Non-invasive apparatuses for mitigating pressure applied to a human body and associated systems and methods

Inventors

Squitieri, Rafael Paolo

Assignees

Turncare Inc

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.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to non-invasive pressure-mitigation apparatuses that mitigate contact pressure applied by a support surface to a human body positioned on the pressure-mitigation apparatus. The apparatus includes a series of inflatable chambers arranged between the human body and the support surface, where different inflatable chambers are controllably pressurized over time. The system includes 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.

By regulating the flow of fluid according to the specific pattern, the controller controllably pressurizes different inflatable chambers over time. The specific pattern is used to shift the main point(s) of contact pressure across a surface of the human body by varying pressure in different predetermined subsets of the inflatable chambers. In embodiments, the controller mitigates pressure on an anatomical region of the human body by controllably deflating at least one inflatable chamber beneath the anatomical region, or mitigates pressure from an anatomical region by controllably inflating at least one inflatable chamber adjacent to the anatomical region.

The movement of the contact pressure can follow predictable, random, or semi-random movement patterns based on the controller-regulated pressurization of different subsets. The invention further describes controlling the inflatable chambers according to programmable cycles using naturally inflated states and naturally deflated states. The pressure shifting is associated with reducing ischemia and reperfusion injury and associated proinflammatory mediators, and with mitigating pressure injuries such as pressure ulcers/decubitus ulcers, including reduced incidence of hospital-acquired sacral pressure injuries.

The disclosed apparatuses are used with patient positioning support elements and optional positioning confirmation concepts, while the pressure-mitigation system is integrated with conventional treatment regimens.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims cover a pressure-mitigation system with a pump and controller regulating fluid flow according to a specific pattern, a pressure-mitigation method that places the apparatus between the body and support surface and shifts pressure across the body, and an apparatus architecture with interconnected inflatable chambers and discrete channels that moves contact pressure by varying pressure in predetermined subsets. Across the independent claims, there are four main inventive features.

Collectively, the claims cover pressure mitigation by pumping and controller-regulating fluid or airflow according to a specific pattern to controllably pressurize different inflatable chambers over time, thereby shifting contact pressure across a body surface using predetermined chamber subsets. The apparatus claim further requires an interconnected chamber geometry with discrete channels for fluid flow, and it supports moving contact pressure according to predictable, random, or semi-random pattern embodiments.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications