BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to mattress used for supporting a person's body and to improve the personal hygiene in a seated or recumbent position and, more particularly, the mattress further prevents or relieves the problems associated with urinary incontinent patients.

B. Description of Related Art

Geriatric health care or any health care, where patients are required to stay in a health facility is one of the most critical processes in improving the quality of life for the patients in modern society. The method of planning and coordinating health care for a person suffering from physical and mental impairments usually means long care needs. Maintaining independence is a significant goal for anyone approaching any life changing situation that involves health care.

Life expectancy is increasing in many societies, so the individual needs of persons living longer are also growing. Many people need more care when getting older due to health circumstances brought on by their aging. It has been estimated that at least seventy percent of older adults now live in middle or low-income demographics. Governments and health care systems ability to provide care for older adults have become an important issue. Innovative and sustainable ways to cope with the demographic shift are becoming more urgent as the population continues to live longer.

Long term care for someone suffering from some debilitating condition requiring the prolonged stay in a bed creates a host of problems for the patients and care takers. It is common for long-term care facilities to provide custodial, medical, and non-skilled care for assisting patients with normal daily routines such as feeding, dressing, and using the toilet facilities. Multiple chronic conditions can affect patients during any prolonged stay in a hospital bed. Long term care or any stay in a medical establishment or at a residence can involve many issues if the patient is bedridden for long period of time. Special care must be taken to assure that the patient does not suffer severe consequences from the lack of movement when forced by circumstances to stay in bed for long periods.

A critical issue relating to a bed-ridden patient is the lack of mobility on the part of the patient staying in bed. Incontinence, when confined to a bed, is a distressing problem and affects the quality of life. It is not only a distressing problem for the patient but for staff members who has to clean and care for the patient at the facilities. Bedpans and other devices can be utilized, but some patients do not have enough control to use such methods. Patients with serious incontinence issues need special care and equipment to avoid any health issues that can arise due to a patient's inability to use bedpans and other types of equipment designed for the bed-ridden patient. Hygiene is critical in maintaining the health of patients in such conditions, so the amount of time spent maintaining cleanliness and avoiding further health complications such as skin breakdown is essential. The current system relies heavily on staff to monitor and clean patients after incontinence incidents. There is a need for improved equipment designed to cope with the issue of persons suffering from incontinence in a bed-ridden condition and who are unable to utilize the current equipment that is available.

Currently, the caregiver of patients with urinary incontinence generally use waterproof mattress covers to prevent the mattress from becoming contaminated with inadvertent releases of urine. After any occurrence, the bedding then has to be changed and the patient cleaned up so they avoid skin breakdown issues or other skin lesions. Based upon patient load, sometimes this cannot occur for a few minutes, so the patient is uncomfortably sitting or lying in a wet bed, which is very disconcerting for the patient and visitors.

Existing methods uses absorbent pads, diapers, disposable bed pads or napkins which absorb and retain urine excreted. In hospitals, the person with urine-soaked protections causing discomfort, pain, cold, bedsore and other deterioration of the skin. The night incontinence also raises a more complex problem. It requires the caregiver to wake the person several times a night to check or change the protections; sleep is thereby disturbed.

Thus, there remains a need for a drain mattress system to provide convenient collection and disposal of urine from urinary incontinent patients. Further, there is also a need for a mattress arrangement by draining such fluids and evacuating them outwards, such arrangement being also intended to prevent bed sores. Further, there is also a need for a drain mattress system component that are translucent, so that waste levels and inadvertent blockages could be easily observed in the drain mattress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a drain mattress system having both mattress and a removable center inflated sections to support a patient. The removable center inflated sections provide reduced pressure against the patient's body resting on the mattress. It is understood that the drain mattress of the present invention has reduced maintenance requirements compared to other air fluidized beds.

The present invention discloses a drain mattress system which includes a mattress positioned on a steel frame of a bed. The drain mattress system is configured to have a collection tubes and a central removable collection tank. The drain mattress system configured to have drain holes that are positioned in the center of a bed frame. The center section of the drain mattress system is penetrated with a series of the collection tubes that protrude through a lower support surface of a bed frame and are connected to the collection tube, which is then collected in a funnel and directed to the central removable collection tank located under the bed. The drain mattress system is designed in such a way that fluid would automatically drain to the central removable collection tank enabling the mattress dry. The drain mattress system is attached to a suction vacuum to pull out the fluid and fecal matter.

In one embodiment, the drain mattress system center inflated sections are fixed and operate as a single unit. In a preferred embodiment drain mattress system center inflated sections are removable. The drain mattress system connections are made with an upper tube projecting into a lower tube. The collection tubes are designed to grip the other portions tightly. The drain mattress preferably formed of a relatively soft foam, such as rubber latex.

In one embodiment, drain mattress is a waterproof mattress constructed of an air-inflated. In a preferred embodiment drain mattress could be constructed of a spring type of bed mattress. The drain mattress could be constructed from a wide variety of materials including rubber, polyurethane, polyether, etc.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

