The present invention relates to apparatus and method for patient elevation and more particularly to apparatus and method for elevation of a patient confined to a fluidized bed.
Fluidized patient support systems such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,699 to Goodwin, the contents of which patent are hereby incorporated herein by reference, have provided significant relief to patients who are immobilized for extended recuperative periods of time and/or who have particularly sensitive skin conditions, such as burn patients or patients with bed sores. While conventional hospital beds can be provided with articulatable sections so as to be able to raise the head and chest of the patient for example, it is practically impossible to articulate the fluidized surface portion of a fluidized patient support system. A hybrid system comprising a fluidized patient support surface connected via an articulatable carriage to a plurality of inflatable sacks is capable of articulating the head and chest of the patient, while the lower torso of the patient remains supported by a fluidized surface. Such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,635 to Hargest et al, the contents of which patent are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
However, raising the head and chest of the patient which is supported by a fluidized surface poses many problems. Various inflatable wedge-shaped envelopes have been proposed for effecting elevation of a patient above a fluidized surface. But such inflatable devices must be positioned beneath the head and chest of the patient before they can be inflated. This requires movement of the patient's head and chest in precisely the manner that the elevating inflatable devices are intended to effect. If such devices are predisposed beneath the patient, they detract from the therapeutic effect of the fluidized surface that otherwise would support the head and chest of the patient.