“Multi-Stable Compliant-Mechanism Mattress For Bed Sore Prevention” in Patent Application Approval Process (USPTO 20220175601): Patent Application

2022 JUN 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A patent application by the inventors Hopkins, Jonathan (Los Angeles, CA, US); Sheth, Piyush (Porter Ranch, CA, US), filed on January 26, 2022, was made available online on June 9, 2022, according to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx correspondents.

This patent application has not been assigned to a company or institution.

The following quote was obtained by the news editors from the background information supplied by the inventors: “

“This technology pertains generally to bed mattresses and medical nursing equipment for people and more particularly to pressure alleviating mattresses for bed sore prevention.

“A significant concern of medical care providers with patients who are bedridden for long periods of time is the probable occurrence of bedsores or skin ulcers in areas of the body that are in constant contact with the mattress. Bed sores are caused primarily by the occurrence of increased and constant pressure on the capillaries in the dermis of the skin that results in the prolonged blockage of blood flow. Contact pressures exceeding 32 mm of Hg for longer than two hours can cause pressure sores.

“Bed sores are a complex problem that are influenced by the age, nutrition, hygiene, medical conditions, moisture and prolonged higher pressure on the contact points of the patient on the surfaces of the mattress of a bed. Pressure sores typically occur in the bony prominences on the back and hips of patient when they are laying on the bed. Primary areas of the body that are candidates for bedsore development include the occipital region, scapula, sacrum. ischium, ankles and heels.

“Immobile, high-risk patients may often develop bed sores within 4 to 6 hours if they are not properly and regularly repositioned. The current hospital protocol is to turn the patient every two hours. However, this repositioning requirement not only disturbs and awakens sleeping patients, it may also cause maceration due to the shear forces experienced by the often fragile and sensitive skin of the patient. Repositioning can also be a liability for the nurses who have to turn the patient, who may be overweight and difficult to move.

“Different systems have been developed to prevent bed sores from occurring such as the application of pressure on different areas of the body over time to stimulate blood movement or maintain blood flow. As an alternative to turning the patient every two hours, the most effective bed sore prevention approach to date is the use of silica-bead air fluidized beds that reduce the pressure points on the patient’s body. Although effective, air fluidized beds are costly and such costs may not be reimbursed by insurance or government benefits until the patient experiences stage IV bedsores, which is practically the point of no return. Even private buyers who can afford the high price of an air fluidized bed may have difficulty accommodating a fluidized bed in their home as they are extremely heavy (>0.5 ton) and difficult to transport and install.

“Alternating air pressure cell mattresses are intended to have similar bed sore prevention outcomes and are less costly. However, use of air pressure mattresses is not currently backed by sufficient evidence of efficacy and durability to deserve a strong recommendation. They often require noisy pumps that constantly consume power and possess numerous valves that are complex and sometimes fragile and often leak after multiple uses.

“Unfortunately, approximately 2.5 million patients are affected with bed sores every year in the United States. About sixty thousand (60,000) patients die every year as a direct result of the presence of bed sores. As a consequence, bed sores produce $9.1 to $11,6 billion in treatment costs every year in the U.S. alone. Individual patient care cost is ranging from about $20,900 to $151,700. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that in 2007 each pressure sore added $43,180 in costs to a hospital stay. Pressure ulcers in managed care or hospitalized patients are one of the most litigated conditions in civil lawsuits alleging medical malpractice. The average settlement of a pressure ulcer lawsuit is in the range of $250,000 with some awards topping $312 million with 87% cases favoring the plaintiffs.

“Accordingly, there is a need for mattress systems that are effective at limiting the occurrence of pressure ulcers, that are durable and that are relatively inexpensive to own and maintain.”

In addition to the background information obtained for this patent application, NewsRx journalists also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “A bi-stable compliant-mechanism mattress is provided that alternates pressure points on the body of an occupant to effectively prevent bed sores. In one embodiment, the mattress passively conforms to the body of the patient in each of its two stable configurations without the need for drawing power or repositioning the patient. The mattress provides alternating pressure points as desired depending on which of the two stable configurations of the mattress is selected.

“The energy needed to reconfigure the mattress from one stable configuration to the other should be minimal since a substantial amount of strain energy is stored in the deformed resilient mechanism, which would help counteract the weight of the body of the patient. In one embodiment, the mattress can be manually actuated by pulling it from one side to the next with as little effort as it would take to open and close a drawer. Alternatively, a single small motor could be automated to shift the mattress from one stable configuration to the next every two hours using minimal power. Note also that the occupant of the bed moves with the mattress as it is reconfigured from one stable configuration to the next so that the skin of the occupant does not experience harmful shearing forces as the pressure points alternate.

“The mattress will optimally alternate pressure points silently without drawing power to prevent bedsores in patients that weigh up to 600 pounds so that nurses or other caregivers will not have to physically turn the patient. The mattresses will only produce a quiet clicking noise when shifted from one state to the next in contrast to the loud squeaking noises and wear caused by friction generated within the sliding joints of traditional rigid mechanisms that often require lubricants.

“These mattresses also allow air to passively flow through the geometry of the mattress to prevent the occupant from perspiring. The topology of the layers with spatially hollow geometry allows natural air convection through the breathable top foam layer to enable drying of any moisture. This geometry also allows the use of forced air from a source for convective drying or air flow cooling or heating as desired.

“In one embodiment, the mattresses are designed with horizontal panels that can be adjusted along their length so that the patient’s feet and torso can be lowered while their knees and head are lifted like that of traditional hospital beds without modification to the mattress design.

“According to one aspect of the technology, a dynamic, compliant mechanism based mattress design is provided that can reduce the occurrence of bed sores in the existing immobile and aging population and improve the lives of many patients every year.

“According to another aspect of the technology, a low power, functional mattress design is provided that is substantially lower in cost compared to the cost of silica-bead air fluidized beds.

“Another aspect of the technology is to provide a pressure sore limiting mattress design that is affordable while also being robust, lightweight, and transportable.

“Another aspect of the technology is to provide a mattress with dynamically produced points of contact that can be readily changed while the bed is occupied eliminating the need for regular position interventions.

“A further aspect of the technology is to provide a mattress with undulations with a height that is controllable by the geometry of the elements of the deformable panels.

“Another aspect is to provide a compliant-mechanism platform that can be adapted for use as wheelchair cushions and also improve the comfort of airline, car, or truck passengers that have to sit in seats for extended periods of time.

“Further aspects of the technology described herein will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the technology without placing limitations thereon.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A mattress apparatus for minimizing pressure ulcers, the apparatus comprising: (a) a foam pad with a top surface and a bottom surface; (b) a webbing layer mounted to the bottom surface of the foam pad; © a dynamic layer of a plurality of planar panels with a deformable strip coupled to the webbing layer, a base and two or more legs coupled to the deformable strip and base with resilient hinges; and (d) a foundation layer coupled to the base of the panels; (e) wherein the legs and deformable strip of the dynamic layer can move between two stable positions; and (f) wherein movement of the legs and deformable strip in relation to the base of each panel causes deformations in the deformable strip.

“2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the foam pad comprises a foam pad with periodically positioned holes through the pad, the holes configured for air circulation through the foam pad.

“3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the foam pad is made of a material selected from the group of materials consisting of memory foam and foam rubber.

“4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the webbing layer comprises a grid of orthogonal straps, at least one of said straps configured for coupling with a deformable strip of each panel.

“5. The apparatus of claim 1: wherein the plurality of panels comprises a plurality of first panels and a plurality of second panels; wherein the first panels configured with an offset that is out of phase from the second panels; and wherein the plurality of panels is configured such that the first and second panels are positioned in a sequentially alternating pattern.

“6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the deformable strip of said planar panels comprises: a top panel layer; a resilient lower panel layer; and a plurality of diamond-shaped flexures disposed between said top panel layer and said lower panel layer.

“7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the base of said planar panels further comprises: a linear outer edge configured for mounting to said foundation layer; an inner edge with triangular shaped rigid bodies spaced regularly along the inner edge of the base member; and pairs of legs flexibly coupled at one end to the inner edge of the base member between said triangular shaped rigid bodies with resilient hinges; wherein movement of the legs is limited by said triangular shaped rigid bodies.

“8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the foundation layer is flexible.

“9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said foundation layer comprises a plurality of rigid horizontal segments.

“10. A mattress apparatus, comprising: (a) a support substrate; (b) a plurality of planar panels having an upper member coupled to a base member with a plurality of legs and flexible hinges, said base member mounted to said support substrate, said panels oriented parallel to each other; © a grid of straps joined to said upper member of said panels; and (d) a top layer coupled to said grid of straps; (e) wherein each upper member of said panels moves in relation to the base member from a first stable position to a second stable position.

“11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the support substrate is flexible.

“12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said support substrate comprises a plurality of rigid horizontal segments flexibly coupled to each other.

“13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the upper member of said planar panels comprises: a top panel layer; a resilient lower panel layer; and a plurality of diamond-shaped flexures disposed between said top panel layer and said lower panel layer.

“14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the base member of said planar panels further comprises: a linear outer edge configured for mounting to said support substrate; and an inner edge with triangular shaped rigid bodies spaced regularly along the inner edge of the base member; and pairs of legs flexibly coupled at one end to the inner edge of the base member between said triangular shaped rigid bodies with resilient hinges; wherein movement of said legs is limited by said triangular shaped rigid bodies.

“15. The apparatus of claim 10: wherein the plurality of panels comprises a plurality of first panels and a plurality of second panels; wherein the first panels configured with an offset that is out of phase from the second panels; and wherein the plurality of panels is configured such that the first and second panels are positioned in a sequentially alternating pattern.

“16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said top layer comprises a foam pad with periodically positioned holes through the pad, the holes configured for air circulation through the top layer.

“17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said top layer comprises a foam pad made from a material selected from the group of materials consisting of memory foam and foam rubber.

“18. A multi-stable compliant-mechanism mattress apparatus, comprising: a top layer comprising a foam pad with periodically positioned holes through the pad, the holes configured for air circulation through the top layer; a grid of straps beneath the top layer the straps configured for air circulation through the top layer; a plurality of horizontal compliant panels beneath the grid of straps, the grid of straps providing support for the panels, the plurality of panels forming a compliant web; and a support substrate beneath the panels; wherein the compliant web is configured to move between first and second stable positions in response to application of horizontal force.

“19. The apparatus of claim 18: wherein each panel in the plurality of panels comprises a single planar component; wherein the plurality of panels comprises a plurality of first panels and a plurality of second panels; wherein the first panels are configured with an offset that is out of phase from the second panels; and wherein the plurality of panels is configured such that the first and second panels are positioned in a sequentially alternating pattern.

“20. The apparatus of claim 19: wherein each panel in the plurality of panels comprises a series of trapezoid-shaped four-bar mechanisms; and wherein each bar in the four-bar mechanisms is joined to the panel by compliant joints that deform under load to produce an undulating pattern.

“21. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising a plurality of diamond-shaped flexures positioned adjacent the four-bar mechanisms and configured for smoothing the undulations.”

URL and more information on this patent application, see: Hopkins, Jonathan; Sheth, Piyush. Multi-Stable Compliant-Mechanism Mattress For Bed Sore Prevention. Filed January 26, 2022 and posted June 9, 2022. Patent URL: https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220220175601%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20220175601&RS=DN/20220175601

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