INTERFACE PRESSURE SENSING MATTRESS
A patient support surface or mattress has a coverlet defining an interior region and a core situated in the interior region. An interface pressure sensing sheet assembly is provided in the interior region. Above the core and beneath the coverlet, the sheet assembly has a lattice of longitudinally extending straps and laterally extending straps that are made of an interface pressure sensing material. The lattice has gaps through which the coverlet presses against the core. The laterally extending straps are provided over relatively high pressure zones of the core, such as a heel, sacral and/or occiput zone, and are not provided over other zones of the core.
The present disclosure relates to a patient support surface or mattress and particularly, to a device that is used with a mattress to sense interface pressure between a person and the mattress. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an interface pressure sensing mattress that uses a layer of pressure sensing material to sense interface pressure.
Mats that are placed on top of a mattress to sense pressure between a person and the mattress are known. Electrical signals from these mats are sometimes use to create a graphical image or map of interface pressure on a display screen of a computer device. The map typically uses color to indicate ranges of interface pressure with red indicating regions of high pressure and other colors, such as shades of yellow or green indicating regions of lower pressure. The mat itself has a tendency to degrade the pressure performance of the mattress on which it is placed. As a result, these types of mats are used on mattresses only temporarily such as, for example, to compare pressure performances of various mattress products.
Some mattresses have pressure sensing devices situated internally, but these are oftentimes placed in the bottom portion of the mattress beneath one or more layers of primary support elements so as to minimize interference with the support characteristics of the overlying support elements. Some prior art does contemplate integrating interface pressure sensors at or near the top surface of a mattress, but it is understood that the interface pressure performance of the mattress is compromised in such systems. The known interface pressure sensing mats that are placed atop a mattress or integrated into the mattress near the upper surface generally occupy an uninterrupted square or rectangular area of space that extends substantially completely across the lateral dimension of the mattress. Some known interface pressure sensing systems are shown, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,973,666; 7,883,478; 7,825,814; and 7,557,718.
Additional features, which alone or in combination with any other feature(s), such as those listed above and those listed in the claims, may comprise patentable subject matter and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the embodiments as presently perceived.
SUMMARYAccording to this disclosure, a patient support surface or mattress comprises one or more of the features recited in the appended claims and/or the following features which, alone or in any combination, may comprise patentable subject matter:
The mattress may have a coverlet defining an interior region. The mattress may also have a core situated in the interior region. The core may have at least one person support element. The core may have an upper surface, a pair of side surfaces, and a pair of end surfaces. The mattress further may have a sheet assembly having side portions that may fit closely against the pair of side surfaces of the core and end portions that may fit closely against the pair of end surfaces of the core within the interior region of the coverlet. The sheet assembly may have a plurality of longitudinally extending straps that may extend between the end portions and a plurality of laterally extending straps that may extend between the side portions. The longitudinally extending straps and laterally extending straps may form a lattice that may have a plurality of gaps through which the coverlet is able to press against the core. The longitudinally extending straps and laterally extending straps may be made of an interface pressure sensing material.
According to this disclosure, the interface pressure sensing material may include a highly stretchable, electrically conductive material. Furthermore, the interface pressure sensing material may include a breathable, piezoresistive material. In some embodiments, the sheet assembly may have a pair of side flaps that may extend atop the upper surface of the core adjacent the pair of side surfaces of the core and a pair of end flaps that may extend atop the upper surface of the core adjacent the pair of end surfaces of the core. End regions of the longitudinally extending straps may be fastened to the end flaps and end regions of the laterally extending straps may be fastened to the side flaps. Wiring may be coupled to at least some of the end regions of the longitudinally extending straps and at least some of the end regions of the laterally extending straps. The wiring may terminate at a connector that may be accessible outside the coverlet.
The core may be subdivided into a lower leg zone, an upper leg zone, a lower torso zone, and an upper torso zone. A first group of the laterally extending straps may be situated atop the lower leg zone and a second group of the laterally extending straps may be situated atop the lower torso zone. At least one or both of the upper leg zone and the upper torso zone may be devoid of any of the laterally extending straps thereabove. Thus, the laterally extending straps may be situated above some zones of the core but not others.
In some embodiments, the at least one person support element may include one or more foam elements. This disclosure contemplates that one or more of the foam elements may have at least one laterally extending slit and that the plurality of longitudinally extending straps may bridge across the one or more slits. Alternatively or additionally, one or more of the foam elements may have a plurality of holes extending vertically therethrough and at least some of the plurality of longitudinally extending straps may bridge across the holes.
Areas of overlap between the plurality of longitudinally extending straps and the plurality of laterally extending straps may be considered to form junctions. In some embodiments, the plurality of longitudinally extending straps and the plurality of laterally extending straps each may have substantially the same width such that the junctions may be square shaped. The plurality of longitudinally extending straps and the plurality of laterally extending straps may be electrically coupled at the junctions.
According to an aspect of this disclosure, the core may have a first zone to support a first portion of a person and a second zone to support a second portion of the person. At least some of the plurality of laterally extending straps may be situated atop the first zone and the second zone may be devoid of any of the laterally extending straps thereabove. The first zone may include, for example, at least one or more of a heel support zone, a sacral support zone, and a head support zone. The second zone may include for example, at least one or more of a thigh support zone and a lower abdomen support zone. The longitudinally extending straps may be situated atop both the first and second zones.
The longitudinally extending straps and the laterally extending straps each may have end regions. Wiring may be coupled to at least some of the end regions of the longitudinally extending straps and at least some of the end regions of the laterally extending straps. The wiring may terminate at a connector that is accessible outside the coverlet. The connector may be coupled to another connector to communicate information pertaining to interface pressure to one or more of an electronic interface hub, a processing device such as a computer having a software platform, a local display device at a person's bedside, a remote display device such as one at a nurse's station, and a portable wireless communication device such as a pager, cellphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like which may be carried by a caregiver.
Additional features, which alone or in combination with any other feature(s), such as those listed above and those listed in the claims, may comprise patentable subject matter and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the embodiments as presently perceived.
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:
According to this disclosure, a patient support surface 10 has a coverlet 12, a core 14, and an interface pressure sensing sheet assembly 16 as shown in
While only some of upper and lower portions 18, 20 of coverlet 12 is shown in
Core 14 includes a number of person support elements. In the illustrative example, core 14 includes several foam elements including a base foam layer 24, a pair of side foam bolsters 26, and a set of foam blocks 28a-c. Foam blocks 28a-c rest atop base foam layer 24 and are situated between foam bolsters 26. In some embodiments, adhesive is used to fasten elements 24, 26, 28a-c of core 14 together. Upper surfaces 29 of foam blocks 28a-c and bolsters 26 are generally coplanar as shown in
Sheet assembly 16 is akin to a fitted sheet in that it includes side portions 38 that fit closely against the pair of side surfaces 36 of core 14 and end portions 40 that fit closely against the pair of end surfaces 34 of the core 14 within the interior region of the coverlet 12. A resiliently stretchable cord or band (not shown) is provided at the bottom edge 42 of portions 38, 40 of sheet assembly 16 in some embodiments. The stretchable cord or band at the bottom edge 42, which may be made from elastic material, for example, helps to retain sheet assembly 16 on core 14. Alternatively or additionally, corner straps that extend diagonally between the bottom edge 42 of portions 38 and the bottom edge 42 of portions 40 in the corner regions of sheet assembly 16 are provided to help retain sheet assembly 16 on core 14. Thus, sheet assembly 16 has an open bottom and, during assembly, sheet assembly 16 is moved downwardly over core 14 as indicated by arrows 44 in
In the illustrative example of
According to this disclosure, straps are made of interface pressure sensing material that is highly stretchable and, in some cases, breathable. The term “highly stretchable” is intended to mean that the material of straps 50, 52 is able to stretch to a greater extent than the underlying foam elements 24, 26, 28a-c are able to stretch and more than the surrounding coverlet 12 is able to stretch. Thus, straps 50, 52 easily deform under the weight of a person lying on mattress 10 so as to minimize interference with the pressure support performance of the underlying core 14. Examples of such highly stretchable material include LYCRA and SPANDEX materials. Thus, highly stretchable materials contemplated by this disclosure will usually stretch 20% or more in length and 8 to 10% or more in width. In some embodiments, the contemplated highly stretchable material may stretch about 60-120% in length and about 40% in width and still be within its elastic limits. However, materials with less stretchability may be satisfactory for straps 50, 52.
Straps 50, 52 comprise a fabric with piezoresistive material bonded to at least one other layer of the straps 50, 52 in the illustrative example. Thus, straps 50, 52 are electrically conductive and the impedance, such as the resistivity, of straps 50, 52 changes based on the force applied to the straps 50, 52 and the amount that the straps 50, 52 are stretched. However, while electrically conductive, straps 50, 52 are non-metallic in nature. The type of material that comprises straps 50, 52 is available from companies such as Eeonyx Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. under the brand name EEONTEX. Suitable materials may be available from other suppliers as well. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,543,299; 7,468,332; and 8,161,826; each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, for additional details regarding the type of material from which straps 50, 52 may be made.
As is evident in the example of
The lattice arrangement of straps 50, 52 with the large number of gaps 60 results in a substantial portion of the surface area of upper surface 29 of core being exposed in the gaps 60. In some embodiments, such as the illustrative embodiment, the spacing between each of straps 50 and between each of straps 52 is equal to or greater than the width of the straps. The width of the straps may be on the order of about 0.5 to about 2 inches in some embodiments. However, greater or lesser widths of straps 50, 52 are contemplated by this disclosure. In any event, a large portion of upper surface 29 is completely unobstructed by straps 50, 52 thereby further minimizing any interference with the pressure support performance of core 14 by straps 50, 52. This is an improvement over prior art pressure sensing mats that cover the entire upper surface of a mattress and an improvement over smaller mats that, while covering less of a mattress, still usually cover an entire zone of the mattress.
Another feature of the illustrative embodiment is that the laterally extending straps 52 are provided in some zones of mattress 10 and not others. For example, core 14 as well as mattress 10 itself, may be considered to have a lower leg or heel zone 62, an upper leg or thigh zone 64, a lower torso or sacral zone 66, and an upper torso or head/shoulder zone 68 as shown in
In the illustrative embodiment, the longitudinally extending straps 50 extend over all of zones 62, 64, 66, 68 of core 14. Furthermore, straps 50 bridge across the slits 30 of foam blocks 28a, 28b and bridge across some of the holes 32 of foam block 28c. Some of laterally extending straps 52 may lay above certain slits 30 and holes 32 as well.
According to this disclosure, areas of overlap between the plurality of longitudinally extending straps 50 and the plurality of laterally extending straps 52 form junctions. In some embodiments, straps 50, 52 may be fastened together at these junctions such as by stitching, adhesive, RF or sonic welding, and the like. In the illustrative example, however, straps 50, 52 are not physically coupled at the junctions. Because straps 50, 52 are electrically conductive as mentioned above, the straps 50, 52 are electrically coupled at the junctions regardless of whether or not they are physically coupled at the junctions. In the illustrative example, all of straps 52 overlie straps 50. However, other arrangements, such as having some or all of straps 52 underlying straps 50 or forming a basket weave type of pattern with straps 50, 52 are within the scope of this disclosure.
Mattress 10 includes wiring 70 which has a number of conductors, each conductor of wiring 70 being coupled to one of the end regions 54 of each of straps 50, 52 as shown in
Referring now to
Communication links are shown diagrammatically as lines 86 between device 76 and each of blocks 80, 82, 84 in
In some embodiments, the software of device 76 is programmed to monitor interface pressure over a predetermined or specified time limit. In addition to generating an alarm message in response to interface pressure exceeding a programmed threshold, it is also contemplated by this disclosure that an alarm message is generated if patient inactivity occurs for a threshold amount of time. Patient inactivity is determined based on the information from sheet assembly 16. That is, if the interface pressures are stagnant or don't change by some threshold amount over the predetermined period of time, then the patient is considered to be inactive and should potentially be repositioned by one or more caregivers. In some embodiments, audible alarms may also be generated in addition to displaying visual alarms on the local and/or remote display devices. It is contemplated by this disclosure that caregivers are able to view pressure graphs or maps on the local and/or remote displays even when alarm conditions are not occurring. Thus, during the absence of alarm conditions, caregivers have the ability to monitor substantially real time pressure maps of patient position to decide whether early intervention may prevent hazardous conditions from developing.
Although certain illustrative embodiments have been described in detail above, many embodiments, variations and modifications are possible that are still within the scope and spirit of this disclosure as described herein and as defined in the following claims.
Claims
1. A mattress comprising
- a coverlet defining an interior region,
- a core situated in the interior region, the core having at least one person support element, the core having an upper surface, a pair of side surfaces, and a pair of end surfaces, and
- a sheet assembly situated inside the coverlet and over the core, the sheet assembly having side portions that fit closely against the pair of side surfaces of the core and end portions that fit closely against the pair of end surfaces of the core within the interior region of the coverlet, the sheet assembly having a plurality of longitudinally extending straps that extend between the end portions and a plurality of laterally extending straps that extend between the side portions, the longitudinally extending straps and laterally extending straps forming a lattice having a plurality of gaps that are devoid of any sheet assembly material and through which the coverlet is able to press against the core, the longitudinally extending straps and laterally extending straps being made of an interface pressure sensing material.
2. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the interface pressure sensing material comprises a highly stretchable, electrically conductive material.
3. The mattress of claim 2, wherein the interface pressure sensing material comprises a breathable, piezoresistive material.
4. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the sheet assembly further comprises a pair of side flaps that extend atop the upper surface of the core adjacent the pair of side surfaces of the core and a pair of end flaps that extend atop the upper surface of the core adjacent the pair of end surfaces of the core, wherein end regions of the longitudinally extending straps are fastened to the end flaps, and wherein end regions of the laterally extending straps are fastened to the side flaps.
5. The mattress of claim 4, further comprising wiring coupled to at least some of the end regions of the longitudinally extending straps and at least some of the end regions of the laterally extending straps.
6. The mattress of claim 5, wherein the wiring terminates at a connector that is accessible outside the coverlet.
7. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the core has a lower leg zone, an upper leg zone, a lower torso zone, and an upper torso zone, wherein a first group of the laterally extending straps are situated atop the lower leg zone and a second group of the laterally extending straps are situated atop the lower torso zone, and wherein at least one of the upper leg zone and the upper torso zone are devoid of any of the laterally extending straps thereabove.
8. The mattress of claim 7, wherein the upper leg zone and the upper torso zone are both devoid of any of the laterally extending straps.
9. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the at least one person support element comprises at least one foam element.
10. The mattress of claim 1, wherein the at least one person support element comprises a plurality of foam elements.
11. The mattress of claim 10, wherein a first foam element of the plurality of foam elements has a laterally extending slit and the plurality of longitudinally extending straps bridge across the slit.
12. The mattress of claim 10, wherein a first foam element of the plurality of foam elements has a plurality of holes extending vertically therethrough and wherein at least some of the plurality of longitudinally extending straps bridge across at least some of the plurality of holes.
13. The mattress of claim 1, wherein areas of overlap between the plurality of longitudinally extending straps and the plurality of laterally extending straps form junctions.
14. The mattress of claim 13, wherein the plurality of longitudinally extending straps and the plurality of laterally extending straps each have substantially the same width such that the junctions are square shaped.
15. The mattress of claim 13, wherein the plurality of longitudinally extending straps and the plurality of laterally extending straps are electrically coupled at the junctions.
16. A mattress comprising
- a coverlet defining an interior region,
- a core situated in the interior region, the core having at least one person support element, the core having an upper surface, a pair of substantially vertical side surfaces, and a pair of substantially vertical end surfaces, and
- a sheet assembly situated inside the interior region and over the core, the sheet assembly having substantially vertically oriented side portions that fit closely against the pair of side surfaces of the core and substantially vertically oriented end portions that fit closely against the pair of end surfaces of the core within the interior region of the coverlet, the sheet assembly having a plurality of longitudinally extending straps that extend between upper regions of the end portions and a plurality of laterally extending straps that extend between upper regions of the side portions, the longitudinally extending straps and laterally extending straps being made of an interface pressure sensing material, wherein the core has a first zone to support a first portion of a person and a second zone to support a second portion of the person, at least some of the plurality of laterally extending straps being situated atop the first zone and the second zone being devoid of any of the laterally extending straps thereabove.
17. The mattress of claim 16, wherein the first zone comprises at least one of a heel support zone, a sacral support zone, and a head support zone.
18. The mattress of claim 17, wherein the second zone comprises at least one of a thigh support zone and a lower abdomen support zone.
19. The mattress of claim 16, wherein the longitudinally extending straps are situated atop both the first and second zones.
20. The mattress of claim 16, wherein the longitudinally extending straps and the laterally extending straps each have end regions and further comprising wiring coupled to at least some of the end regions of the longitudinally extending straps and at least some of the end regions of the laterally extending straps, the wiring terminating at a connector that is accessible outside the coverlet.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 30, 2012
Publication Date: Mar 6, 2014
Inventor: Ronald B. Jalbert (North Charleston, SC)
Application Number: 13/598,939
International Classification: A47C 17/86 (20060101); A47C 27/14 (20060101);