Patent Application
20170312113
The present inventions relate generally to patient restraints.
Patient restraints are commonly used to secure one or more portions of a patient's body (e.g., the patient's limbs) to a hospital bed, gurney, stretcher or the like (collectively referred to herein as a “patient support apparatus”) so as to prevent patients from injuring themselves or others. Patient support apparatus manufactured in years past frequently included anchor points for the restraints that were readily accessible when a patient was on the patient support apparatus. When restraint was necessary, one portion of a restraint could be secured to the patient and another portion could be secured to the anchor point. More recently manufactured patent support apparatus tend to lack such anchor points.
The present inventors have determined that the lack of anchor points on patent support apparatus is problematic for a number of reasons. For example, patients often must be restrained quickly due to medical necessity. When a patient on a hospital bed is in need of restraint, caregivers must remove the patient from the hospital bed, remove the mattress from the hospital bed frame, secure the restraints to the frame or undercarriage, replace the mattress, and place the patient back on the bed prior to securing the restraints to the patient. Alternatively, the caregivers may be forced to lift various portions of the mattress and secure the restraints to the frame or undercarriage while the patient is on the bed, or to simply secure the restraints to a side rail or other less desirable portion of associated patent support structure. As such, the lack of a readily accessible access point subjects the caregivers and patients to delay and the possibility of injury.
A restraint anchor in accordance with at least one of the present inventions includes an attachment member that is adapted to be secured to a patient restraint and a base member, associated with the attachment member, that is adapted to be secured to a portion of a patient support apparatus.
A restraint anchor in accordance with at least one of the present inventions includes means for anchoring a patient restraint and means for securing the means for anchoring to a portion of a patient support apparatus.
A method in accordance with at least one of the present inventions includes the step of securing a restraint anchor, which includes an attachment member that is adapted to be secured to a patient restraint, to the patient support apparatus.
Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the inventions will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The following is a detailed description of the best presently known modes of carrying out the inventions. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the inventions.
A restraint anchor in accordance with one embodiment of the present inventions is generally represented by reference numeral 100 in
The exemplary base member 102 includes a flexible strap 108, with a fixed end 110 that is secured to the buckle 104 and a free end 112, and a plurality of apertures 114 that extend through the flexible strap.
The exemplary buckle 104 includes a housing 116 with an internal row of teeth 118, an inlet 120 and an outlet 122. A pivotable cover 124, which is movable between a closed position (
The exemplary attachment member 106 includes a flexible strap 134 with a fixed end 135 that is secured to the buckle 104 and a free end 137. An anchor ring 136, which provides a location at which the patient restraint may be connected to the restraint anchor 100, is secured to the free end 137. The anchor ring 136, which may be formed from metal, plastic or other suitable materials, may have a circular shape (as shown), a D-shaped or any other suitable shape. In other implementations, the anchor ring may be in the form of a sewn loop formed at the end of the flexible strap 134.
Referring more specifically to
The free end 112 of the flexible strap 108 may be inserted into the buckle housing inlet 120, through the buckle housing 116 past the post 126 (
Although the present restraint anchors are not limited to use with any particular patient support apparatus, one example of a patient support apparatus that may be used in conjunction with the present restraint anchor 100 is the patient support apparatus 200 illustrated in
One or more of restraint anchors 100 may be secured to the patient support apparatus 200 to convert the patient support apparatus into a patient support apparatus that has one or more anchor points in, for example, the manner described here with reference to
This process may be repeated to place additional restraint anchors 100 at other locations on the patient support apparatus 200. By way of example, but not limitation, four restraint anchors 100 may be secured to the patient support apparatus 200 at locations generally corresponding to the patient's wrists and ankles.
It should also be noted here that the configuration of the present restraint anchors 100 allows the restraint anchors to be removably secured to the patient support apparatus. As used here, the phrase “removably secured” means that a restraint anchors can be detached from a patient support apparatus without damage to the restraint anchor or the patient support apparatus.
The orientation of the restraint anchor 100 relative to the patient support apparatus to which it is attached will depend on the configuration of the patient support apparatus and the most convenient locations for the attachment member 106. In the illustrated example, the attachment member 106 extends downwardly from the frame 210 into the open space below the fame in the manner illustrated in
A patient restraint 300, which includes an elongate adjustable length strap 302 and a cuff (not shown) for the patient's wrist or ankle, may be secured to the anchor point created by a restraint anchor 100 in the manner illustrated in
With respect to materials and dimensions, suitable materials for the straps 108 and 134 include, but are not limited to, polyester, nylon, polyurethane, and cotton. The length of the strap 108 may range from about 6 inches to 24 inches, while the length of the strap 134 may range from about 2 inches to 8 inches.
Such lengths would be combined in those instances where a single length of material forms both of the straps 108 and 134. The widths of the straps 108 and 134 are the same in the illustrated embodiment, and may range from about 0.75 inches to 6 inches. The widths may be different in other embodiments. The materials and dimensions are not limited to the examples provided here and may be altered as necessary.
Although the present inventions have been described in terms of the preferred embodiments above, numerous modifications and/or additions to the above-described preferred embodiments would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the scope of the present inventions extends to all such modifications and/or additions.
