Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
HOSPITAL BED EXIT DETECTION, HEIGHT LIMITING AND TARE WEIGHT
RECALIBRATING SYSTEMS AND METHODS
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present relates to hospital beds, and more specifically to
patient exit detection
methods and systems for hospital beds. The present also relates to methods and
systems for
limiting a height of a hospital bed, and to methods and systems for
recalibrating a tare weight
condition of a hospital bed.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Hospital beds and long term care beds are adapted to receive
patients and to allow
caregivers to monitor the patient and provide care to the patient.
[0003] Some hospital beds are provided with a system which detects a
patient exiting the
bed and which issues an alarm in response to alert a caregiver near the bed or
remote from the
bed. In some cases, the patient exit :from the bed could be detected when the
patient moves
within a certain distance of the sides of the bed's deck.
[0004] Unfortunately, this system has a number of limitations. For example,
if a bed exit
alarm is triggered and the alarm is then deactivated while the patient is
still in a location on the
bed which indicates a possible bed exit, the bed exit alarm could be
immediately be reactivated,
therefore requiring the caregiver to once again deactivate the alarm.
[0005] Moreover, when the caregiver wishes to provide care to a patient,
he/she will usually
disable the bed exit alarm to be able to move the patient on the bed without
running the risk of
activating the alarm. Unfortunately, the caregiver may forget to re-arm the
system once the
patient has been tended to.
[0006] Hospital beds also sometimes include an integrated weight sensor or
scale to measure
a weight of a patient on the bed while allowing the patient to remain on the
bed. It will be
appreciated that hospital beds are often provided with medical equipment which
can vary from
patient to patient and which has a certain weight. To obtain a precise
measurement of the
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patient's weight, an initial tare weight condition is therefore measured
without the patient in the
bed, and the initial condition correspond to a "zero" to which the measured
parameters will be
compared. The initial tare weight condition may comprise a weight measurement
from the
weight sensor. Once the patient is received on the bed, the patient's weight
will therefore
correspond to the difference between the measured weight and the In hospital
beds provided with
a patient location sensor, the initial tare weight conditions may also
comprise a location
measurement from the patient location sensor.
[0007] Unfortunately, the caregiver operating the hospital bed may
mistakenly cause the
system to perform a measurement of the initial tare weight condition while the
patient has
already been positioned on the bed. In this case, the bed will therefore no
longer properly
indicate the patient's weight. To re-measure the initial tare weight condition
to obtain a proper
measurement, the patient would have to be removed from the bed, which can be
time consuming,
cumbersome and even harmful to the patient.
[0008] Some hospital beds further include an elevation assembly which
allows the bed's
deck receiving the patient to be selectively raised and lowered. In some
cases, medical
equipment or other items may be placed under the bed's deck. Unfortunately, if
the bed is
lowered towards the ground surface under the deck, it may come in contact with
the medical
equipment or other items under the bed, which may damage the bed or the
medical equipment or
other items.
[0009] There is therefore a need for a system an.d a method which would
overcome at least
one of the above-identified drawbacks.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0010] According to one aspect, there is provided a method for detecting an
exit of a patient
from a hospital bed, the method comprising: detecting a presence of the
patient on the bed; upon
detection of the patient on the bed, monitoring an indication that the patient
has moved from a
predetermined patient area on a patient receiving surface of the bed to
outside the predetermined
patient area; upon detection that the patient has moved outside the
predetermined patient area,
activating a bed alarm to indicate to a user that an exit of the patient from
the hospital bed has
been detected.
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[0011] In one embodiment, detecting the presence of a patient on the bed
comprises:
providing a weight sensing assembly operatively connected to the bed to
measure a weight of a
patient received on the patient receiving surface; receiving an indication
from the weight sensing
assembly that the patient is received on the bed.
[0012] in one embodiment, receiving an indication from the weight sensing
assembly that
the patient is received on the bed comprises: the weight sensing assembly
detecting a weight
above a predetermined weight threshold on the bed; the weight sensing assembly
providing the
indication that the patient is received on the bed,
[0013] In one embodiment, the predetermined weight threshold is 32 kg.
[0014] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: after detecting the
presence of the
patient on the bed, detecting that the patient is in the predetermined patient
area.
[0015] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: after monitoring
the indication
that the patient has moved .from the predetermined patient area and further
upon receiving a
pause command, suspending monitoring the indication that the patient has moved
from the
predetermined patient area.
[0016] In one embodiment, suspending monitoring the indication that the
patient has moved
from the predetermined patient area comprises: suspending monitoring the
indication that the
patient has moved from the predetermined patient area for a predetermined
pause time.
[0017] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: displaying a time
indicative of an
amount of time remaining before expiration of the predetermined pause time.
[0018] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: increasing the
amount of time
remaining before expiration of the predetermined pause time by a predetermined
time increment.
[0019] According to another aspect, there is further provided a bed exit
detection system for
a hospital bed, the hospital bed including a patient receiving surface, the
system comprising: a
weight sensing assembly operatively connected to the bed to measure a weight
of a patient
received on the bed; a patient location sensor operatively connected to the
patient receiving
surface for determining a location of the patient on the patient receiving
surface; a user interface
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for receiving inputs from a user; a display for providing visual indications
to the user; a bed exit
alarm .configured for providing an indication to a user that an exit of a
patient from the patient
receiving surface is detected; a processing unit operatively connected to the
weight sensing
assembly, the patient location sensor, the user interface, the display and the
bed exit alarm, the
processing unit being configured to receive from the weight sensing assembly
an indication that
the patient is received on the bed, the processing unit being further
configured to receive from
the patient location sensor an indication that the patient has moved from a
predetermined patient
area on the patient receiving surface to outside the predetermined patient
area, thereby indicating
an exit of the patient from the bed, the processing unit being further
configured for activating the
bed exit alarm when the exit of the patient from the bed is detected.
[0020] In one embodiment, the user interface and the display include a
common
touchscreen.
[0021] According to yet another aspect, there is provided a method for
limiting a height of a
hospital bed, the hospital bed including an elevation mechanism for moving a
patient receiving
surface of the bed vertically relative to a ground surface, the method
including: providing an
indication of a minimum height value to a processing unit operatively
connected to the elevation
mechanism; providing a current height of the bed to the processing unit;
detecting a downward
vertical movement of the elevation assembly; the processing unit comparing the
current height of
the bed with a predetermined minimum height value; if the current height of
the bed is below the
predetermined minimum height value, stopping the downward movement of the
elevation
assembly.
[0022] In one embodiment, providing a providing a current height of the bed
comprises:
providing an indication of a caster height of bed casters to the processing
unit; the processing
unit receiving from a height sensor operatively connected to the elevation
mechanism a current
height of the elevation mechanism; the processing unit calculating the current
height of the bed
based on the indication of the caster height and the current height of the
elevation mechanism.
[0023] In one embodiment, stopping the downward movement of the elevation
assembly
comprises: the processing unit providing a command to the elevation mechanism
to stop
downward movement of the elevation assembly.
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[0024] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: if the current
height of the bed is
below the predetermined minimum height value, providing an indication to a
user that the patient
elevation surface is at the predetermined minimum height value.
[0025] According tO still another aspect, there is also provided a method
for recalibrating a
tare weight condition of a hospital bed, the method comprising: providing a
weight sensing
assembly operatively connected to the bed; measuring a tare weight of the bed
provided with
medical equipment without a patient being received on the bed; storing the
measured tare weight
in a memory; providing the patient on the bed; upon receiving a command from a
user, replacing
the measured tare weight with a previously measured tare weight stored in the
memory.
[0026] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: calculating a
weight of the patient
based on the stored tare weight.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] FIG. I is a block diagram showing a hospital bed system for a
hospital bed, in
accordance with one embodiment, in which the hospital bed system includes an
exit detection
system.
[0028] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a manual activation mode of a method for
detecting an exit
of a patient from the bed, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an automatic activation mode of a method
for detecting an
exit of a patient from the bed, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0030] FIG, 4 is a diagram of a touchscreen for the hospital bed system
illustrated in FIG. 1,
displaying a window including text indicating that the presence of a patient
has been detected on
the bed.
[0031] FIG. 5 is another diagram of the touchscreen for the hospital bed
system illustrated in
FIG. I, displaying a main interface image during monitoring of the exit of the
patient from the
bed.
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[0032] FIG. 6 is yet another diagram of the =touchscreen for the hospital
bed system
illustrated in FIG. 1, displaying a pause confirmation window which allows a
user to input a
pause command.
[0033] FIG. 7 is still another diagram of the touchscreen for the hospital
bed system
illustrated in FIG. 1, displaying again the main interface image while the
exit detection system is
in a pause mode and including a decreasing timer indicating an amount of time
remaining before
expiration of a predetermined pause time.
[0034] FIG. 8 is another diagram of the touchscreen for the hospital bed
system illustrated in
FIG. 1, displaying a pause option window which allow the user to selectively
exit the pause
mode and to increase the amount of time remaining before expiration of the
predetermined pause
time.
[0035] FIG. 9 is a diagram of the touchscreen for the hospital bed system
illustrated in FIG.
1, displaying a calibration menu image including a start button and a tare
weight condition recall
button.
[0036] FIG. 10 is another diagram of the touchscreen for the hospital bed
system illustrated
in FIG. 1 displaying a tare weight condition recall menu image including text
indicative of a
plurality of previous measured tare weight conditions.
[0037] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a method for recalibrating a tare weight
condition of a
hospital bed, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0038] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a hospital bed system for a
hospital bed, in
accordance with an alternative embodiment, in which the hospital bed includes
an elevation
mechanism and a bed height limiting system.
[0039] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a method for limiting the height of the
hospital bed
'illustrated in FIG. 12.
[0040] FIG. 14 is a diagram of a touchscreen for the hospital bed system
illustrated in FIG.
12, displaying a preference image which includes a height configuration
button.
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[0041] FIG. 15 is another diagram of the touchscreen for the hospital bed
system illustrated.
in FIG. 12, displaying a minimum height adjustment image which allows a user
to select one of a
plurality of predetermined minimum height values.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0042] Referring first to FIG. 1, there is provided a hospital bed system
100 for a hospital
bed 102, in accordance with one embodiment. It will be understood that in the
following
description, the term "hospital bed" is used to refer to any type of bed which
is adapted to
receive a patient, including hospital beds and long term care beds, and is not
limited for use in a
hospital.
[0043] In the illustrated embodiment, the bed 102 includes a frame 104 and
a patient
receiving surface 106 supported by the frame 104 for receiving a patient.
Specifically, the patient
receiving surface is generally rectangular and includes a deck of the hospital
bed 102. The
patient receiving surface 106 could further includes a mattress, not shown,
disposed on the deck
and onto which the patient may lie.
[0044] In the illustrated embodiment, the hospital bed system 100 further
includes an exit
detection system 110 for detecting an exit of a patient from the bed 102. More
specifically, the
exit detection system 110 includes a patient location sensor 112 operatively
coupled to the bed
102 for determining a location of a patient on the bed 102, a processing unit
114 operatively
coupled to the patient sensor and a bed exit alarm 116 operatively connected
to the processing
unit 114 for providing an indication to a user that an exit of the patient
from the bed 102 has been
detected. The processing unit 114 is configured for receiving from the patient
location sensor
112 an indication that the patient has exited the bed 102. Specifically, the
processing unit 114
may be configured for receiving from the patient location sensor 112 an
indication that the
patient has exited the patient receiving surface 106. Even more specifically,
the processing unit
114 may be configured for receiving from the patient location sensor 106 an
indication that the
patient has exited a predetermined patient area 108 on the patient receiving
surface 106. In this
case, a detection of movement of the center of mass of the patient from the
predetermined patient
area 108 would be indicative of the patient exiting the bed 102, and the bed
exit alarm 116 could
be activated in accordance to one or more desired conditions such as a
detected movement speed
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of the patient's center of mass on the patient receiving surface 106 and/or a
period for which the
patient is detected as having left the patient support surface 106.
[0045] An example of a system for determining a location of a patient on a
bed, or patient
location determination system, is described in US Patent No. 9,754,476, a copy
of which is
incorporated herein by reference. This system can be used for monitoring
whether the patient is
in the predetermined patient area 108 or if the patient exits the
predetermined patient area 108, as
a skilled person will appreciate.
[0046] in one embodiment, the predetermined patient area 108 could be
rectangular and
generally smaller than the patient receiving area 106, such that the
predetermined patient area
108 is generally centered o.n the patient receiving area 106 and is surrounded
by a border area of
the patient receiving surface 106. Alternatively, the predetermined patient
area 108 could
correspond generally to the entire patient receiving surface 106.
[0047] In one embodiment, the processing unit 114 is further configured for
receiving an
indication that a patient is present on the bed 102 and upon receiving the
indication that the
patient is present on the bed 102, to set the system in a monitoring
configuration in which the
presence of the patient on the bed 102 is monitored. In other words, when a
presence of a patient
is initially detected on the bed 102, the system is "armed" and ready to
detect an exit of the
patient from the bed 102.
[0048] In one embodiment, the bed 102 further includes a weight sensing
assembly 120
operatively connected to the patient receiving surface 104 to measure a weight
of a patient
received on the patient receiving surface 106. In the present embodiment, the
weight sensing
assembly 120 could further he used to detect the presence of a user on the bed
102. Specifically,
the weight sensing assembly 120 could include one or more weight sensors
disposed between the
patient receiving surface 106 and the frame 104. In another embodiment, the
weight sensing
assembly 120 could include one or more sensors disposed between a base of the
bed 102 located
near the ground surface and an elevation mechanism located above the base, as
described in US
Patent No. 9,754,476,. a copy of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Alternatively, the
weight sensing assembly 120 could include any other type of weight sensors or
combination of
weight sensors which may be located at different locations on the bed 102.
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[0049] In another embodiment, instead of the weight sensing assembly 120,
the processing
unit 114 could be configured to detect the presence of the patient on the bed
102 using the patient
location sensor 112 instead of the weight sensing assembly 120, or even using
a combination of
the patient location sensor 112 and of the weight sensing assembly 120.
[0050] In one embodiment, the exit detection system 110 further includes a
user interface
122 operatively connected to the processing unit 114 to allow a user to input
and/or modify
parameters of the exit detection system 110. The bed 102 may further include a
display 124
operatively connected to the processing unit 114 for displaying data related
to the bed 102 to the
user. In one embodiment, both the user interface 122 and the display 124
include a common
touchscreen, which can both display data to a user and allow the user to input
commands to the
processing unit 114.
[0051] In one embodiment, the bed 102 may further include a memory 126
operatively
connected to the processing unit 114 for storing one or more parameters
inputted by the user via
the user interface 122.
[0052] In one embodiment, the bed exit alarm 116 includes a visual
indicator operatively
connected to the processing unit 114. Specifically, the visual indicator may
include one or more
indicator lights, such as LED-based lights or incandescent lights, which may
be located on an
exterior surface of the bed 102 such as a side surface of the bed 102 so as to
be visible to a user
standing away from the bed. The indicator lights may provide to the user a
visual indication of a
specific condition or event, such as an exit of the patient from the bed 102.
For example, the
processing unit 114 may be configured to cause the indicator lights to flash
inteimittently when
an exit of the patient from the bed 102 is detected.
[0053] Moreover, the indicator lights may each be configured to be
selectively lit in one of a
plurality of colors depending on the visual indication which is to be provided
to the user. For
example, the processing unit 114 may be configured to cause the indicator
lights to be lit up in an
orange color and to flash intermittently to provide an indication that an exit
of the patient from
the bed 102 is detected. The processing unit 114 may further be configured to
cause the indicator
lights to be lit up in a green color and to remain continuously lit when the
system 110 is armed,
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hut that no exit of the patient from the bed 102 is detected. It will be
understood that other colors
and other combinations are also possible.
[0054] The bed exit alarm 116 may further include an audible alarm which
produces a sound
indicative of the patient exiting the bed 102. The bed exit alarm 116 could
also be remote from
the bed 102, at a control station operatively connected to multiple hospital
beds for example.
[0055] Now turning to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown a method for detecting
an exit of a
patient from the bed 102, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0056] In this embodiment, the system 110 is first set into one of a manual
activation mode
200, illustrated in FIG. 2, and an automatic activation mode 300, illustrated
in FIG. 3.
[0057] Referring first to FIG. 2, in the manual activation mode 200, the
system 110 is first
simply armed by a user, in accordance with 202. Specifically, the user may
manually input into
the user interface 122 a command to start monitoring an exit of the patient
from the bed 102. The
processing unit 114, operatively coupled to the user interface 122, receives
the command to start
monitoring the exit of the patient. According to 204, the system 110 first
confirms that the
patient is in the predetermined patient area 108 on the bed 102.
[0058] in one embodiment, before the user manually inputting the command to
start
monitoring the exit of the patient from the bed 102, the patient is placed on
the bed 102 and the
user visually confirms that the patient is properly received on the patient
receiving surface 106.
In one embodiment, the user must specifically confirm that the patient is in
the predetermined
patient area 108 of the patient receiving surface 106, such that the exit of
the patient from the
predetermined patient area 108 may then be monitored.
[0059] According to 206, the bed exit detection system 110 is then armed
such that the exit
of the patient from the predetermined patient area 108 is monitored. While
monitoring the exit of
the patient from the bed 102, the processing unit 114 may further cause the
indicator lights to
provide to a user an indication that the exit of the patient from the bed 102
is being monitored.
For example, the indicator lights may be lighted continuously in a green
color. Alternatively, the
indicator lights may flash in a predetermined pattern and/or be lighted in a
different color. In yet
another embodiment, the system 110 may only provide an indication to the user
that the exit of
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the patient fi-om the bed 102 is being monitored via the display 124, rather
than via the indicator
lights.
[0060] According to 208, when the patient location sensor 112 detects that
the patient
location moves from the predetermined patient area or zone 108 to outside the
predetermined
patient area 108, the processing unit 114 receives an indication that the
patient is exiting the bed
102 and activates the bed exit alarm 116 in accordance with 210. Specifically,
the processing
unit 114 lights the indicator lights in an orange color and causes the
indicator lights to flash
intermittently, thereby providing to a user standing near the bed an
indication that the patient is
exiting the bed 102.
[0061] According to 212, the user may then manually deactivate the bed exit
alarm 116. For
example, the bed exit alarm 116 may be deactivated by the user via the
touchscreen.
Alternatively, the bed exit alarm 116 could also be deactivated automatically
after a
predetermined bed alarm time.
[0062] Furthermore, according to 214, even if the bed exit alarm 116 has
not been activated,
the user may still interrupt the monitoring of the exit of the patient from
the bed 102 manually,
by entering a corresponding input command into the user interface 122, for
example.
[0063] Referring now to FIG. 3, instead of being set in the manual
activation mode 200, the
system 110 may be set in the automatic activation mode 300.
[0064] If a command to set the system in the automatic activation mode 300
is received, the
presence of a patient on the bed 102 is first monitored in accordance with
302. Specifically, the
presence of a patient on the patient receiving surface 106 is monitored. In
one embodiment, the
presence of a patient on the patient receiving surface 106 is monitored using
the weight sensing
assembly 120. For example, the weight sensing assembly 120 may provide to the
processing unit
114 an indication that a patient is received on the bed 102 when a weight
above a predetermined
weight threshold has been detected on the bed 102. In one embodiment, the
predetermined
weight threshold is 70 lb or about 32 kg. It will be appreciated that this
weight threshold may
contribute to confirming that a patient is actually received on the bed,
rather than merely one or
more objects being deposited on the bed or someone leaning on the bed.
Alternatively, the
predetermined weight threshold could be more or less than 70 lb or about 32
kg,
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[0065] In one embodiment, before the indication that the patient is
received on the bed 102
is received by the processing unit 114, the patient location sensor 112 may be
in a non-active
mode in which the location of the patient on the patient receiving surface 106
is not monitored.
Specifically, the patient location sensor 112 can simply be turned off, such
that it does not
require any power and therefore does not consume any energy. Alternatively,
the patient location
sensor 112 could be in a low-power mode which requires relatively little power
and therefore
consumes relatively little energy.
[0066] In one embodiment, once the indication that the patient is on the
bed 102 is provided
by the weight sensing assembly 120 and received by the processing unit 114,
the indication is
provided by the processing unit 114 to the display 124 and is displayed on the
display 124.
[0067] According to 304, the processing unit is configured to receive an
indication that the
patient is positioned in the predetermined patient area 108 and that the
patient is not moving, or
stable.
[0068] Referring now to FIG. 4, the indication may include a window 400
including text
indicating that the presence of the patient has been detected on the bed 102
and a confirmation
button 402 which can be activated by the user to provide the indication that
the patient is
positioned in the predetermined patient area 108 and that the patient is
stable.
[0069] in an embodiment in Which the display 124 and the user interface 122
is a
touchscreen, the user may activate the confirmation button 402 by interacting
with the
touchscreen.
[0070] Alternatively, instead of the user providing the indication that the
patient is in the
predetermined patient area 108 and stable, the indication may be provided
automatically by the
patient location sensor 112. For example, the indication may be provided if
the presence of the
patient in the predetermined patient area 108 is detected and if no movement
of the patient on the
patient receiving surface 106 is detected for a predetermined time. On the
other hand, if
movement of the patient is detected, or if the presence of the patient on the
bed 102 is detected
but the presence of the patient in the predetermined patient area 108 is not
detected, indicating
that the patient is on the bed 102 but not properly placed in the
predetermined patient area 108,
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then the patient location sensor 112 will not provide the indication that the
patient is in the
predetermined patient area 108 and stable.
[0071] In one embodiment, the window 400 may further include a decreasing
timer 404
indicating an amount of time remaining before expiration of a first
predetermined time. If the
indication that the patient is in the predetermined patient area 108 and
stable is not provided.
before expiration of the first predetermined time, the bed exit alarm 116 is
activated by the
processing unit 114. In one embodiment, the first predetermined time is 60
seconds.
Alternatively, the first predetermined time may be longer or shorter.
[0072] In one embodiment, the bed exit alarm 116 includes the processing
unit 114 lighting
the indicator lights in an orange color and causes the indicator lights to
flash intermittently, as
described above. Alternatively, the bed exit alarm 116 could include other
types of alarms.
[0073] Referring back to FIG. 3, once the indication that the patient is in
the predetermined
patient area 108 and stable is received by the processing unit 114, the exit
of the patient from the
predetermined patient area 108 may then be monitored using the patient
location sensor 112 in
accordance with 306. While monitoring the exit of the patient from the bed
102, the processing
unit 114 may cause the indicator lights to provide to a user an indication
that the exit of the
patient from the bed 102 is being monitored, for example by lighting the
indicator lights
continuously in a green color as described above.
[0074] According to 308, when the patient location sensor 112 detects that
the patient
location moves from the predetermined patient area or zone 108 to outside the
predetermined
patient area 108, the processing unit 114 receives an indication that the
patient is exiting the bed
102 and activates the bed exit alarm 116 in accordance with 310 and as
described above.
Specifically, the processing unit 114 lights the indicator lights in an orange
color and causes the
indicator lights to flash intermittently, thereby providing to a user standing
near the bed an
indication that the patient is exiting the bed 102.
[0075] According to 312, during the monitoring of the exit of the patient
from the bed 102,
the user may input a pause command which sets the system in a pause mode 314
in which the
monitoring of the exit of the patient from the bed 102 is temporarily
interrupted. Specifically,
even if the patient moves or is moved from the predetermined patient area 108
to outside the
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predetermined patient area 108 while the system is set in the pause mode 314,
the bed exit alarm
116 will not be activated.
[0076] It will be appreciated that it may be desirable to temporarily
interrupt the monitoring
of bed exit to access the patient in order to provide care to the patient,
which may require
temporarily moving the patient outside of the predetermined patient area 108.
Care to the patient
could include washing the patient, performing examinations on the patient,
changing the sheets,
or any other type of care.
[0077] In one embodiment, when the pause command is received, a pause
indicator is also
activated, thereby indicating to the user that the bed exit system is in the
pause mode 314. In one
embodiment, the pause indicator includes the indicator light being lighted
continuously in an
orange color. Alternatively, the pause indicator may include another visual
indicator or any other
type of indicator.
[0078] FIG. 5 shows a main interface image 500 which may be displayed on
the display 124
during monitoring of the exit of the patient from the bed 102. The main
interface image 500
could include an indication that the system 110 is armed and that the exit of
the patient from the
bed 102 is therefore monitored.
[0079] In the illustrated embodiment, the main interface image 500 includes
a pause button
502 which can be activated by the user to display a pause confirmation window
600, as shown in
FIG. 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the pause confirmation window 600
includes a.
confirmation button 602 which can be activated by the user to provide a pause
command to the
processing unit 114. Still in the illustrated embodiment, the pause
confirmation window 600
further includes a cancellation button 604 which closes the pause confirmation
window 600 and
returns the display 124 to the main interface image 500 shown in FIG. 5.
[0080] Once the confirmation button has been activated by the user, the
main interface
image 500 may be displayed on the display 124 and may include text indicative
that the system
110 is currently set in the pause mode 314. In the illustrated embodiment, the
main interface
image 500 further includes a decreasing timer 700 indicating an amount of time
remaining before
expiration of a predetermined pause time. Specifically, the decreasing timer
700 may be
displayed on the pause button 502, as shown in FIG. 7.
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[0081] When the system 110 is in the pause mode 314, the pause button 507
may further be
activated by the user to display a pause option window 800, as shown in FIG.
8. In the illustrated
embodiment, the pause option window 800 includes a pause cancellation button
802, a timer
increase button 804 and a window closing button 806. The pause cancellation
button 802 can be
activated by the user to exit the pause mode 314 and the method can be
repeated from step 302,
starting again with monitoring the presence of the patient on the bed 102. The
timer increase
button 804 can be activated by the user to increase the amount of time
remaining before
expiration of the predetermined pause time by a predetermined time increment.
In one
embodiment, the predetermined pause time is initially 2.5 minutes and the
predetermined time
increment is 5 minutes. Alternatively, the initial predetermined pause time
and the predetermined
time increment may be different. Finally, the window closing button 806 can be
activated by the
user to close the pause option window 800 and return the display to the main
interface image 700
shown in FIG. 7.
[0082] After expiration of the predetermined pause time, the system 110
exits the pause
mode 314. Specifically, the presence of the patient on the bed 102 is once
again monitored, and
the system may repeat step 302 and the following steps.
[0083] In one embodiment, in = addition to the system 110 being set in the
pause mode 314
upon receipt of a pause command from the user, the system 110 may further be
set to pause
mode 314 when the processing unit 114 receive an indication that, following a
manual
deactivation of the bed exit alarm 116 by the user, a patient is still
received on the bed in
accordance with 316 of FIG. 3. This could indicate that the user wants to
temporarily suspend the
monitoring of bed exit while attending to the patient on the bed 102.
[0084] It will be appreciated that the use of the automatic activation
mode 300
advantageously allows the patient location sensor 112 to only be activated and
used if the
presence of a patient on the bed 102 is first detected, which reduces the
overall energy
consumption of the system 110.
[0085] Furthermore, by providing a visual indication to the user that a
patient is received on
the bed 102 by displaying window 400, the system 110 further provides to the
user an indication
that the patient must be placed properly in the predetermined patient area
108, thereby
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contributing to ensure that the user confirms that the user is in the
predetermined patient area 108
before the start of the monitoring of the -patient exiting the bed 102. This
may help to prevent
situation in which the patient is outside the predetermined patient area 108
when the monitoring
of the patient exiting the bed 102 is started, in which case the bed exit
alarm 116 would
immediately be activated.
[0086] The use of the pause mode 314 may also contribute to preventing the
user from
forgetting to re-arm the bed exit detection system 110 once the system 110 is
interrupted in order
to provide care to the patient.
[0087] In one embodiment, the processing unit 114 may further be configured
to allow a tare
weight condition to be measured to obtain proper measurements from the weight
sensing
assembly 120 and from the patient location sensor 112. Specifically, measuring
the tare weight
condition includes installing required medical equipment on the bed 102, the
processing unit 114
receiving a measure of weight and of patient location from the weight sensing
assembly 120 and
from the patient location sensor 112 before the patient is received on the bed
102 and storing the.
initial weight measurement the initial location measurement in the memory 126.
This initial
weight measurement will therefore represent a value of zero, with further
weight measured by
the weight sensing assembly 120 representing a difference between the measured
weight and the
initial weight measurement. Similarly, the initial patient location
measurement will represent a
value of zero, or a location centered on the patient receiving surface, with
further location
measurement by the patient location system being calculated according to this
initial position
measurement.
[0088] FIG. 9 shows a calibration menu image 900 displayed on the display
124. In this
embodiment, the calibration menu image 900 includes a ;Ian button 902 which
can be activated
by the user to instruct the processing unit .114 to receive the initial weight
and location
measurements.
[0089] In the illustrated embodiment, the calibration menu image 900
further includes a tare
weight condition recall button 904 which can be activated by the user to cause
the display to
display a tare weight condition recall menu image 1000 as shown in FIG. 10.
The tare weight
condition recall menu image 1000 includes text indicative of a plurality of
previous measured
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tare weight conditions 1002, a cursor 1004 for selecting one of the previous
measured tare
weight conditions 1002 and a pair of scroll buttons 1006 to move the cursor
1004 between the
previous measured tare weight conditions 1002. In the illustrated embodiment,
the plurality of
previous measured tare weight conditions 1002 includes the last four tare
weight conditions
measured. Alternatively, the plurality of previous measured tare weight
conditions 1002 could
include more or less previously measured tare weight conditions. Still in the
illustrated
embodiment, the tare weight condition recall menu image 1000 includes an apply
button 1008
which can be activated by the user to apply the selected tare weight condition
such that the
current tare weight condition are replaced by the selected tare weight
condition.
[0090] Now referring to FIG. 11, there is provided a method 1100 for
recalibrating a tare
weight condition of a hospital bed, in accordance with one embodiment.
[0091] According to 1102, the user first inputs a command for applying the
current
measured tare weight condition, also referred to as "zero", to the processing
unit 114 via the user
interface 122.
[0092] According to 1104, the processing unit receives from the weight
sensing assembly
120 an indication of the bed weight and of the current measured weight. In
this embodiment,
medical equipment is received on the bed 102 and creates a difference between
the bed weight
and the current measured weight. Therefore, the processing unit 114 calculates
the difference
between the bed weight and the current measured weight representing the
equipment weight. The
equipment weight may further be stored in the memory 126, where it is
associated to a tare
weight condition which includes a current weight measurement and a current
location
measurement.
[0093] According to 1106, when the user inputs a command to recall the
previous tare
weight conditions, the processing unit 114 receives the command. The
processing unit 114
therefore communicates with the memory 126 to retrieve the predetermined
number of tare
weight conditions stored in the memory 126. =
[0094] According to 1108, the last four tare weight conditions are then
displayed on the
display 124, as described above. Specifically, each tare weight condition is
associated with an
equipment weight, which was calculated as explained above.
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[0095] According to 1110, the user selects the tare weight condition based
on the
appropriate equipment weight corresponding to the equipment weight currently
on the bed 102
and the selected tare weight condition is applied. Specifically, according to
1112, the patient
weight can be calculated as the difference between the current measured weight
and a sum of the
bed weight and the selected equipment weight, and the calculated weight may be
displayed on.
the display 124.
[0096] It will be appreciated that this method advantageously acts as an
"undo" function in
case the tare weight condition is mistakenly measured and set while the
patient is received on the
bed. With the present method, the tare weight conditions can be set to an
accurate value based on
a previous measurement without having to remove the patient from the bed 102
to perform a tare
weight condition measurement again.
[0097] In one embodiment, the processing unit 114 is further adapted to
display an image
including a plurality of command buttons which can be activated by the user
and which may
each be provided with a pictogram which is related to the function of the
command button. This
may help facilitate the use of the user interface. Pictograms may also be used
to show different
data or indication related to the bed or to the safety of the patient received
on the bed.
[0098] In one embodiment, the bed system 100 further includes a
communication unit 150
operatively connected to the processing unit 114, as shown in FIG. 1, for
allowing
communication of the processing unit 114 with a remote device 152. In one
embodiment, the
remote device 152 is a personal computer. Alternatively, the remote device 152
could be a
smartphone, a tablet of any other types of devices.
[0099] In one embodiment, the communication unit 150 includes a WiFi
antenna adapted for
wirelessly communicating with the remote device. Alternatively, the
communication unit 150
could include a USB port for connecting the remote device 152 to the
processing unit using a
USB cable and protocol.
[00loo] In one embodiment, the remote device 152 includes a computer
program which
enables the exchange of data between the remote device 152 and the processing
unit 114 and the
memory 126. In one embodiment, the computer program is accessible through a
web browser.
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[00101] In one embodiment, the computer program is configured to receive
one or more
images or pictograms provided by the user and to format the one or more images
or pictograms
so as to make them compatible with the processing unit 114 of the bed 102. The
computer
program may further be configured to allow access to the processing unit 114
for troubleshooting
purposes.
[00102] It will be appreciated that the computer program may be used to
transfer data to and
from processing units of multiple beds simultaneously.
[00103] Now turning to FIG. 12, there is shown a hospital bed system 1200
for a hospital bed
1202, in accordance with another embodiment.
[00104] In this embodiment, the bed 1202 includes a frame 1204 and a
patient receiving
surface 1206 supported by the frame 1204 for receiving a patient.
Specifically, the patient
receiving surface is generally rectangular and includes a deck of the hospital
bed 1202. The
patient receiving surface 1206 could further includes a mattress, not shown,
disposed on the deck
and onto which the patient may lie.
[00105] Still in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1200, the bed 1202
further includes an
elevation mechanism 1210 secured to the frame 1204 and located under the frame
1204 for
moving the patient receiving surface 1206 vertically relative to a ground
surface on which the
bed 1202 is placed.
[00106] In one embodiment, the elevation mechanism 1210 may include a front
elevation
assembly located near a front end of the bed 1202 and a rear elevation
assembly located near a
rear end of the bed 1202. This configuration allows the bed 1202 to be angled
relative to the
ground surface by actuating one of the front and rear lift assemblies such
that one of the front
and rear ends of the bed 1202 is located higher than the other one of the
front and rear ends of
the bed 1202. To raise or lower the bed, both the front elevation assembly and
the rear elevation
assembly are actuated simultaneously such that the front and rear ends of the
bed are raised or
lowered simultaneously. Each one of the front and rear elevation assembly may
include one or
more actuators such as linear actuators or any other type of actuators which
is skilled person
would consider to be appropriate.
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[00107] An example of an elevation mechanism, or elevation system, is
described in US
Patent Publication No. 2016/0058639, a copy of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
Alternatively, the elevation mechanism could be configured differently.
[00108] In the illustrated embodiment, the bed 1202 further includes a
plurality of casters
1208, and the front and rear elevation assemblies extend between the casters
1208 and the patient
receiving surface. Alternatively, the bed 1202 may not include casters.
[00109] Still in the illustrated embodiment, the hospital bed system 1200
further includes a
bed height limiting system 1250 for limiting the height of the patient support
surface 1206 to a
minimum height. The bed height limiting system 1250 includes a height sensor
1252 operatively
connected to the bed 1202, a processing unit 1254 operatively connected to the
bed 1202 and a
user interface 1256 operatively connected to the processing unit 1254. The
processing unit 1254
is configured for receiving a minimum height value provided by the user via
the user interface
1256. In one embodiment, the bed height limiting system 1250 further includes
a memory 1258
operatively connected to the processing unit 1254 for storing the minimum
height value.
[00110] In one embodiment, the height sensor 1252 is operatively connected
to the actuators
of the elevation mechanism 1210. Specifically, the processing unit 1254 may be
configured to
calculate a height between a bottom end and a top end of the front and rear
elevation assemblies
by receiving a measurement of extension from the actuators, corresponding to a
length by which
the actuators are extended. Alternatively, the height sensor may instead
include another type of
sensor such as an optical sensor or any other type of sensor which a skilled
person would
consider appropriate.
[00111] In one embodiment, the processing unit is configured to calculate
the height of the
patient support surface 1206 relative to the ground surface by adding the
calculated height of the
elevation mechanism 1210 with a height of the casters 1208. In one embodiment,
the height of
the casters 1208 is pre-entered in the memory 1258 and is provided to the
processing unit 1254
from the memory 1258. Alternatively, the user may enter the height of the
casters 1208 manually
in the memory 1258 through the user interface 1256.
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[00112] In the illustrated embodiment, the processing unit 1254 is further
operatively
connected to the elevation mechanism 1210 and is configured to detect a
downward motion of
the elevation mechanism.
[00113] In one embodiment, the bed 1202 may further include a display 1260
operatively
connected to the processing unit 1254 for displaying data related to the bed
1202 to the user. In
one embodiment, both the user interface 1256 and the display 1260 include a
touchscreen, which
can both display data to a user and allow the user to input commands to the
processing unit 1254
and to provide parameters into the memory 1258.
[00114] Now turning to FIG. 13, there is shown a method 1300 for limiting
the height of the
hospital bed 1202, in accordance with one embodiment. As explained above, the
height of the
hospital bed 1202 corresponds to the height of the patient receiving surface
1206 relative to the
ground surface.
[00115] According to 1302, the minimum height value is first provided by
the user.
Specifically, the minimum height value may be provided into the memory 1258
via the user
interface 1256.
[00116] FIG. 14 shows a preference image 1400 displayed on the display. The
preference
image 1400 includes a height configuration button 1402 which may be activated
by the user to
provide the minimum height value or to modify the minimum height value
currently entered or
selected in the memory 1258. In one embodiment, the activation of the height
configuration
button 1402 is password-protected such that a corresponding password must be
inputted in order
to activate the height configuration button 1402.
[00117] In the illustrated embodiment, activating the height configuration
button 1402 causes
the display 1260 to display a minimum height adjustment image 1500 as shown in
FIG. 15. Still
in the illustrated embodiment, the minimum height adjustment image 1500
includes a pair of
scrolling buttons 1502 which can be activated by the user to cycle through a
plurality of
predetermined minimum height values 1504 provided from the memory 1258, in
order to select
one of the predetermined minimum height values. In one embodiment, the
predetermined
minimum height values range from 10 inches to 16 inches when the casters 1208
of the bed 1202
include dual casters, and from 11 1/2 inches to 17 V2 inches when the casters
1208 include single
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casters. Alternatively, the user could instead manually enter a desired
minimum height value into
the memory 1258 via the user interface 1256.
[00118] Referring back to FIG. 13, according to 1304, the caster height or
wheel size is
further provided, as explained above.
[00119] According to 1306, an indication of the current height of the
elevation mechanism
1210 is further provided by the height sensor 1252 to the processing unit
1254.
[00120] According to 1308, the current height of the bed 1202 is then
computed or calculated
by the processing unit 1254 based on the caster height and the indication from
the height sensor
1252.
[00121] According to 1310, vertical movement of the elevation mechanism
1210 is then
monitored. Specifically, if the elevation mechanism 1210 is lowered such that
the patient support
surface 1206 moves towards the ground surface, an indication that the
elevation mechanism 1210
is moving downwardly is received by the processing unit 1254 from the
elevation mechanism
1210.
[00122] According to 1312, upon receiving an indication that the patient
receiving surface
1206 is moving downwardly, the processing unit 1254 compares the calculated
current height
with the selected minimum height value. If the current height is equal to the
selected minimum
height value, the processing unit 1254 stops the elevation mechanism 1210 and
prevents the
elevation mechanism 1210 from further moving downwardly, in accordance with
1314.
[00123] According to 1316, the processing unit 1254 further provides an
indication to the
user that the selected minimum height value has been reached. For example, the
indication could
include a visual indicator, such as text, provided on the display 1260 to
indicate to the user that
the selected minimum height value has been reached.
[00124] It will be appreciated that this height limiting system 1250 may
help preventing
damage to medical equipment, cables or other objects which may be stored under
the patient
support surface. The height limiting system 1250 may also advantageously allow
the minimum
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height value to be changed and adjusted according to the size of the items
stored under the bed,
or to the configuration of the room and of the ground surface below the bed.
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