WO2021250446A1

WO2021250446A1 - Inflatable assist device

Info

Publication number: WO2021250446A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/055466
Authority: WO
Inventors: Iden Shams
Original assignee: Gbuk Group Limited
Priority date: 2020-06-10
Filing date: 2020-06-10
Publication date: 2021-12-16

Abstract

Patients that are confined to bed, either long term or short term, may suffer from a series of comorbidities including poor blood circulation and pressure ulcers. Unaided manual turning to the prone position requires multiple members of the care team, taking them away from other duties as well as potentially resulting in back injury for those members of staff because of poor posture. A number of patient turning aids are available on the market to help staff avoid these issues and reduce the numbers of staff required at any one time to move a patient. This invention considers further the weight-bearing points of the individual patient that is lying in the bed and the amount of air sac inflation (energy and work) that is wasted by inflating a single longitudinal air sac or multiple connected air sacs that run the entire length of the patient.

Description

INFLATABLE ASSIST DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Patients that are confined to bed, either long term or short term, may suffer from a series of comorbidities including poor blood circulation and pressure ulcers. Unaided manual turning to the prone position requires multiple members of the care team, taking them away from other duties as well as potentially resulting in back injury for those members of staff because of poor posture. Injury can result because the healthcare worker may be leaning, stretching and bearing the weight of the patient multiple times in a single day. Back injury to staff in the healthcare system is one of the major causes of absence. A number of patient turning aids are available on the market to help staff avoid these issues and reduce the numbers of staff required at any one time to move a patient. These aids take many forms including mechanical rolling hospital beds, turn sheets, electrically powered rolling sheets that can be retro-fitted to hospital beds.

GB946831 and US3485240 disclose a turning mattress that consists of two elongated inflatable tubes connected longitudinally that lie on either side of the patient. Differential inflation and deflation of each of the bags results in turning the patient in the desired direction. A more elaborate system is described in GB958651. US3526908 describes another type of inflatable turning device wherein the inflatable wedge consists of multiple layers of inflatable bladders situated on top of each other to provide a more gradual and controlled turning motion. US5774917 presents a fully segmented turning mattress (transverse to the longitudinal axis) comprising a plurality of inflatable sacs juxta positionally connected together within a mattress envelope containing constantly inflated proximal air sacs with each transverse segment to act as side guards to prevent the patient from slipping off of the bed. All of these devices run the entire length of the patient's body. US6119292 discloses a portable torso support and rotating system. US7464422 describes a multiple independently inflatable bladder system of elongated air chambers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention considers further the weight-bearing points of the individual patient that is lying in the bed and the amount of air sac inflation (energy and work) that is wasted by inflating a single longitudinal air sac or multiple connected air sacs that run the entire length of the patient. Rather, greater efficiency in turning is achieved by addressing the main points of contact between the patient and the bed, namely the shoulders and upper back and the lower back and hip areas of the patient. The current invention consists of a patient under sheet that incorporates multiple transverse air sacs, independently inflatable (left side and right side of the patient) where each series of air sacs on the left and right side is only connected to each other by measures of material that are not inflated in the operation of turning a patient.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig 1 A perspective view of the turn sheet in a deflated aspect

Fig 2 A perspective view of the turn sheet in an inflated aspect

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Devices for turning patients in bed have to-date focussed on addressing support for the entire length of the body or the entire torso. Flowever, when healthcare workers manually turn a patient, they only support, lift or pull in specific areas to enable the turning operation. The current invention mimics this operation by providing a physical force in these identified positions whilst the body between these positions is supported by the expanse of material between each of the inflatable air sacs. Figure 1 shows a turning sheet (1) in its fully deflated aspect. The sheet contains six inflatable air sacs separated by a central diaphragm. Three on the left-hand side (2) and three on the right-hand side (3). More or fewer air sacs may be configured in this arrangement. The air sacs on each side are in fluid connectivity with each other. This connectivity enables equal air pressure to exist at any one time within the entire system and avoid twisting the patient uncomfortably down the longitudinal axis. Each series of air sacs is connected to a conduit (4 and 5) through which a fluid may be passed to inflate or deflate the air sacs. The conduit may be positioned at any point along the length of the common fluid path (9) of the air sacs. The invention however does not exclude a configuration where at least one inflatable sac is capable of independent inflation via a dedicated inflation port.

Figure 2 shows the turning sheet with one side of the sheet elevated following inflation of one of the series of, in this example, three air sacs (6, 7 and 8) positioned longitudinally under the weight bearing points of the patient's body. The air sacs may be positioned equidistant from each other on the longitudinal axis or may be positioned closer together at the positions on the longitudinal axis that are greater weight bearing.

The expanses of the sheet and air sacs may be manufactured from the same materials or the air sacs may be manufactured from a material with greater tensile strength properties than the surface material of the sheet. Each air sac may also contain an internal material structure of compartmentalisation to provide improved rigidity and stability when it is inflated. The figures included herein show each inflatable sac with the same volume however the invention does not exclude the construction of a turn sheet constructed with inflatable sacs of different dimensions and volumes at each transverse along the longitudinal axis.

Claims

1. A turn sheet having a longitudinal axis along a length of the sheet comprising:

A plurality of inflatable sacs transverse to said longitudinal axis and each said inflatable sac including a right cell and a left cell individually separated from said right cell with a central diaphragm; each said right or left inflatable sac is separated from its side neighbour by a non- inflated expanse of sheet material.

2. A turn sheet according to claim 1 where each said inflatable sac is positioned equidistant to its neighbour on the said longitudinal axis.

3. A turn sheet according to claim 1 where each said inflatable sac is positioned at a differential distance to its neighbour on the said longitudinal axis.

4. A turn sheet according to claim 2 or 3 where each said inflatable sac on the said longitudinal axis has the same volume.

5. A turn sheet according to claim 2 or 3 where two or more of the said inflatable sacs on the said longitudinal axis has a different dimension.

6. A turn sheet according to claim 2 or 3 where two or more of the said inflatable sacs on the said longitudinal axis has a different volume.

7. A turn sheet according to claim 1 that is manufactured from a single sheet material.

8. A turn sheet according to claim 1 where the said inflatable sacs are manufactured from a different material from the sheet material.

9. A turn sheet according to claim 1 where each said inflatable sac along the said longitudinal axis is in constant fluid connection to an inflation port.

10. A turn sheet according to claim 1 where a said inflatable sac has an internal material structure.

11. A turn sheet according to claim 1 where at least one said inflatable sac is independently

25 inflated from its neighbour on the said longitudinal axis.