Non-invasive apparatuses for mitigating pressure applied to a human body and associated systems and methods
AssigneeTurnCare, Inc.
InventorRafael Paolo Squitieri
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Introduced here are apparatuses and systems for mitigating contact pressures applied to a human body by the surface of an object, such as a chair, bed, or table. A pressure-mitigation apparatus can include a series of chambers whose pressure can be individually varied. When placed between a patient and a contact surface, the pressure-mitigation apparatus can vary the contact pressure on a specific anatomical region of the patient by controllably inflating and/or deflating one or more cell. Moreover, a pressure-mitigation system can be readily integrated into a conventional treatment regimen for a variety of different conditions.
Claims26
A system for mitigating pressure applied by a support surface to a human body that is positioned on a pressure-mitigation apparatus that includes a series of inflatable chambers, the system comprising:
- a pump configured to generate a flow of fluid;
- and
- a controller configured to regulate the flow of fluid produced by the pump in accordance with a specific pattern, so as to controllably pressurize different inflatable chambers of the pressure-mitigation apparatus over time.
A method comprising:
- determining that a human body is affected by a condition that causes the human body to be at least partially immobilized on a support surface;
- disposing a pressure-mitigation apparatus of a pressure-mitigation system between the human body and the support surface,
- wherein the pressure-mitigation apparatus includes inflatable chambers, and
- wherein the pressure-mitigation system comprises
- (i) a pump that, when in operation, is configured to produce an airflow, and
- (ii) a controller that, when in operation, is configured to regulate the airflow provided by the pump;
- and
- causing pressure applied by the support surface to the human body to be shifted across a surface of the human body by the controller.
An apparatus for mitigating contact pressure applied by a support surface to a human body, the apparatus comprising:
- a first portion designed to face the support surface;
- a second portion designed to face the human body;
- and
- a geometric arrangement of inflatable chambers formed via interconnections between the first and second portions,
- wherein each inflatable chamber is associated with a discrete channel through which fluid is able to flow, and
- wherein, upon deployment of the apparatus, the contact pressure applied by the support surface to the human body is moved across a surface of the human body by varying the pressure in different predetermined subsets of the inflatable chambers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.