US-20260124089-A1 - PATIENT SLING

US20260124089A1US 20260124089 A1US20260124089 A1US 20260124089A1US-20260124089-A1

Abstract

A patient repositioning system intended for a patient confined to a bed for extended time. The repositioning system includes a sling attached to a frame with side poles having head and foot segments that passively fold between a flat/supine position and sitting positions. The frame pivotally mounts to a frame base that is anchored or affixed to a bed. The frame can be pivotally lifted off of a bed mattress, either uniformly by a single-actuator lifter raising both frame poles by the same angle, or so as to tilt the frame to assist with turning a patient by a dual-actuator lifter raising the frame poles to different angles. The sling may include a flexible sheet having an interior mesh region, a set of lateral connecting regions, a head end connecting region, a set of hanging straps, a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions and an integral elastic lumbar strap.

Inventors

Randall J. Slaboch
Lara Pertile

Assignees

Larand LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251230

Claims (20)

1 - 16 . (canceled)
17 . A sling for use with a patient repositioning system comprising: (1) a flexible sheet adapted to be connected to a patient repositioning system, wherein said flexible sheet: a. incorporates a head end, a foot end and two lateral sides; and b. includes a central section incorporating an interior region made of a material that is bi-directionally stretchable and air and water permeable, wherein said interior region is adapted to support the buttock region of a patient supported on said flexible sheet, to allow cooling airflow to reach a supported area of said patient's body, and to allow drainage of bodily fluids through said interior region; (2) a pair of quick-disconnect lateral sections detachably attached to said central section along two lateral sides of said central section, each quick-disconnect lateral section within said pair of quick-disconnect lateral sections including a set of lateral connecting regions on a lateral side of said quick-disconnect lateral section, said set of lateral connecting regions adapted to be detachably connected to said patient repositioning system; and (3) a set of hanging straps attached to said pair of quick-disconnect lateral sections.
18 . The sling of claim 17 wherein said central section further comprises a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions attached to said flexible sheet and adapted to provide raised soft obstructions to restrain sliding movement of said patient supported on said central section.
19 . The sling of claim 17 wherein said flexible sheet is substantially rectangular.
20 . The sling of claim 17 wherein said central section is adapted to cover a large enough area to extend from below said patient's buttocks region to above said patient's head when said patient rests on said central section.
21 . The sling of claim 17 wherein said pair of quick-disconnect lateral sections are detachably connected to said central section along lateral sides of said central section by two respective zippers or hook-and-loop fasteners.
22 . The sling of claim 17 wherein said central section further comprises an integral elastic lumbar strap made of an elastic material, wherein said integral elastic lumbar strap is adapted and configured to be disposed in contact with the lumbar region of the back of said patient, wherein said integral elastic lumbar strap is adapted to prevent or reduce transitional stresses across said back of said patient.
23 . The sling of claim 22 wherein said central section further comprises a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions attached to said central section and adapted to provide raised soft obstructions to restrain sliding movement of said patient supported on said central section.
24 . The sling of claim 22 wherein said flexible sheet is substantially rectangular.
25 . The sling of claim 22 wherein said set of hanging straps is made of nylon or polyester webbing and is attached to said lateral sides of said flexible sheet.
26 . The sling of claim 22 wherein said pair of quick-disconnect lateral sections are detachably connected to said central section along lateral sides of said central section by two respective zippers or hook-and-loop fasteners.
27 . The sling of claim 22 wherein said central section is adapted to cover a large enough area to extend from below said patient's buttocks region to above said patient's head when said patient rests on said central section.
28 . A sling for use with a patient repositioning system comprising: (1) a flexible sheet adapted to be connected to a patient repositioning system, wherein said flexible sheet: a. incorporates a head end, a foot end and two lateral sides; b. includes an interior region made of a material that is bi-directionally stretchable and air and water permeable, wherein said interior region is adapted to support the buttock region of a patient supported on said flexible sheet, allow cooling airflow to reach a supported area of said patient's body, and allow drainage of bodily fluids through said interior region; and c. includes a set of lateral connecting regions on lateral sides of said flexible sheet, said set of lateral connecting regions adapted to be detachably connected to said patient repositioning system; and (2) a set of hanging straps attached to said lateral connecting regions.
29 . The sling of claim 28 further comprising a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions attached to said flexible sheet and adapted to provide raised soft obstructions to restrain sliding movement of said patient supported on said flexible sheet.
30 . The sling of claim 28 wherein said flexible sheet is substantially rectangular.
31 . The sling of claim 28 wherein said flexible sheet is adapted to cover a large enough area to extend from below said patient's buttocks region to above said patient's head when said patient rests on said flexible sheet.
32 . The sling of claim 28 further comprising an integral elastic lumbar strap made of an elastic material, wherein said integral elastic lumbar strap is adapted and configured to be disposed in contact with the lumbar region of the back of said patient, wherein said integral elastic lumbar strap is adapted to prevent or reduce transitional stresses across said back of said patient.
33 . The sling of claim 32 further comprising a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions attached to said flexible sheet and adapted to provide raised soft obstructions to restrain sliding movement of said patient supported on said flexible sheet.
34 . The sling of claim 32 wherein said flexible sheet is substantially rectangular.
35 . The sling of claim 32 wherein said set of hanging straps is made of nylon or polyester webbing and is attached to said lateral sides of said flexible sheet.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/390,185, entitled “PATIENT REPOSITIONING SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filed Dec. 20, 2023, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional Ser. No. 63/435,249, filed Dec. 24, 2022 and entitled PATIENT REPOSITIONING SYSTEM AND METHOD, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to support slings, lifting apparatus, and methods of repositioning a human bed occupant, particularly a patient confined to a bed for extended time period(s) with limited mobility. BACKGROUND Prolonged bed rest without adequate mobilization is often associated with increased risk of pressure ulcers and/or injuries, pulmonary complications including hypoxia and atelectasis, and hospital-acquired infections such as ventilator-associated pneumonia. Pressure ulcers are a type of injury that breaks down the skin and underlying tissue when an area of skin is placed under constant pressure (either shear, compression or a combination of the two) for a certain period, causing tissue ischemia, cessation of nutrition and oxygen supply to the tissues and eventually tissue necrosis. In short, distortion or deformation damage results from pressure sustained over an extended time period. Pressure ulcers caused by pressure due to excessive duration of little or no movement can take an exceedingly long time to heal as well as add significant cost to the provider. To reduce the risk of these ailments for patients unable to mobilize themselves sufficiently, treatment has often included caregivers manually repositioning patients at regular intervals. In other cases, automated components such as powered articulating frames and inflatable bladders have been integrated into patient support apparatus to vary pressure over areas of a patient's body. Present treatment options for pressure ulcers include various approaches of cleaning the wound, debridement, optimized dressings, role of antibiotics and reconstructive surgery. The newer treatment options such as negative pressure wound therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cell therapy have been discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of current and newer methods have also been described. However, replacing an existing bed with such apparatus can be expensive and labor intensive. In addition, an apparatus that merely varies pressure from under a patient's body may fail to provide certain benefits associated with a caregiver manually turning the patient, such as increased airflow, improved fluid drainage, increased blood flow, and reduced temperature and maceration at areas of a patient's body that are shifted entirely away from contact with a mattress or other support surface when the patient is turned. SUMMARY According to an aspect of the disclosure a sling for use with a patient repositioning system includes a flexible sheet adapted to be connected to a patient repositioning system. The flexible sheet is substantially rectangular in shape having a head end, a foot end and two lateral sides; incorporates an interior mesh region made of a material that is bi-directionally stretchable and air and water permeable, and adapted to support the buttock region of a patient supported on the flexible sheet; includes a set of lateral connecting regions on lateral sides of the flexible sheet, the set of lateral connecting regions being adapted to be detachably connected to the patient repositioning system; and includes a head end connecting region on the head end of the flexible sheet, the head end connecting region being adapted to be detachably connected to the patient repositioning system. The sling further includes a set of hanging straps attached to the lateral connecting regions. The sling also includes a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions attached to the flexible sheet and adapted to provide raised soft obstructions to restrain sliding movement of the patient supported on the flexible sheet. The interior mesh region is adapted to allow cooling airflow to reach a supported area of the patient's body, and drainage of bodily fluids through the interior mesh region. The set of hanging straps is made of nylon or polyester webbing and is attached to the lateral sides of the flexible sheet. In a further embodiment, the sling further includes an integral elastic lumbar strap made of an elastic material, wherein the integral elastic lumbar strap is adapted and configured to be disposed in contact with the lumbar region of the back of the patient, wherein the integral elastic lumbar strap is adapted to prevent or reduce transitional stresses across the back of the patient. In further embodiment, the sling also includes a pair of lateral stabilizer cushions attached to the flexible sheet and adapted to provide raised soft obstructions to restrain sliding movement of the patient supported on the flexible sheet. The interior