JPH0238224B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention aims to prevent bedsores in patients lying on a bed by filling a bed tank with a solid particle medium so as to reduce the contact pressure between the patient and the bed. This invention relates to an improvement in a medical bed in which a patient is supported in a floating state by fluidizing a particulate medium by blowing compressed air into the bed from below.

First, the structure and operating principle of a conventional bed of this type will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
In the figure, 1 indicates a bed and 2 indicates a patient lying on the bed. The bed 1 includes a bed tank 3 that is large enough to hold the patient 2, and a bed tank 3 with a specific gravity of 2 to 2, for example, made of glass fine particles whose surface is coated with resin.
3. A solid particle medium 4 filled in the bed tank, which is ceramic beads with a particle size of about 50 to 150μ, and a breathable sheet with a mesh having a particle size finer than that of the solid particle medium 4, which is placed over the top surface of the bed tank 1. 5, a plenum chamber 6 provided on the bottom side of the bed tank 3,
A porous air diffusion plate 7 interposed at the boundary between the plenum chamber 6 and the bed tank 3, and a bed frame 8
An air compressor 9 housed in the plenum chamber, a conduit 10 for supplying compressed air connected between the compressor 9 and the plenum chamber 6, and a radiator 11 installed in the middle of the conduit 10 are combined. It consists of a compressed air blowing mechanism, etc.

In this configuration, when the compressor 9 is stopped, the particulate medium 4 is in a stationary state, giving the patient 2 lying on the bed the feeling of lying on sand. When the compressor 9 is operated from this stopped state and compressed air is blown into the bed tank 3 from below through the plenum chamber 6 and the air diffusion plate 7, the compressed air is distributed to every corner of the bed tank and the particle media 4 are It is fluidized by a stream of compressed air to form a buoyant state. In this state, the apparent specific gravity of the particulate medium 4 decreases to about 1.1 to 1.2, and the patient lying on it is supported in a floating state. In such a state, the contact pressure between the patient 2 and the patient 2 becomes extremely small, and the patient feels as if he or she is floating in the air. Note that the compressed air is continuously forced in, and the air that has passed through the bed tank is transmitted through the sheets 5 and diffused into the room. In addition, since the air discharged from the compressor 9 rises by about 10 to 20 degrees during the compression stroke,
If this high-temperature air is blown directly onto the patient 2, there is a risk that it will interfere with the treatment, and for this reason, the conduit 10
The above-mentioned heat radiator 11 is installed in the middle.

Such medical beds can improve the therapeutic effect of, for example, patients who have suffered burns by constantly blowing air while suppressing the contact pressure to the affected area, and can also improve the therapeutic effect of patients who are unable to move on their own for long periods of time. For critically ill patients receiving medical treatment, it is effective in preventing pressure sores by reducing contact pressure with the bed. Conversely, for a patient with a fracture, by once creating a fluid state and then stopping the compressor operation, the patient is fixed on the bed while being somewhat submerged in the particle medium, similar to being fitted with a cast. It can also provide therapeutic effects.

Incidentally, since this medical bed is different from a normal bed covered with mats in terms other than the above-mentioned therapeutic function, it is inevitable that it will give a sense of discomfort to the patient. Particularly when using the bed for a long period of time, some patients may feel nervous or uncomfortable and may not be able to sleep soundly. For this reason, in the past, a method called an intermittent operation method was adopted in which the compressor was repeatedly started and stopped periodically to relieve the patient's tension. If it is necessary to maintain the contact pressure at a low value at all times, this intermittent operation method is not necessarily preferable from the viewpoint of treatment. In this regard, if the affected area is limited to one part of the body, as is the case with most patients, it is possible to partially fluidize the particle medium in the area of the bed that is in contact with the affected area and make it buoyant. If this range can be brought to a resting state, it will be possible to eliminate the tension and discomfort caused to the patient without hindrance to treatment.

This invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to improve the conventional treatment bed described above, and to float and support only the part of the patient's body where the affected area is located, or conversely, to support the patient's body in a floating manner. The solid particle medium is fluidized so that one part of the bed can be used in different operating conditions depending on the location of the patient's affected area, such as by fixing only one part of the bed while floating and supporting other parts of the body. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a medical bed for use in medical facilities.

According to the present invention, the plenum chamber provided at the bottom of the bed tank is divided into a plurality of blocks corresponding to the positions of the head, chest, lumbar region, and legs of a patient lying on the bed, respectively. This is also achieved by configuring the compressed air supply path leading to each block to be provided with a control means, for example, an on-off valve, for selectively controlling the blowing of compressed air into each block.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 3, the plenum chamber 6 provided on the bottom side of the bed tank 3 according to the present invention is connected to an inner partition plate 1.
2 and partitioned into a plurality of blocks indicated by symbols ~. Each of the blocks is defined corresponding to a longitudinal section of the bed corresponding to, for example, the head, chest, waist, and legs of the patient 2 lying on the bed. In addition, taking into consideration individual differences in patient height, it is preferable to set the ratio of each block to the bed length to be approximately 0.2:0.2:0.2:0.4. Furthermore, the air conduit 10 on the discharge side of the compressor 9 branches in the middle, and each branch conduit 10 to
10 is piped to open at the bottom of each block of the plenum chamber 6. In addition, on-off valves 13I-13 as compressed air blowing control means are inserted in each branch conduit 10-10, respectively. The on-off valves 13 to 13 are manual valves or electromagnetic valves that operate based on commands given to a control panel.

In the above configuration, if the compressor 9 is now operated and all the on-off valves 13 to 13 are turned on, the particle medium will be fluidized in the entire area of the bed tank 3.
On the other hand, if only the on-off valve 13 is turned on and the others are turned off, compressed air is blown into the bed tank 3 above only through the block in the plenum chamber 6, and compressed air is not blown into the other blocks. Therefore, in the bed 3, the particulate medium is fluidized only in the zone ', and remains stationary in the other zones '-'. In this state, the range of fluidization of the particulate medium extends from the zone ``to some extent'', and at the boundary of the zone, it changes steplessly from the fluidized state to the stationary state. Therefore, for example, for a patient with a burn on the leg, the on-off valve 13
remains on at all times, and other on-off valves 13 to 13
By periodically turning on and off the device to perform intermittent operation, it is possible to constantly support the affected area in a floating state, relieve the patient's tension and anxiety, and improve comfort. Furthermore, for patients with fractures, the area corresponding to the affected area that needs to be immobilized is submerged into a particle medium to remain stationary, while the area corresponding to other body parts is fluidized and supported with a soft touch. You can also do it like this. In addition, various combinations of states for each block are possible by selectively controlling the on-off valves. Although the illustrated example shows an example in which the plenum chamber is partitioned into four blocks along the longitudinal direction, it may be further partitioned into left and right blocks if necessary.

As described above, according to the present invention, the bed can be provided with multiple functions so that fluidization and non-fluidization of particulate media can be selectively controlled depending on the patient's symptoms. In this way, it is possible to provide a medical bed with high practical value that can improve comfort in addition to therapeutic effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are respectively a perspective view of the external appearance of a conventional medical bed and a direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.
The sectional view, FIG. 3, is an exploded configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. 2...patient, 3...bed tank, 4...solid particle medium, 5...sheet, 6...plenum room, 7...
Air diffusion plate, 9... Air compressor, 10...
Air conduit, 10-10...Branch conduit, 13
~13...Opening/closing valve as control means, 1~...
...block in the plenum room.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Cover the top of the bed tank filled with solid particle media with a breathable sheet, and fluidize the solid particulate media by sucking compressed air into the bed tank through a plenum chamber provided on the bottom side of the bed tank. In a medical bed that supports a patient lying on a sheet in a floating state, the plenum chamber is divided into a plurality of blocks, and each block in the plenum chamber is connected to one compressor for suctioning compressed air. 1. A medical bed for use in fluidizing a solid particle medium, characterized in that air conduits are connected in branch pipes, and open/close valves that are selectively controlled to open and close are inserted in each branch conduit.