Patient support system including expandable patient support and control assembly
AssigneeStryker Corporation
InventorsRyan Ross, Robert Gregory Cox, Adam Robert Hoke, Krista Lynn Fox-Walsh
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A patient support system is provided for use on a litter of a patient support apparatus. The patient support system includes an expandable patient support and a control assembly connectable to the expandable patient support. The control assembly includes an inflator and a controller configured to provide pressure in one or more inner bladders at a first value when the expandable patient support is at a first width and reduce the pressure in the one or more inner bladders to a second value, lower than the first value, in response to inflating one or more outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to a second width.
Claims15
A patient support system for use on a litter of a patient support apparatus, the patient support system comprising:
- an expandable patient support including:
- a main patient support section having opposing left and right sides,
- a left auxiliary patient support section having one or more left inner bladders extending longitudinally along the left side of the main patient support section and one or more left outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more left inner bladders, the one or more left outer bladders being expandable away from the one or more left inner bladders to expand an overall width of the expandable patient support from a first width to a second width, and
- a right auxiliary patient support section having one or more right inner bladders extending longitudinally along the right side of the main patient support section and one or more right outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more right inner bladders;
- and
- a control assembly connectable to the expandable patient support, the control assembly including:
- an inflator to be operatively coupled to the one or more left inner bladders and the one or more left outer bladders;
- and
- a controller coupled to the inflator, wherein the controller is configured to provide pressure in the one or more left inner bladders at a first value when the expandable patient support is at the first width and the controller is configured to reduce the pressure in the one or more left inner bladders to a second value, lower than the first value, in response to inflating the one or more left outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the second width.
A method for reconfiguring a patient support system for use on a litter of a patient support apparatus, the patient support system including an expandable patient support having a main patient support section and left and right auxiliary patient support sections, and a control assembly including an inflator to expand the left and right auxiliary patient support sections, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing pressure in one or more left inner bladders of the left auxiliary patient support section at a first value when the expandable patient support is at a first width, the one or more left inner bladders extending longitudinally along a left side of the main patient support section;
- inflating one or more left outer bladders of the left auxiliary patient support section to expand the expandable patient support from the first width to a second width, the one or more left outer bladders extending longitudinally along the one or more left inner bladders;
- and
- reducing the pressure in the one or more left inner bladders to a second value, lower than the first value, in response to inflating the one or more left outer bladders to expand the expandable patient support to the second width.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.