Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Designed by the same team who built wheelchairs for the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, the Orbiter smart cushion, is intended to increase seating tolerance for wheelchair users, enabling users to live an active seated lifestyle. Using a combination of intelligent real-time pressure and movement sensing, together with responsive and quantifiable inflation/deflation of the air contained in five cushion bladders, the technology redistributes and balances the user’s weight. Zoned distribution and balancing of the users’ weight to eliminate direct pressure on sensitive areas, not only in view of accelerating the healing process of pressure injuries, but to also prevent new injuries from occurring at pressure points. In fact, the smart distribution and redistribution of air contained in the five cushion bladers also functions like a massage, effectively promoting muscle blood flow, while reducing pressure points, and resulting in an overall decrease in fatigue.
Thus, the cushion is not only designed to adapt to any shifts in user movement, for the purpose of supporting the user’s new position with an optimized redistribution of the air contained in the cushion bladders. The cushion also shifts the inflation/deflation of the bladder zones, in the absence of user movement, thus massaging the user’s muscles, promoting blood flow, and effectively preventing any new pressure sores from forming, at load-bearing points.
The Orbiter cushion is also app-controlled. The app enables users both to visualize the pressure map, and to set levels of firmness, according to region. The app might also be used to indicate zones of discomfort, and to alert caregiving personnel. Alternatively, the cushion might be controlled by caregivers. The cushion is also designed to automatically alert caregivers in case the user slips, is unresponsive to using the cushion, or for monitoring performance during off-load exercises. The cushion is also energy-efficient as it turns off automatically when the user is not applying any pressure.
A controller drives the operation of the pneumatic cushion, together with pneumatic solenoid valves and pumps, sheathed with rubber and foam to minimize noise, and vibration. An electric subsystem, coupled to the pressure data, handles errors in inflation/deflation that might occur, and includes an automatic diconnect.
Winner of an Innovation Award at SXSW 2023 in the Patient Safety Technology category, the Orbiter smart cushion, masterminded by the Australian firm Kalogon, is a patented invention. The UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) patent, WO2023003784A1, titled Individual pressure zone controlled cushion and support, was awarded on January 26th, 2023, to the four inventors: Tim Balz, Aaron Jones, Christian Balcom, and Connor Crenshaw.
Below, an image of the Orbiter cushion, together with the keyed patent Figure 4. The patent Figure 4 depicts a schematic view of the five bladders, forming regions inside the cushion. The hoses used to inflate and deflate the bladder regions with air are also shown. The bladders, together with intelligent distribution and re-distribution of air, function to both massage the user’s musculature, and to redistribute pressure on the user’s load-bearing points.
A cushion promotes healthy blood flow within the body when the patient is sitting/lying down. A pressure controlling support automatically balances user weight, detects application of user weight, or otherwise detects when the user is at-risk for pressure sores. Pressure is dynamically redistributed by inflation/ deflation of individual bladders, rebalancing user support. The cushion prevents the user from applying their weight to impede their blood flow at an at-risk location or from cramping their musculature. The cushion also massages the user's musculature, by moving a pressure difference about selected bladders, promoting blood flow and reducing seating fatigue. The cushion detects changes in pressure at each bladder, to detect/ predict user fidgeting/ movement and adjust pressure in response thereto, to support the user's new position. [Abstract WO2023003784A1]
References
Stephen Hawking
https://www.hawking.org.uk/
Kalogen (website)
https://www.kalogon.com/
SXSW 2023 – Innovation Award winner – Patient Safety Technology.
https://www.sxsw.com/news/2023/2023-sxsw-innovation-awards-winners-announced/
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