly water-absorbent, gel-forming solid is provided inside of each gel-containing com- partment in a predetermined quantity insufficient, by itself, to provide support but sufficient, upon the addition of a greater quantity of water, to form a sup ⁇ porting gel filling within the compartment.
• the user upon placing the device in service, need merely inject a predetermined quantity of water into the compartment to form the gel. This greatly facilitates the initial shipping of the system by making it compact, and also simplifies the initial placing into service of the system. After the initial injection of water and the mixing thereof with the gel- forming solid, the gel content of each compartment can be adjusted as described previously.
• FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary embodi ⁇ ment of a mattress pad constructed in accordance with the present invention, with such pad joined at one edge to a second pad shown partially.
• FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing a junction separating respective gel-containing compartments.
• FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1, showing the joinder of the pair of pads.
• FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1, showing a front view of an exemplary port by which a flowable gel may be injected into, or extracted from, a compartment of the pad.
• FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the port taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.
• FIG. 6 is a top view of an exemplary exterior gel container usable in conjunction with the mattress pad of FIG. 1.
• FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the port of FIG. 4 showing its operative coupling with the exterior gel container of FIG. 6.
• FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alter ⁇ native embodiment of a mattress pad constructed in accordance with the present invention, wherein the pad is of modular construction consisting of multiple detachably interconnected gel-containing compartments.
• FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the modular compartments of the mattress pad of FIG. 8.
• FIG. 10 is a schematic side view showing how the individual compartments of the mattress pad of FIG. 8 are detachably interconnected.
• FIG. 11 is an enlarged exploded view of an alternative embodiment of a port by which a flowable gel may be injected into or extracted from a compart- ment of the mattress pad of FIG. 8.
• an exemplary mattress pad indicated generally as 10 comprises a series of flexible compartments 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d encapsulating a gel.
• the mattress pad may be of single-bed width and length for use alone on a single bed or, in conjunction with a second mating gel-filled mattress pad 10a of similar construction, for use on a king-size bed.
• the pad 10 could be of one-half double bed width or one-half queen bed width and equal to full bed length.
• Straps such as 12 secure the corners of the pad around the bottoms of the underlying corners of a conventional mattress, the straps such as 12a at the juncture of the two pads simply lying loose if not needed.
• the top flexible panel 14 of the pad 10, com ⁇ posed of the flexible tops of the compartments 2Ca, 20b, 20c and 20d , together with the flexible compart- ent sidewalls 15, is preferably constructed of light, heat-formed vinyl approximately 0.02 inches thick coated on its exterior with a fabric or foam rubber, although other fluid-impervious flexible materials can also be used.
• the top panel 14 comprises the major supporting surface for distributing force over a sup ⁇ port area of the user's body.
• a bottom panel 16 of the same or similar material, but somewhat thicker (e.g. 0.025 inches thick) is glued or welded to margins 15a at the bottoms of the sidewalls 15 in a fluid- impervious manner.
• compartments 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d are a series of interior compartment sidewalls 15 welded or glued in a fluid-impervious manner to the bottom panel 16 along junctions 18 (FIGS. 1 and 2) .
• each of the compartments 20a, 20b, 20c and 20d respectively, underlies a different portion of the major flexible surface 14 of the pad 10 and is isolated by the interior sidewalls 15 from any other compartment. This prevents the transfer of gel portions, such as 22c and 22d, respectively (FIG. 2) , from one compartment to another.
• pads such as 10 and 10a may be joined together by mating Velcro'" strips 24a, 24b affixed to the respective pads, or by any other suitable means.
• Additional mating Velcro'" strips 24c and 24d may optionally be provided so that all pads such as 10 and 10a may be of identical construction and yet always be capable of joinder.
• Each compartment has a respective selectively openable and closable port 26a, 26b, 26c or 26d mounted therein through which the gel can be selec ⁇ tively injected into or extracted from the respective compartments separately.
• the gel employed is a stable, flowable gel of any suitable known type, such as a r.ixture of methyl cellulose, water, preservative, coloring and bittering agent or, alternatively, a silicone gel.
• each port preferably compri ⁇ ses a body 27 glued between the sidewall margin 15a and the bottom panel 16, although mounting of the ports in the sidewalls or bottom panel themselves is per ⁇ missible.
• Each port body 27 has a threaded aperture 28 therein into which a sealing plug 30 may be screwed when the port is not in use.
• a one-way checkvalve in the form of a flat- tened soft vinyl or rubber tube 32 is attached, such tube normally assuming the collapsed condition shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 which prevents gel from escaping through the port from inside the compartment when the plug 30 is removed.
• FIG. 6 shows an exemplary flexible vinyl gel container bottle 34 having a threaded spout 36 sealed by a threaded cap 38.
• the cap 38 when the cap 38 is removed preparatory to use of the gel container 34, the cap may be replaced by an internally and externally-threaded nozzle 40 which screws onto the spout 36 and is in turn screwed into the port body 27 after the plug 30 has been removed.
• the nozzle 40 has sufficient length that its end 40a forces the sides of the normally collapsed tube 32 apart so as to permit the flow of gel through the port.
• the nozzle 40 When sufficient gel has been extracted from the compartment, the nozzle 40 is unscrewed from the port body 27 and, as it is withdrawn, the checkvalve tube 32 automatically reclo- s ⁇ s to prevent any spillage. Thereafter the plug 30 may be reinserted in the port.
• the gel container 34 is connected to the port as shown in FIG. 7 and its volume gradually decreased by squeezing, folding or rolling its flexible containment walls so as to force gel through the nozzle 40 into the compartment. After the desired amount of gel has been added, the nozzle is withdrawn in the manner previously described and the plug 30 reinserted in the port.
• gel may be trans ⁇ ferred from one compartment to another, but only in a controlled, external manner rather than in an uncontrolled, internal manner, and without necessarily preserving a constant mass of gel within the pad 10.
• the distribution of supporting force against the user's body may be adjusted in an infini ⁇ tely variable, controlled manner to suit each user's individual needs.
• the pad 10 it is also within the scope of the invention to equip the pad 10 with an electrically heated subpad , or with a cooled subpad, for heating or cooling the entire unit.
• an electrically heated subpad or with a cooled subpad, for heating or cooling the entire unit.
• separate heating or cooling subpads such as 42a, 42b (FIG. 2) or other separate internal or external heaters or coolers are provided for the separate compartments, heating or cooling of selected compartments individually for the treatment of localized arthritic conditions or injuries is possible.
• FIGS. 8-11 depict an alternative embodiment of a mattress pad constructed in accordance with the present invention.
• a mattress pad indicated generally as 50 in FIG. 8 comprises a plurality of modular flex- ible gel-containing compartments 52 detachably con- nected to one another.
• Each compartment 52 may be constructed of the same materials previously specified for the mattress pad 10.
• a margin 54 having an upwardly-facing surface containing VelcroTM material 56.
• a mating downwardly-facing strip of VelcroTM 58 is mounted so that the respective compartments 52 may be detachably joined together in side-by-side relationship as shown in FIG. 10 to form the single-bed-size mattress pad 50 of FIG. 8.
• Mating VelcroTM material may similarly be placed on the transverse edges 60, 62 of each compartment 52 so that multiple mattress pad assemblies 50 can be detachably interconnected in side- by-side relation for larger bed sizes.
• Each of the compartments 52 is equipped with a port assembly 64 mounted in its bottom panel having a threaded connector 66 to which either a threaded cap 68 or a threaded connector 70a of a gel conduit 70 may be secured.
• the port assembly 64 is preferably equipped with a one-way check valve as previously described. However, in the absence of a check valve, the port assembly 64 is nevertheless usable for gel injection or withdrawal if the compartment 52 is inverted so that the port 64 faces upwardly. During such injection or withdrawal, the opposite threaded connector 70b of the conduit 70 may be connected to a gel container such as 34.
• each compartment 52 For initial filling of the gel-containing compartments 52 prior to placing them in service, it is preferable to provide each compartment 52 with a prede ⁇ termined minor quantity of a polymeric gel-forming powder such as 72 within its interior space.
• the powder is poured into the interior of each compartment 52 through the port 64 either by the user or, pre- ferably, by the manufacturer prior to shipment from the manufacturing plant. Thereafter, the user injects water into each compartment through the port 64 in a predetermined major amount which, when mixed with the powder 72, forms an initial quantity of supporting gel within the compartment.
• a highly water-absorbent, polymeric gel-forming powder material is preferred, such as a known partial sodium salt of cross-linked polypropenoic acid capable of absorbing a volume of water many times its solid volume.
• a modular gel container such as 52 having a length of 82 cm, a width of 40.5 cm, and a thickness of 5 cm
• approximately 60 ml of such gel-forming powder would be inserted into each compartment and approxima- tely 4.7 liters of water added by the user to each com ⁇ partment through the respective ports 64, after which additional gel could be injected or gel withdrawn as needed to adjust the degree of support provided by the individual compartment.
• Alternative highly-absorbent polymeric gel-forming solids suitable for this purpose could include starch-graft copolymer compositions which are well known and described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,981,100 which is incorporated herein by reference.
• starch-graft copolymer compositions which are well known and described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,981,100 which is incorporated herein by reference.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Nursing (AREA)
• Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)
• Invalid Beds And Related Equipment (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (3)

Family

ID=26825961

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (25)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1988
  • 1988-11-29 CA CA000584497A patent/CA1320595C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1988-11-30 JP JP50023789A patent/JP2579692B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1988-11-30 DE DE19883881037 patent/DE3881037T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1988-11-30 WO PCT/US1988/004222 patent/WO1989005110A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1988-11-30 EP EP19890900161 patent/EP0349620B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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