Dimensionally-based approaches for constructing and operating pressure-mitigation apparatuses
AssigneeTurnCare, Inc.
InventorsRafael Paolo Squitieri, Steven Bruce Frazier, Robert Charles Deutsch, Yun Yi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed devices for pressure mitigation include dynamic therapy through inflation/deflation of chambers over time, while minimizing bunching or wrinkling of deflated material. The chambers are formed (e.g., via interconnections, sidewalls) in a deflated state of the device, in which the device is in a substantially two-dimensional form. When inflated, the chambers are expanded from their default two-dimensional or compact state to an enlarged three-dimensional or expanded state. Thus, when deflated, the chambers return to their original form, leaving no excess material that may bunch or wrinkle.
Claims24
A method of constructing a pressure-mitigation device, the method comprising:
- laying a second layer atop a first layer, such that the first and second layers are parallel and together define a deflated state of the pressure-mitigation device in which the pressure-mitigation device is substantially flat across a top surface and a bottom surface simultaneously;
- determining, within a section slice along a length or a width of the pressure-mitigation device, locations at which interconnections between the first layer and the second layer are to be formed to define chambers of the pressure-mitigation device;
- forming the interconnections at the locations for a plurality of section slices while the pressure-mitigation device is in the deflated state, so as to define a chamber layout that spans across the length and the width of the pressure-mitigation device;
- and
- providing the pressure-mitigation device for operation, during which the chambers are controllably inflated to varying amounts to bring the pressure-mitigation device into an inflated state in which the pressure-mitigation device is not substantially flat across the top surface or the bottom surface.
A pressure-mitigation device comprising:
- a plurality of chambers that are independently inflatable and are defined via interconnections between a first layer and a second layer,
- wherein the plurality of chambers are defined while the pressure-mitigation device is in a deflated state, with the first layer being parallel to the second layer, and
- wherein when the plurality of chambers are inflated, the pressure-mitigation device enters an inflated state in which the first layer is no longer parallel to the second layer.
A controller for operating a pressure-mitigation device, the controller comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the controller to:
- while a subject is disposed atop the pressure-mitigation device, receive a signal from a sensor that indicates a rotational position of the subject relative to a two-dimensional plane corresponding to a top surface of the pressure-mitigation device while the pressure-mitigation device is in a deflated state;
- and
- determine, based on the signal, how to inflate chambers of the pressure-mitigation device to bolster the subject to a flat rotational position that is parallel with the two-dimensional plane;
- and
- cause the chambers to be inflated to bolster the subject to the flat rotational position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.