"The Smart Bed"

“The Smart Bed” is a pressure neutralizing bed using Flexpoint Bend Sensor® Technology. “The Smart Bed” has the ability to precisely identify areas of the body where high pressure skin contact is most vulnerable, which results in bed sores, and eliminates that by changing air pressures in the bed when and where needed. The Bend Sensor® Technology is what allows “The Smart Bed” to read all that information by measuring minute change in surface deflection. These measurements are correlated and calibrated with intra-compartmental air pressure changes to calculate variances in surface pressures where the patient’s body is in contact with the mattress. The proprietary software continuously analyzes and adjusts the surface pressures to relieve high pressure skin contact before significant capillary blood flow is compromised, enabling the prevention of pressure ulcers.

The revolutionary “The Smart Bed” achieves a level of pressure point prevention far beyond anything available on the market today. Other products randomly alternate compartment pressure or only make adjustments based on intra-compartmental pressures, which at best decreases the chances for pressure ulcer development by passively changing potential pressure points. Conversely, “The Smart Bed” actively eliminates pressure points in real time, responding to precise measurements made possible by the fusion of multi-compartment air mattress design, computer programming, and Bend Sensor® technology, allowing for the complete prevention of bed sores.

HOW IT WORKS

The “Smart Bed” is comprised of three basic sub systems. These systems are the Bend Sensors®, the control unit (valve and pump), and the multi-chambered air mattress. The function of each of these systems is as follows:

BEND SENSOR®: The Bend Sensor® is a device that changes resistance as it is bent. Each chamber in the bed has a sensor mounted to the top of it and measures the amount of deflection of that chamber. Based on tests conducted inferences can be made to move that load to other cells in the bed and consequently reducing the chance of bed sores. The Bend Sensor® Technology is what allows “The Smart Bed” to precisely identify the areas on the body where skin contact is most vulnerable.

THE CONTROL UNIT: The controls of the bed consist of a micro processor and corresponding firmware/software, a pump to supply pressure to the bed, a valve to control where the pressure goes and where it is relieved and user interface to adjust some limited parameters of the bed. In some instances onboard memory can be included to allow a health care facility to record the action of the bed for future reference. The control unit will monitor the Bend Sensors® and pressure data. In some instances onboard memory can be included to allow a health care facility to record the action of the bed for future reference. The control unit will monitor the Bend Sensors® and pressure data supplied from the bed and then make adjustments in air pressure to appropriate chambers in an intelligently managed fashion. Current function include an auto-fill routine, auto-monitor, auto-regulate and a manual chamber pressure adjust.

THE MULTI-CHAMBERED MATTRESS: The mattress can be configured in any number of ways depending on the application. The number of cells, size and placement can all be manipulated to a specific need. The current prototype is designed around thirty (30) equally sized rectangular chambers configured in a standard twin bed. Each chamber has an air line connected to the control unit by way of the valve.