Method and apparatus for supporting and for supplying therapy to a patient

A support surface for supporting a patient comprising:

• a support assembly;
• a first set of inflatable longitudinal cushions coupled to said support assembly and arranged to extend partially along the longitudinal length of said patient;
• a second set of inflatable longitudinal cushions coupled to said support assembly and arranged to extend partially along another, longitudinally offset, portion of the length of said patient;
• a patient contacting assembly retained between said patient and said first and second sets of inflatable longitudinal cushions;
• and
• a supply of air in selective communication with said patient contacting member and with said first and second sets of inflatable longitudinal cushions.

A bed for supporting a patient, comprising:

• a support assembly, said support assembly including a bed frame;
• a first inflatable support layer comprising a first plurality of inflatable cells, said cells of said first inflatable support layer comprising a plurality of discrete cushions, at least one of said cells inflatable generally independently of another of said cells, wherein said cells of said first inflatable support layer extend generally longitudinally along said support assembly;
• and
• a second inflatable layer disposed between at least a portion of said patient and said first support layer, said second inflatable support layer comprising a second plurality of inflatable cells, at least one of said cells of said second plurality of cells inflatable generally independently of another of said cells of said second plurality of cells.

A bed for supporting a patient, comprising:

• a bed frame;
• a support surface coupled to said bed frame;
• a first inflatable layer including a plurality of generally longitudinally extending cells, said cells arranged in longitudinally extending groups, at least one of which groups is inflatable generally independently of another laterally offset group;
• a second inflatable layer including a plurality of cells, at least some of which cells are inflatable independently of others of said cells;
• a blower configured to supply air at a pressure to inflate said cells of said first and second layers;
• and
• a control assembly selectively operable to supply air to said cells to support said patient in at least one of a plurality of modes.

A method of providing varying modes of support to a patient, comprising the steps of:

• providing a first inflatable support layer having a plurality of independently inflatable zones therein, wherein said zones of said first inflatable support layer include a plurality of laterally offset, longitudinally extending zones;
• providing a second inflatable support layer having a plurality of independently inflatable zones therein, said second inflatable support layer constructed to be independent of said first support layer, said second support layer placed between said first inflatable support layer and at least a portion of said patient;
• providing a supply of compressed gas selectively controllable to each of said zones of said first and second support layer;
• selectively controlling the supply of air to each of said zones to support said patient in a predetermined support mode, comprising the step of establishing a pressure differential between a first of said longitudinally extending zones of said first inflatable support layer relative to another of said longitudinally extending zones to induce lateral rotation of said patient.