A support pad, including a first cushion layer, a second cushion layer, and a sensing device, is provided. The sensing device is positioned between the first and second cushion layers. The sensing device includes a plurality of sensing elements and a substrate. The substrate includes a plurality of tab portions and a plurality of expandable portions. The sensing elements are respectively mounted to the tab portions. The expandable portions are moveable between contracted and expanded positions in response to pressure applied thereto.

The present disclosure provides apparatuses and methods for measuring capacitance as an indication of susceptibility to the formation of a diabetic foot ulcer.

The present disclosure provides methods of identifying a patient in need of pressure ulcer treatment and treating the patient with clinical intervention selected based on sub-epidermal moisture values. The present disclosure also provides methods of stratifying groups of patients based on pressure ulcer risks and methods of reducing incidence of pressure ulcers in a care facility.

The present disclosure provides methods of providing a continuity of care for a patient during transfer between care settings. The method includes the steps of deciding to transfer a patient from a first care setting to a second care setting, performing a first assessment of the patient in the first care setting, preparing a transfer record of the assessment, and transferring the transfer record with the patient to the second care setting.

A method and system for patient monitoring, the system comprising a surveillance camera configured to generate a plurality of frames showing an area in which a patient in a bed is being monitored, and a computer system comprising memory and logic circuitry configured to determine bed rails positions of the bed, identify a position of the patient, and generate signals that control the bed rails of a bed based on the bed rails positions and the position of the patient.

A method for detecting biometric parameters includes the steps of performing a bone graft procedure on at least one vertebra of a spine, providing at least one biometric sensor at the at least one vertebra, the sensor measuring at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of pressure, tension, shear, relative position, and vascular flow in an adjacent, surrounding, and measuring the at least one biometric parameter at the vertebra with the sensor.

A patient bed is provided in a healthcare facility having a network including a real time locating system (RTLS) and an electronic medical records (EMR) computer. The patient bed includes bed control circuitry that is configured to receive at least one protocol messages from the EMR computer and, in response to the at least one protocol message, enables at least one bed safety protocol in which at least one bed condition is monitored by the bed control circuitry. The bed control circuitry generates an alert in response to the at least one bed condition being in an undesirable state and no caregiver being present in the patient room as determined by the RTLS and communicated to the bed circuitry. The bed control circuitry suspends monitoring the at least one bed condition in response to the RTLS indicating to the bed control circuitry that at least one caregiver is present in the patient room.

A vital signs detecting device and a method for detecting vital signs are provided. The vital signs detecting device comprises a detection unit; a multimode optical fiber configured to be connected to a light source and to the detection unit; a mechanical structure configured for receiving a pressure exerted by a person's body as a result of one or more of a group consisting of a movement of the person's body, a respiratory action of the person's body and a heart beat action of the person's body and to cause microbending of the multimode optical fiber under the exerted pressure and; wherein the multimode optical fiber is disposed between first and second sets of microbending elements of the mechanical structure substantially in a direction of the exerted pressure.

A system for detecting patient turns includes a person support apparatus including a person support surface and a support frame, a plurality of load cells for generating load cell data, a sensor for sensing at least one of heart rate data and respiration rate data for an individual, and a computing device coupled to the plurality of load cells and the sensor. The computing device receives the load cell data and the at least one of heart rate data and respiration rate data for the individual, detects that a patient turn has occurred on the person support surface based on the load cell data and the at least one of heart rate data and respiration rate data for the individual, and causes an indication that the patient turn occurred to be logged in an electronic medical record corresponding to the individual.

A hospital bed is programmable with new firmware that is downloaded to the bed over a network. The firmware is downloaded to the bed automatically from a remote computer device. The remote computer device receives a message from the hospital bed which includes data regarding the version number of the bed's current firmware, and if the version number indicates that the firmware is an outdated version, the remote computer device downloads a new version of the firmware to the bed.