Body positioning mattress

Abstract

A method of positioning a patient or person 0 to 90 degrees in an upright position or greater in a supine or prone position while maintaining neutral skeletal alignment (non flexed position) with a body positioning mattress capable of applying a vacuum process to remove air; molding the mattress around the body to maintain position. A means to place the support mattress onto a manual or motorized bed frame to position and maintain a patient or person 0 to 90 degrees or greater in the supine or prone position.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of providing a body positioning mattress for humans. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of providing contour support while allowing the body to be positioned from 0-90° or greater upright in the supine or prone position, while continuing to provide contour support. This method may be essential to patients confined to a supine position, or immobile while in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

2. Description of the Related Art

It can be appreciated that a mattress has been used for years. Typically, a mattress is used to support a human body for rest or during an illness where a person is bedridden. While these mattresses are suitable for comfort and to support a person during their phase of bed rest, it does not provide support during an upright position up to 90° or greater. Where a person would lose contour support with a conventional mattress during an upright position up to 90° or greater, supine or prone, this invention of a body positioning mattress allows a body to descend into a mattress which conforms to the shape of the body, preventing slippage. Utilizing a vacuum system to remove air, the body descends deeper into the mattress conforming to the shape of the body. The increased density of the mattress caused by the vacuum process will create support, molding a form around the body. Additional layers may be utilized to provide additional support and padding, promoting comfort and adding measures for the prevention of skin breakdown.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When patients are confined to a supine position in the ICU, significant deterioration of pulmonary function may occur. Immobility issues which may compromise pulmonary function stem from, but are not limited to: hemodynamic instability, refractory intracranial hypertension or increased abdominal pressures. In instances of immobility, patients may benefit from the ability to be positioned upright up to 90° in a supine or prone position while remaining on a bed. Many medical therapeutic treatments require alteration in body position such as head position for the reduction of risk of aspiration and head elevation for reduction of intracranial pressure as examples. The supine position maximizes the compressive effect of the heart, lungs and chest wall. Compression of lung tissue leads to additional airway closure and alveolar collapse. The heart and mediastinal structures impose additional hydrostatic pressure on dependent lung regions. The weight of the blood filled heart compresses the broad middle and dependent lung regions toward the thorax and the spine. By placing the patient in an upright ‘standing’ position rather than an upright ‘sitting’ position, the abdominal contents are no longer directed-cephalad (towards the head) which encroach the thoracic cavity, minimizing lung expansion. By improving ventilation to the dependent lung regions, patients may be weaned from the ventilator faster, thereby decreasing risks of ventilator associated pneumonia and reducing hospital days which may reduce hospital costs.

Support of the human body with a positioning mattress may be accomplished by creating an adaptive shape of the body. The mattress will be encased within a cover which may utilize a vacuum process, removing air from within the mattress cover. By placing a human body on a specialty layer and then applying the vacuum process, the body will sink into the mattress as the mattress conforms to the shape of the body. This mattress will be placed on a manual or motorized bed frame that has the ability to adjust from 0-90° upright, supine and prone. The invention provides' an improved method of caring for patients in the ICU with the option of mobilizing the patient in a position from a 0 to 90° upright position either supine or prone. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art in light of the following detailed description and appended drawings.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of caring for ICU patients requiring up to 90° upright positions for respiratory failure, refractory intracranial hypertension or increased abdominal pressures.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mattress that will support a human body during rest whether in the 0° horizontal position or the 90° vertical upright position in the supine or prone position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mattress that will conform to a body's shape when a body's weight is placed upon the mattress and air is withdrawn from within the mattress cover causing a vacuum seal. This will allow the body to sink into the mattress maintaining the body within a molded form of the mattress when in the upright or prone position. Another object is to provide stability when the invention is placed on a bed frame and transitioned into the upright position; up to 90° or greater, supine or prone.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

1. Body positioning mattress. This mattress will be encased within an airtight cover equipped with a suction valve. When a vacuum process is applied through this valve, the mattress will compress within the mattress cover drawing the human body down into the mattress. See FIG. 1

2. Body positioning mattress encased within a mattress cover. One way valve is sealed within the mattress cover. Vacuum process may be applied by a hand held vacuum. See FIG. 2

3. This illustrates the patient upon the mattress before and after vacuum process is applied. Note how human body sinks into the confines of the mattress. This view is at 0° and does not reflect the utilization of the specially designed bed frame. See FIG. 3

4. Mattress with suction applied and placed on a specially designed bed frame. Utilization of safety straps secure human body within mattress preventing slippage and harm. See FIG. 4

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the attached figures illustrate a body positioning mattress, which comprises a mattress within a sealed, protective layer, a vacuum port and a final covering layer. The above mentioned mattress may be applied to a bed frame of choosing.

FIG. 1 shows the mattress. FIG. 2 shows the mattress inside of a sealed, protective layer which has a vacuum port used to remove air. FIG. 3 illustrates the patient upon the mattress before and after vacuum process is applied. FIG. 4 shows the patient on the mattress which is placed on a specially designed bed frame that may be positioned in the 90° upright position. Safety straps are shown which are placed around patient's body to secure body to mattress and frame preventing slippage and harm.

Claims

1. A method of positioning a patient or person on a mattress 0 to 90 degrees in an upright position or greater in a supine or prone position while maintaining neutral skeletal alignment (non-flexed position), through a process which comprises a mattress that conforms to a human body's shape and a method of controlling or adjusting patient positioning either through a manual or motorized bed frame.

2. A body positioning mattress comprising: a conforming contour mattress comprised of material capable of molding to the shape of the human body, contained within a mattress cover; and means for applying a vacuum process to remove air; with means for simultaneously creating and shaping a mold around the body form within the mattress; and means to place the support mattress on a manual or motorized bed frame to position and maintain a patient or person 0 to 90 degrees or greater in the supine or prone position.

3. The method of claim 2 comprises a) a mattress that allows the human body to create a depression into the mattress shaping the human body's form; b) the application of suction to create further shaping of the body within the mattress; c) ability to elevate and maintain a patient or person 0 to 90 degrees upright or greater in the supine or prone position.

4. The method of claim 2 where the mattress is comprised of a substance capable of conforming or molding to the human body.

5. The method of claim 2 where the mattress is encased within a cover comprised of layers of expandable material with the ability to create individual compartments between material, cover and vacuum sections.

6. The method of claim 2 where suction may be applied to the mattress cover through a valve which removes air through a vacuum process producing a molding shape of the mattress around the body.

7. The method of claim 2 where air may be applied through a valve system producing a reversal of the molding properties reversing the depression of the body's form into the mattress.

8. The method of claim 5 where compartments may include a layer of porous material.