Various systems and methods for adjusting the firmness of a spring mattress are described herein. Inflation elements having fingers may be coupled with a spring layer of a mattress to provide for inflating or deflating the fingers in the interstitial spaces defined by a group of springs of the mattress. Increasing the fluid pressure inside the fingers increases the lateral pressure on the springs. The increase in lateral pressure in turn increases the force required to compress the springs, ultimately resulting in increasing the firmness of the mattress. Conversely, decreasing the fluid pressure inside the fingers decreases the lateral pressure on the springs, which decreases the firmness of the mattress.

Disclosed embodiments may relate to mattresses and/or mattress components having one or more foam-filled air chambers within an air impermeable cover. Typically, the foam core within an air chamber would comprise open cell foam, but the air chamber would not be self-inflating. Rather, a pump might be used to adjust the firmness and/or comfort of the mattress, inflating and deflating the air chamber according to user's preference. Embodiments might also fuse or bond at least the top surface of the impermeable cover to the foam core(s).

A support pad to position and support a patient on a patient support table, including a foam material having substantially low memory such that when the support pad is rolled upon itself from end-to-end into a substantially cylindrical shape for storage or transportation, the support pad assumes a flat shape on top of the patient support table immediately upon being unrolled from the cylindrical shape such that the foam pad is oriented to position the patient in a desired position on the patient support table.

Resilient cores preferably for inflatable bodies having resilient slabs that define a plurality of generally columnar holes or resilient arrays of generally columnar solids, methods for making such slabs and arrays, and articles incorporating the same wherein the cores further includes thermal transmission mitigation means for improving a core's resistance to heat transfer beyond the core's innate insulative properties. Non-exclusive and non-exhaustive examples of such thermal transmission mitigation means in slab core embodiments include consideration to hole or bore geometric cross section, frequency, pattern and orientation, the introduction of a thermal barrier at or within at least some holes or bores, and/or slab material selection/treatment. Non-exclusive and non-exhaustive examples of such thermal transmission mitigation means in array core embodiments include consideration to the geometric cross section, frequency (density), pattern and orientation of the solids, the introduction of thermal barriers within inter-solid spaces and/or solid material selection/treatment.

A patient support structure comprises a first supporting part, a second supporting part and a third supporting part. The first supporting part comprises a first resilient member; the second supporting part comprises a second resilient member; and the third supporting part is between the first supporting part and the second supporting part. The first supporting part, the second supporting part and the third supporting part together define a supporting surface extending along a longitudinal axis, and the second resilient member comprises a first supporting area and a second supporting area different in supporting strength.

A mattress is made of natural latex foam has at least four layers. Each of the layers having a density that is different than the density of the adjacent layers. The mattress may also have on the first layer a plurality of magnets and infrared elements. The mattress may also have massage elements and/or a low frequency energy element between the second and third layers.

An inflatable cushion including: an inflatable body, having an upper surface and a lower surface, said body including an air-impermeable skin defining a chamber, an elastic foam core within said chamber and a sealable air valve; and an external elastic foam layer substantially covering at least one of said upper and lower of surfaces; wherein: the foam core is formed of a foam having a density of between about 15 kg/m3 and about 35 kg/ma and a hardness of between about 25 newtons and about 45 newtons; and the foam layer is formed of a foam having a density of between about 35 kg/m3 and about 65 kg/m3 and a hardness of between about 35 newtons and about 95 newtons.

A surgical pad to support a patient on an operating room table, including a gel-infused polyurethane visco-elastic foam configured to support a patient on an operating room table, and an optional perineal cut-out to permit access to the patient's perineum when the patient is lying in a supine position on the surgical pad, and methods of making and using such a surgical pad during surgery.

This disclosure describes, among other things, techniques for waking a user by changing the user's sleep environment. In one example, a method includes receiving, at a central controller of an air mattress system, at least one user alarm setting, generating, via the central controller, at least one instruction based on the received user alarm setting, and transmitting, from the central controller, the at least one instruction to a first component of the air mattress system to adjust a feature of the first component.

An adjustable compact check valve for a pneumatic self-inflating mattress. The compact check valve includes a preload selector which is adjustable to user selected settings, each of which will vary the load on a preload compression spring, to thereby vary the pressure at which the check valve opens. Such adjustment allows a user to vary the firmness of a self-inflating mattress to which the compact check valve is affixed. The compact check valve also has a fully closed position, where air cannot enter or leave the self-inflating mattress, and a fully open position, where air can enter the self-inflating mattress to allow it to fully inflate, or where a user can compress the mattress for storage, by expelling air from the self-inflating mattress. Once air has been expelled from the mattress, the compact check valve may be closed, to prevent inflation of the mattress.