Bedpan Apparatus

Abstract

An apparatus to facilitate the use of bedpans for bedfast persons which includes (a) an inflatable crescent or U-shaped cushion of rubber or other soft elastic material which, in inflated condition, is capable of elevating and supporting the sacrococcygeal area of a patient higher above the plane of the bed than the height of a bedpan, and shaped to receive a bedpan between the legs of the crescent or U; (b) said cushion supported on a flexible pad-like base large enough to fit under the hips of the patient and having sufficient rigidity to permit insertion under the patient with minimal manual lifting; and (c) a bedpan adapted to slide into and fit snugly between the legs of the cushion. The cushion may be adapted with a waterproof flange inside the crescent or U at a height above the bedpan rim and extending inwardly far enough to cover said rim thereby preventing drainage of fluids onto the base.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to medical equipment and more particularly to a novel bedpan apparatus for lifting the hips of bedridden patients to facilitate bedpan use or to provide easy access for treating the lower sacrum, coccyx, or anal areas.

At the present state of development of medical equipment, there is no device specifically designed to comfortably lift helpless patients, who experience pain on movement, onto a bedpan or for specific treatment to the lower sacrum, coccyx or anal areas if the patient must be in a supine position. Currently it is customary for more than one attendant to lift the patients' hips high enough to allow the insertion of the bedpan under the buttocks or to turn the patient to one side before placing the bedpan under the buttocks, then to turn the patient back to the supine position. The patient's weight is then resting directly on the firm rim of the bedpan, which in itself is often uncomfortable. Either of these methods may cause extreme discomfort to many patients who have fractures of the spine, pelvis, hips or upper legs or who experience pain on sudden or irregular movement by the manual manipulation of attendants. Spillage of the bedpan contents frequently occurs from the patient's moving, tilting the bedpan because his weight is directly on the bedpan which slides easily on the bed linen. Soilage of linens then requires further stressful and fatiguing movement for patients and attendants to change the linens, plus the additional cost for personnel time and linen service.

Helpless patients, many of whom may have considerable weight concentrated in the area of the hips, are quite difficult to lift onto a bedpan. Since more than one attendant is usually required, the attendants on each side of the bed must lean over in such a way that the muscles of their backs rather than their arm muscles are used in lifting the patient; hence, requiring an undesirable degree of exertion and causing specifically severe strain on the attendants' backs. Not infrequently bedfast patients who might be cared for at home are placed in nursing homes largely because their families are unable to cope with their toilet needs. The problems cited above are of considerable magnitude because of the increasing numbers of helpless patients requiring care and because of the frequency of the need for those patients to be lifted onto bedpans.

THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the above problems experienced by patients and attendants. To this end, the invention provides a piece of equipment composed of a flat, flexible, strong, waterproof pad-like base, having attached thereto a crescent or U-shaped inflatable cushion of rubber or other soft elastic material, which can be economically mass produced and maintained for the purpose of lifting the sacrococcygeal area of helpless patients by simple, gradual inflation with a gas or liquid, preferable compressed air, thus avoiding the discomfort and pain caused by irregular or abrupt manual manipulations by attendants. The inflated crescent or U-shaped cushion provides a comfortable steady support for the patient's sacrococcygeal area which allows the attendant to easily place the bedpan in the desired position or to perform certain medical treatments, e.g., to the lower sacrum, coccyx or anal areas.

A very important advantage of this invention is that the weight of the patient's hips rests entirely on the comfortable, inflated cushion, thus allowing the patient to use the bedpan without the discomfort of his weight resting directly on the firm rim of the bedpan. The discomfort experienced in using the bedpans currently in use, often results in a state of tension in the patient which interferes with proper elimination of body wastes.

As a preferred feature of the invention a waterproof flange, projecting from the inner portion of the inflated cushion, is provided which extends over the rim of a bedpan far enough to prevent spillage of excrement onto the base.

The bedpan, an even further improvement to the invention, is composed of a firm functional material, such as metal, alloy, plastic or other suitable material, which would retain its original shape and allow adequate cleansing and sterilization, and is sized to fit snugly between legs of the U-shaped cushion when inflated. The bedpan is preferably designed so that the rim, which is under the patient, is convex outward to facilitate drainage into the pan and the lower end extending outside the legs of the cushion forms a splash guard which is raised slightly above the rim and is preferably rolled inward to prevent or reduce splashing and spillage of forcefully expelled fluids from the pan. A handle is preferably attached to the exterior of the lower end of the bedpan to facilitate insertion, removal, and manipulation of the bedpan into and from the cushion.

This invention makes assisting helpless, bedfast patients with their toilet needs much easier. When the cushion is deflated, it can easily be positioned correctly by sliding the flexible base under the patient. Then the crescent or U-shaped cushion can be easily inflated manually by an inflator, such as a bulb-type inflator, or by a compressed gas such as nitrogen or air. A flexible conduit and valve are attached to the cushion at a convenient location, preferably along the outside of one of the legs, to permit easy inflation of the cushion without interfering with the patient. When inflated, the cushion allows ready access to the patient's sacrococcygeal area, thus permitting easy insertion and removal of the bedpan or accomplishment of specific treatments. An attendant using this invention can accomplish formerly difficult procedures without the necessity of excess exertion or strain on his back. The importance of providing a method whereby helpless patients can easily be lifted for the frequent use of bedpans or specific treatments is emphasized because of the manpower shortage in health care facilities and because of the psychological value of patients remaining in their family home as long as possible.

The pad-like base and crescent or U-shaped inflatable cushion and flange can be economically mass produced by means well known in the art utilizing any one or a combination of strong, flexible, waterproof materials such as rubber, plastic or other synthetic or natural materials having a surface which is comfortable to the patient and which allows minimum friction during positioning. The crescent or U-shaped cushion attached to the base may be sized to accommodate different sized patients. Different sized cushions may be combined on the same pad-like base or various sizes may be provided on separate pads.

A flexible gas inlet tube for inflating the cushion may be integrated into the pad-like base and is preferably provided with a valve to prevent deflation of the cushion. A detachable manual inflator may be provided at the edge of the base, or the cushion may be inflated by compressed bottled gas having pressure regulating means. Inflation can be accomplished by any simple, easy, regulatable, hygienic method which is relatively free from any type of mechanical failure.

This invention, which would be advantageous to many patients in health care facilities, can be easily cleaned and requires little storage space.

The apparatus and its manner of use can best be described by the accompanying drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the apparatus claimed herein.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the apparatus in its inflated state with a bedpan inserted between the legs of the cushion.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 across section lines 2--2.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the preferred shape of the inflated hip support area of the cushion.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a preferred bedpan for use with the apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings in which the same part has the same reference numeral in all views, a pad-like base 1 supports an inflated crescent or U-shaped cushion 2 which is sized to support the sacrococcygeal area of a person in a supine position. Attached to the inner portion of the legs of the cushion is a water proof flange 3, which extends inwardly far enough to cover the rim 4 of the bedpan 10. The upper portion 5 of the cushion 2 is preferably shaped so that when the cushion is inflated the upper portion 5 is higher than the ends of the legs 6.

A flexible conduit 7 preferably having a valve 8 is attached to the cushion at a convenient location, preferably along the exterior of one of the legs of the U.

The bedpan 10 preferably has a convex rim 4 which extends outwardly on the sides and end of the pan which are inserted between the legs 6 of the cushion 10 and under the water proof flange 3. The bedpan is also preferably provided with a curved guard 9 on the outer or lower end to prevent excreted fluids from splashing out of the pan when a person is resting on the cushion. A handle 11 is also preferably attached to the outer end of the pan to facilitate insertion into and removal of the bedpan from the cushion.

The use of bedpans for bedfast persons is greatly facilitated with the apparatus of the invention. With the cushion 2 in a deflated state and with the bedpan removed, the flexible pad-like base 1 is inserted gently under the hips of a supine person, with minimal lifting of said person, until the legs of the cushion 2 are centered around the person's buttocks. The cushion 2 is then gently inflated by either compressed gas or a manual inflator until the person's sacrococcygeal area is raised sufficiently above the plane of the bed to permit insertion of the bedpan 10 into the cushion 2. This is accomplished by opening valve 8 in conduit 7 and passing the desired quantity of gas into the cushion. Valve 8 is then closed and bedpan 10 is inserted between the legs of the cushion 2 and under the person's buttocks. When the bedpan use is completed the bedpan is removed from the cushion 2, valve 8 is opened so that the cushion is deflated gradually, and the pad-like base 1 is removed from under the person.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described for purposes of illustration, it is understood that the invention embraces such other modifications and variations as come within the scope and spirit thereof. It is also understood that the scope of the invention is only limited by the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A bedpan apparatus comprising in combination:

A. an inflatable crescent or U-shaped cushion of rubber or other soft elastic material which, in inflated condition, is capable of elevating and supporting the sacrococcygeal area of a bedfast patient, and which has a vertical dimension larger than the height of a bedpan and a space between the legs of the crescent or U-shaped cushion adapted to receive a bedpan snugly, said cushion supported on

B. a pad-like base large enough to fit under the hips of the patient and having sufficient rigidity to permit inserting said base under the patient with minimal manual lifting, and

C. a bedpan adapted to slide between the legs of said cushion and be in contact with said legs.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the base comprises a waterproof, flexible pad and the inside of the crescent or U-shaped cushion has attached thereto at a height above the bedpan rim a waterproof flange extending inwardly far enough to cover the rim of the bedpan.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cushion is shaped so that, in inflated condition, the upper portion of the cushion is higher than the ends of the legs.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bedpan has a handle on one end to facilitate insertion into and removal from the cushion and has a splash guard at said end extending far enough above the rim of the pan to reduce the splashing of fluids therefrom.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a flexible conduit and valve are attached to the cushion to permit inflation or deflation of said cushion to the height desired.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the upper portion of the cushion, in inflated condition, is higher than the ends of the legs and wherein the bedpan has a handle on one end and a splash guard at said end extending above the rim of the bedpan to reduce the splashing of fluids therefrom.

7. An apparatus for elevating and supporting the sacrococcygeal area of a bedfast patient in a manner permitting in situ selective placement and withdrawal of a bedpan, said apparatus comprising:

a selectively inflatable and deflatable generally crescent or U-shaped resilient cushioning means capable, of supporting said patient in an elevated position;

said cushioning means operatively engaging a pad-like base member for supporting said cushioning means on a surface, said base member having sufficient rigidity to permit inserting said base member under and supporting the weight of said patient; and

means associated with said cushioning means for receiving and retaining therein a bedpan.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said cushioning means is shaped so that, when inflated, the upper portion is higher than the ends of the legs.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein a waterproof flange is attached to the inside of said cushioning means at a height at least one inch above said base, said flange extending inwardly far enough to cover the rim of a bedpan.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the base comprises a waterproof, flexible pad.