Introduced here are pressure-mitigation apparatuses able to mitigate the pressure applied to a human body by the surface of an object. A controller device can be fluidically coupled to a pressure-mitigation device that includes a series of selectively inflatable chambers. When a pressure-mitigation device is placed between a human body and a surface, the controller device can continuously, intelligently, and autonomously circulate air through the chambers of the pressure-mitigation device. As further discussed below, the controller device may cause the chambers to be selectively inflated, deflated, or any combination thereof. Such an approach is useful in a variety of contexts. For example, pressure-mitigation apparatuses may be used to improve treatment of patients suffering from respiratory illnesses and patients who are partially or completely immobilized for extended durations (e.g., as part of a medical procedure).

Various embodiments, aspects and features of the present solution encompass a manually adjustable patient positioning device that is configured to reside on an operating table and outside the sterile field of a surgical environment. A carriage assembly rides along a pair of parallel guide rails and supports a cushioning device. A patient's foot, for example, may be placed on the cushioning device such that repositioning of the carriage assembly along the guide rails causes manipulation of the position and degree of articulation for the patient's knee during an orthopedic surgery.

A surgical frame and method for use thereof is provided. The surgical frame is capable of reconfiguration before, during, or after surgery. The surgical frame includes a main beam that can be rotated, raised/lowered, and tilted upwardly/downwardly to afford positioning and repositioning of a patient supported thereon. The surgical frame also includes a reconfigurable upper leg support for supporting portions of the upper legs, the hips, and the lower back of the patient to facilitate positioning and repositioning there during surgery. The upper leg support via reconfiguration thereof can accommodate patients of different sizes, can provide flexure of the patient's lumbar spine to facilitate surgical access thereto, and can prevent unwanted torsion of a patient's spine during such reconfiguration.

A lift, a head support, and methods for use thereof for use with a surgical frame are provided. The lift and the head support can be used with the surgical frame that is capable of reconfiguration before, during, or after surgery. The surgical frame can include a main beam that can be rotated, raised/lowered, and tilted upwardly/downwardly to afford positioning and repositioning of a patient supported thereon, and the lift and the head support can be used in lifting the patient from a table/gurney and positioning the patient with respect to the main beam.

A protective barrier system that blocks and prevents infectious aerosols generated by or around a supine patient from escaping into a surrounding environment and reaching and contaminating a healthcare worker treating the patient with a patient interface device. The system includes a flexible, fluid-impervious sheet that covers the patient and blocks and prevents escape of the infectious aerosols into the surrounding environment. The sheet has an aperture that is adapted to enables access to the patient and couple to the interface device without gapping for blocking of the infectious aerosols and operative positioning of the system over and on the patient. A corresponding method is also disclosed.

A device and method that facilitates performance of a jaw thrust maneuver. A base connected to a rack and pinion mechanism including at least one pinion rotatably attached to the base and at least two racks slidably attached to the base and engaged with the pinion to move in opposite directions upon rotation of at least one pinion. A pair of arms, each pivotably coupled to one of the racks to allow rotational freedom of motion. A patient's head is placed in supine position and a pair of arms slides towards the patient's head in synchrony to position the arms to clear the patient's airways.

A lift, a head support, and methods for use thereof for use with a surgical frame are provided. The lift and the head support can be used with the surgical frame that is capable of reconfiguration before, during, or after surgery. The surgical frame can include a main beam that can be rotated, raised/lowered, and tilted upwardly/downwardly to afford positioning and repositioning of a patient supported thereon, and the lift and the head support can be used in lifting the patient from a table/gurney and positioning the patient with respect to the main beam.

The bed includes a support structure and an actuatable mattress support platform, which actuatable mattress support platform has a reclinable back section and an actuatable leg section. The actuatable leg section includes a reclinable thigh section and a reclinable lower-leg section that are adapted to move in conjunction with one another. The reclinable back section and actuatable leg section are actuatable to adjust a configuration of the actuatable mattress support platform and change the configuration of the actuatable mattress support platform from a substantially flat configuration to a sitting configuration, or vice versa. During a first actuation phase, exclusively the actuatable leg section is actuated to raise the actuatable leg section with respect to the support structure, thereby bringing the actuatable leg section to a first intermediate position with respect to the support structure. During a subsequent second actuation phase, both the reclinable back section and the actuatable leg section are actuated to respectively raise the reclinable back section and raise further the actuatable leg section with respect to the support structure, thereby bringing the actuatable leg section to a second intermediate position with respect to the support structure higher than the first intermediate position. During a subsequent third actuation phase, both the reclinable back section and the actuatable leg section are actuated to respectively raise further the reclinable back section and lower the actuatable leg section with respect to the support structure, thereby bringing the reclinable back section and actuatable leg section to selected final positions with respect to the support structure in which the reclinable back section and the actuatable leg section are both raised with respect to the support structure.

A patient bed assembly unit as well as to a thermotherapy device for newborns includes a bed frame and a drawer. The bed frame has a drawer guide configured to make possible a drawer movement from a central pushed-in position in the bed frame along a first pull-out direction and in a second pull-out direction, which direction is opposite the first pull-out direction, into a pulled-out position of the drawer. A drawer-centering device acts on the drawer to move it into the central pushed-in position. The drawer can be removed from the guide. A drawer anti-tilt device is provided, which transmits a torque acting on the drawer directly to a bed frame and prevents the downward tilting of the drawer relative to the bed frame about an axis extending at right angles to the pull-out directions.

The application relates to a device for, and method of transferring a patient on a bed between a lying position along a bed to a seated position facing the side of a bed. The device comprises an arm hold to allow the patient to clinch the arm hold to his or her chest, thereby enabling the device to transfer the patient between a lying position and a seated position. Preferably, the device further comprises a leg support to assist in transferring the lower portion of the patients body between a lying position and a seated position.