Technical Field

The invention is related to a prone position changing apparatus, which was developed to prevent problems that may occur during rotation in patients who are returned to the prone position, and which enables the patient to be returned to the prone position as well as supporting the pressure zones after rotation in the healthcare sector.

The invention is particularly related to a prone position changing apparatus, which has body support and joint support pillows to support the body and joint regions of the patient and includes a belt system that allows for keeping the patient stable during rotation.

The State of the Art

In cases where the patient needs to be returned to the prone position in health services, a team of five people is usually involved and a series of preparations are made before the patient is turned. First of all, the team member responsible for the patient's respiration takes the head of the patient and the other team members take their places on both sides of the patient. The patient is turned 90 ⁰ in the opposite direction of the side with the endotracheal tube, and the sheet is laid under them, and the patient is brought back to the supine position, and the remaining part of the sheet is placed on the lower part of the patient. Both arms of the patient are positioned close to the body. Then, two of the standard pillows used in the clinic are placed on the body and joint areas of the patient, and another sheet is laid on the patient. Both the upper and lower sheets are combined from the sides and rolled up, and they are advanced towards the patient and tightened to the point of fixing the patient. The patient is first moved from the middle of the bed to the opposite direction of the endotracheal tube, to the edge of the bed by holding the roll parts of the sheet, then, according to the command of the team leader, the patient is first turned to 90° and then to the prone position, and the pillows remain in the lower part of the patient. The team member designated as the team leader during rotation is responsible for protecting the patient's endotracheal tube in case of dislocation. After the patient is returned to the prone position, the arm on the side of the endotracheal tube is positioned to face the patient's face, angled and positioned according to the normal posture, so that extremity contracture does not develop, and the other arm is placed on the side of the patient's body. After the patient's arms are positioned, the areas under pressure are supported by pillows, and the patient is kept in the same plane. The main disadvantages of the present method used in the known state of the art are that it requires too many people and creates a workload and that errors that may occur during the realization of the procedure put the patient's safety at risk. In addition, the risk of pressure sores that arise as a result of not supporting the patient with appropriate support materials compromises the benefit of the prone position for the patient. The absence of a system to fix the patient during rotation paves the way for complications that may occur while the patient is being rotated. Since patients in the prone position are the critically ill group with respiratory distress, situations such as the removal of the endotracheal tube and the inability to control more than one equipment connected to the patient make the patient's condition even more critical and interrupt the treatment. In this sense, there is a need for new structures that will eliminate the technical problems mentioned in the technical field.

The patent application with the publication number US2021330102 Al was determined in the patent and literature search carried out for the known state of the art. Said document describes the prone position pillow/support system configured to support the patient's body. This system includes a head support part, a body component, a first cavity extending downward from an upper surface of the body component, and a snap pillow sized with respect to the first cavity, having a gap of at least 50 cm ³ . However, in the said document, there is no mention of any element or feature related to turning the patient.

As a result, due to the above-mentioned negativities and the insufficiency of the existing solutions on the subject, it has become a necessity to make an improvement in the related technical field.

Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention is related to the prone position changing apparatus, which meets the above-mentioned requirements, eliminates all the disadvantages, and brings some additional advantages. The invention was inspired by the present situation and aims to eliminate the above- mentioned disadvantages.

The main purpose of the invention is to obtain a prone position changing apparatus to prevent problems that may occur during rotation in patients who are returned to the prone position. Thanks to the prone position changing apparatus as the subject of the invention, complications such as slipping and falling of the patient during rotation, dislocation of the equipment connected to the patient such as the endotracheal tube, and the risk of pressure sores that may occur due to the insufficient size of the support materials supporting the patient are reduced. In addition, it is possible to increase the ventilation of the patient by enabling more frequent rotation to the prone position, which is difficult to implement and requires a large number of team members. In addition, the patient can be easily returned to the prone position and supported with support materials suitable for the patient's body, reducing the workload of the nurse who cares for the patient, allowing the nurse to spend more time with the patient in a very tiring work environment such as intensive care.

Contrary to the applications in the state of the art, the prone position changing apparatus as the subject of the invention is in a structure where the patient can be fixed and turned from more than one area, including the body and joints, with materials suitable for the body form of the patient, and the mechanisms used while turning the patient can also be used to support the patient in the prone position. In addition, the fact that the belts on the pillows have a soft structure like a pad helps to reduce the pressure on the tissues while the patient is turned. In addition to this, the joint support pillows allow the patient's extremities to be fully rotated to the prone position, in addition to the existing products used in the technical field. On the other hand, the handles integrated into the cases of the pillows enable the patient to be positioned more comfortably in the bed.

The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all its advantages will be understood more clearly thanks to the figures given below and the detailed description written with reference to these figures, and therefore the evaluation should be made by taking these figures and detailed explanation into consideration.

Figures for Describing the Invention Figure 1 shows the view of the body support pillow with the patient in use.

Figure 2 shows the side view of the body support pillow.

Figure 3 shows the side view of the body support pillow.

Description of the Element References

1 Body support pillow

2 Joint support pillow

3 Abdominal support area

4 Shoulder support area

5 Belt

6 Belt attachment point

7 Handle

8 Pillow case

9 Turning apparatus

10 Support apparatus

11 Lock system

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, preferred embodiments of the prone position changing apparatus as the subject of the invention are explained only for a better understanding of the subject.

The invention is related to a prone position changing apparatus, which was developed to prevent problems that may occur during rotation in patients who are returned to the prone position, and which enables the patient to be returned to the prone position as well as supporting the pressure zones after rotation in the healthcare sector. Said prone position changing apparatus includes at least one body support pillow (1) with a structure suitable for the patient's body and at least one joint support pillow (2) that supports both the upper leg and the calf. In Figure 1, the front view of the body support pillow (1) is given when the patient is in the prone position. Accordingly, the body support pillow (1) is used both for the patient's rotation and for supporting the pressure zones of the patient in the prone position by staying at the lower part of the patient after the rotation.

Said body support pillow (1) is in size from the shoulder to the ilium and includes at least one abdominal support zone (3) to support the abdominal cavity of the patient and at least one shoulder support zone (4) to ensure that the patient remains stable during rotation. The shoulder support area (4) enables the patient to be better supported, especially during rotation.

In Figure 2, the side view of the body support pillow (1) is given when the patient is in the prone position. Accordingly, there are preferably three belts (5) integrated into the body support pillow (1), and preferably three belt attachment points (6), where the said belts (5) are attached, next to the body support pillow (1). In this way, situations such as slips, falls and dislocation of equipment that may occur by stabilizing the patient's body during the return are prevented.

In addition, the structure of the belts (5) used to fix the patient is soft, and it is aimed to reduce the pressure exerted by the belts (5) on the body tissues while the patient is rotated, and to protect the skin integrity of the patient, with the support pad it contains. In addition, there are 4 handles (7), preferably two on each side of the body support pillow (1). In this way, it is ensured that the patient is brought closer to the edge of the bed before the patient is turned over.

A pillow case (8) in the form that surrounds the body support pillow (1) is located in the structure of the prone position changing apparatus as the subject of the invention. The said pillow case (8) is removable and washable and provides convenience in maintaining the hygiene of the body support pillow (1) contaminated by staying in the prone position for a long time. However, the pillow case (8) contains the said belt connection (6) and the handles (7) and provides the patient with a long-term use opportunity by protecting the body support pillow (1) against possible deformations. At the same time, the fact that it is removable and washable makes it easier to provide the necessary hygiene in patient care and prevents the formation of infection in the patient.

Figure 3 shows the general view of the joint support pillow (2) used during the patient's rotation. The products in the state of the art do not have a support structure that completely rotates the patient to the prone position while allowing the patient to turn to the side, and supports the joint areas after rotation. In this sense, the joint support pillow (2) is one of the characterizing elements of the prone position changing apparatus as the subject of the invention. The joint support pillow (2) comprises at least one handle (7), at least one turning apparatus (9) that allows the patient to be rotated, and at least one support apparatus (10) that supports the patient's pressure zones by staying at the lower part of the patient's extremities after the patient is turned, to be used to advance the patient’s lower extremities to the edge of the bed. In addition, at least one lock system (11) is used to connect the turning apparatus (9) and the support apparatus (10) to each other. The patient's legs pass through the space between the said turning apparatus (9) and the support apparatus (10).

The joint support pillow (2) is placed on the upper legs and calves of the patient when they are in the supine position, and the turning apparatus (9) and the support apparatus (10) are combined thanks to the lock system (11). When the patient is in the supine position, the turning apparatus (9) located on the lower part of the patient's upper legs and calves is removed after the patient is returned to the prone position, and only the support apparatus (10) remains under the patient's extremities. The support apparatus (10) has a thinner and orthopedic form in structure and is capable of supporting the pressure areas of the patient. The turning apparatus (9), on the other hand, is in a thicker and more rigid form and consists of sections that allow the patient to be rotated and in which the extremities can be placed. In this way, the patient's extremities are safely placed on the joint support pillow (2) and fixed with the lock system (11), the patient is returned to the prone position and the patient's pressure zones are protected by continuing to support the lower extremities of the patient with the support apparatus (10).

The invention is a prone position changing apparatus for use in the health sector to solve the current problems in the technical field and to fulfill the mentioned purposes, comprising

• at least one body support pillow (1) with a structure suitable for the patient's body, to support the patient's pressure areas in the prone position by remaining at the lower part of the patient after the patient is rotated,

• at least one joint support pillow (2) to support the upper leg and calf,

• at least one turning apparatus (9) included in the structure of the joint support pillow (2) and allows the patient to be rotated,

• at least one support apparatus (10) which is configured to have a suitable space between the same and the turning apparatus (9) for the patient's legs to pass through, and which, after the patient is turned, remains at the lower part of the patient's extremities and supports the patient's pressure zones,

• at least one lock system (11) to connect the turning apparatus (9) and the support apparatus (10),

• at least one shoulder support area (4) on the said body support pillow (1) to ensure that the patient remains stable during the rotation process.