A CPAP pillow relies on a shell shaped to provide large reservoirs of fill particles near or against the shoulders of a user and around and under the neck. The system and method uncouple the spring forces supporting a user from the forces used to configure the shape of the pillow in use. Thus, a user can fit the pillow to the body profile in three dimensions with substantially no residual pre-loading to cause discomfort, pressure points, or unsupported regions. The pillow supports, contacts, and cradles the head and neck. It accommodates shoulder intrusion without moving the pillow away from supporting the neck.

A method for fabricating a custom anatomical cushion and a device to capture pressure controlled shape is provided. The device comprises, generally, a flexible membrane enclosing floating beads adapted to be completely immersed and freely moving inside a fluid. The device further comprises a mesh adapted to stop the floating beads from going outside of the flexible membrane as a result of a pressure increase or decrease inside the flexible membrane. The device is being fluidly connected to a pressure control system adapted to increase and/or decrease the internal pressure of the flexible membrane and comprises a vibration/leveling system adapted to adjust the fluid level inside the flexible membrane.

A spinal immobilization device including a base member and a spinal support member configured to overlay the base member. The base member includes an elongate board having a curvate top surface, a plurality of openings surrounding at least a portion of the elongate board, and a channel defined within the top surface. The spinal support member may include a bladder, a valve controlling passage of fluid into the bladder, and a plurality of fluid absorbing members within the bladder. The channel defines an impression within the top surface that matches a shape of a portion of the bladder.

A pillow relies on a shell containing two types of fill material, one comparatively smaller, granular, and characterized by a comparatively larger spring constant, and another comparatively larger, more chunky in shape, and characterized by a comparatively smaller spring constant. Buckwheat hulls or polymeric granules with concavities or flutes may serve as the smaller granules and chunks of expanded elastomeric polymer may serve as larger granules. Below a threshold level of force (or pressure, which is force per unit area) the larger, softer, second fill material resists flow of the smaller, harder, stiffer fill material. However, upon freefall or else application of greater than threshold pressure, the pillow will conform non-resiliently to the gravity or pressure, and then remain in that shape, even under the pressure of the head and neck of a user.

A mattress for evenly gathering and dispersing human body gravity comprises elastic surface layer connecting cloth (1), elastic support frames (2), lateral connecting cloth (3), a filling region (4), granular fillers (5), a filler inlet/outlet (6), lower connecting cloth (7), a foot limiting belt (8), a leg limiting belt (9), hip limiting belts (10) and a back limiting belt (11) (limiting belts for short). The width of each of the limiting belts (8, 9, 10, 11) is less than that of the filling region. Upper ends and lower ends of the limiting belts (8, 9, 10, 11) are separately connected to an upper cloth layer and a lower cloth layer. When the mattress is stressed by human body gravity, the granular fillers automatically move towards a gravity-free region and fill a gap between the human body and the mattress, so as to provide a larger balanced stress surface for the human body and realize balancing of the human body gravity. The mattress is self-adaptive to a posture of lying on the side or lying on the back, so that no pillow is required. The mattress has functions of improving blood circulation and relieving fatigue of joints and muscles, and can avoid discomfort due to uneven stress. The mattress is partitioned into one or more independent filling regions by lateral upright partitioning cloth (12), so that the mattress can be used by one or more persons.

A spinal immobilization device including a base member and a spiral support member configured to overlay the base member. The base member includes an elongate board having a curvate top surface, a plurality of openings surrounding at least a portion of the elongate board, and a channel defined within the top surface. The spiral support member may include a bladder, a valve controlling passage of fluid into the bladder, and a plurality of fluid absorbing members within the bladder. The channel defines an impression within the top surface that matches a shape of a portion of the bladder.

A method for packaging a cushion includes coating a cushioning element with a powder while the cushioning element is in an expanded state and then compressing the cushion to a compressed state. As the cushioning element is compressed, the powder prevents surfaces of the cushioning element (e.g., surfaces of intersecting walls that define hollow buckling columns of a cushioning element formed from an elastomeric polymer extended with a plasticizer, etc.) from adhering to each other. The powder may allow the cushioning element to substantially return to its expanded state substantially immediately following removal of a compressive force from the cushioning element.

The invention provides an improved mattress for sleeping which is to be filled with sand to recreate a sleep experience predating the invention of the modern spring-type, or bladder-type mattress (i.e. air or water-filled). For example, by filling the mattress with sand, it recreates the essence of sleeping on the earth itself. The mattress is composed of a hollow, fillable shell, the bottom and sides of which are constructed from a single piece of heavy duty, durable synthetic fabric; the top panel (or sleeping surface) is constructed from natural fiber fabric.

A CPAP pillow relies on a shell shaped to provide large reservoirs of fill particles near or against the shoulders of a user and around and under the neck. The system and method uncouple the spring forces supporting a user from the forces used to configure the shape of the pillow in use. Thus, a user can fit the pillow to the body profile in three dimensions with substantially no residual pre-loading to cause discomfort, pressure points, or unsupported regions. The pillow supports, contacts, and cradles the head and neck. It accommodates shoulder intrusion without moving the pillow away from supporting the neck.

A tilt-tip moldable bed system for the care of immobile patients is provided. The bed system may include a moldable mattress having a casing with a bladder defining an inner volume and a top compliant surface over a top surface of the bladder, the compliant surface configured to conform to a shape of a displacing structure. The bladder may be configured to hold a plurality of beads suspended in a fluid medium. The moldable mattress may be molded while inflated and maintain a resilient shape when evacuated. The system may further include a supporting frame for the moldable support structure having a laterally rigid outer rim with at least one attachment point for the moldable mattress, at least one attachment point for a netted sling, and one or more mounting tracks configured to support at least one peripheral attachment.