Support straps having features to aid in positioning and rotating a horizontally laying subject on a support surface, systems including the support straps, and kits of parts including the support straps are described herein. A support strap includes a body having first and second ends spaced a distance apart, at least one first loop extending from the first end, at least one second loop extending from the second end, and indicia on the body, the first loop, and/or the second loop. The indicia indicates an arrangement of the support strap with respect to the subject such that a centerline of the subject is not aligned with a true line of symmetry of the support strap when the first loop is coupled to a first end of a sling bar and the second loop is coupled to a second end of the sling bar.

A ceiling lift tilt management system includes first and second motor units, which are attachable to a rail system of a medical care facility. Each motor unit includes a flexible strap, which can be coiled or uncoiled within the motor unit to raise or lower a spreader bar attached thereto. Coiling or uncoiling of the straps can cause raising or lowering of a sling attached to the spreader bars. The system also allows for tilting of the spreader bars by coiling or uncoiling a leading motor unit strap. The system includes a control system that measures the relative lengths of the two straps in order to ensure that relative tilt between the spreader bars does not exceed a threshold. Once a threshold tilt for height difference is reached, further user requests for additional tilting are prohibited. Patient comfort and safety are therefore ensured.

A lifting system for a mobility device has a bracket fixed to the mobility device. A hoist connector is configured to removably connect to the bracket to provide lifting of the mobility device in use. One of the bracket and the hoist connector has a pin and the other of the bracket and the hoist connector comprises a clip, the pin having a head formation and a neck formation. The clip has an aperture configured to pass over the head formation in use and into engagement with the neck formation such that the clip is loosely held on the pin, and where the clip has a close fit with the head formation to prevent unintentional disengagement from the pin in use.

An overhead lift system may include a motor and a lift strap connected to the motor. The motor raises and lowers the lift strap. A hand controller may be communicatively connected to the motor. The hand controller includes a force sensor associated with the body of the hand controller such that force applied to the body is detected with the force sensor. An orientation sensor may also be arranged within the body and determines an orientation of the hand controller. A control unit may be communicatively connected with the motor, the force sensor, and the orientation sensor. The control unit detects a force applied to the hand controller with the force sensor, determines a direction of motion of the hand controller with the orientation sensor, and provides a signal to the motor to raise or lower the lift strap based on the force and orientation of the hand controller.

A patient lifting assembly includes a first housing that is coupled to a vertical support surface to be positioned adjacent to a user's head when the user is lying in a bed. A first cable is retracted or extended outwardly from the first housing. A first handle is coupled to the first cable and the first handle can be gripped by a user to urge the user toward the head of the bed. A second housing is coupled to a vertical support surface to be positioned adjacent to a user's feet when the user is lying in the bed. A second cable is retracted or extended outwardly from the second housing. A second handle is coupled to the second cable and the second handle can be gripped by a user to urge the user into an upright, seated position.

A patient transport apparatus with a base, a litter comprising a support surface, and a lift mechanism to facilitate arranging the litter at different heights relative to the base between a plurality of lift configurations including a fully-retracted configuration and a fully-extended configuration. The lift mechanism includes an actuator including a cylinder, fluid reservoir, and a pump driven by a motor to direct hydraulic fluid from the fluid reservoir to the cylinder. A sensor outputs a signal indicative of a magnitude of pressure in the cylinder. A user interface with an input control is provided. A controller determines a target parameter for the motor and, in response to user engagement with the input control, drives the motor at the target parameter to effect movement of the litter relative to the base at a predetermined rate irrespective of a weight of a patient supported on the litter.

A motive system for a patient lifting assembly, a patient lifting assembly and a method of operating a patient lifting assembly. The motive system includes an electric motor, numerous sensors and an adaptive control unit cooperative with one another so that a memory and processor that are part of the control unit that can respectively store and execute a computer readable and executable instruction set. By comparing collected data from the sensors during operation of the motor to corresponding reference values associated with one or more motor operational parameters—such as accumulated motor wear over time or differences in operating temperature of the motor—the system can selectively adjust the maximum amount of current available for use by the motor. In this way, changes in motor efficiencies that arise with these parametric changes can be taken into consideration when determining an upper limit on how much electrical current may be delivered to the motor for a given load.

A method of determining information about a device includes the steps of 1) acquiring an image of at least a portion of the device, 2) comparing the information content of the image to the information content of at least one record of a library, and, 3) if the comparison is positive, reporting that the device is in the possible state represented by the library record. A method which depends on calculations based on the acquired image rather than on comparison of the information content of the image to the information content of one or more library records is also disclosed. A system for determining the state of the device is also disclosed.

The present invention provides an apparatus for moving a patient on a pad and holding the pad in place on a an anterior hip table or a standard surgical table. The pad works in conjunction with the reusable patient lifting/moving base, allowing nurses to more readily and easily move patients on the table in order to facilitate surgical positioning. The pad may also be used in combination with a post overlay to prevent injuries to the genital area of the patient.

A patient repositioning apparatus includes a mounting frame configured to couple to an underside of a bed frame. A motor housing is rotatably coupled to the mounting frame for rotation about an axis. The motor housing carries a motor and a winch. The motor is operable to turn the winch. A strap is coupled to the winch and configured to be wound around the winch by the motor. The strap has at least one coupling mechanism configured to couple to a bed sheet.