Convert Wheelchair to a Gurney

About

Background Patients in hospitals, nursing homes and those receiving home health care often need to be transferred between a bed and a wheelchair or other similar resting places on a regular basis. Transferring patients between a bed and a wheelchair or vice versa remains one of the most difficult tasks for a caregiver as they need to ensure patient comfort, dignity and safety are not compromised during the transfer process. In most cases, patient transfer is achieved by manually moving the patient by trained caregivers. Manual transfer of patients remains a leading cause of back injuries to healthcare workers in this profession due to repeated manual patient handling activities which often involve heavy manual lifting associated with transferring and repositioning patients [1]. Direct and indirect costs associated with back injuries in the healthcare industry are estimated to be $20 billion annually, with nursing aides and orderlies suffering the highest prevalence (~20%) and reporting the most annual cases of work-related back pain among female workers in the United States [2]. Alternate mechanical assistive patient lifting aids, such as Hoyer lifts, are difficult to implement, in part due to the time and effort required to safely use lift equipment, especially in home settings. There is an urgent unmet need to have specialized equipment which makes it easier for patients to transfer safely and easily with minimal assistance while preserving their dignity. Technology UMass Professor Robert Parkin has invented a mechanism to easily convert a wheelchair to gurney, enabling patient transfer between wheelchair and bed. Dr. Parkin’s system utilizes a motor-driven four-bar linkage system that simultaneously lowers the back, raises the seat and leg supports so that the chair becomes a flat platform at the same height as the bed surface. It is intended that the chair is wheeled alongside the bed so that the side of the wheelchair can be slotted into a locked position with the bed. The patient can then wriggle from the gurney to the bed with or without assistance from caregivers, depending on the level of patient disability. The motor is battery powered and cannot be back driven Advantages Safety Reduces orthopedic injuries for caregivers Patients need less forceful movements to transfer from wheelchair to bed or vice versa Patients are not bent and compressed during transfer which is commonly encountered in use of patient lifts Empowers Patient Allows patients to transfer without help from caregivers, depending on the level of their disability, increasing patient independence Can reduce the need for round the clock care in some cases by making patients more mobile Reduces the time taken for patient transfers, as transferring a patient with a lift usually takes between three and six minutes which is considerably longer than moving a patient manually Reduces cost Eliminates the need to form “lift teams” specialized in moving patients Easy to use Does not require caregivers to undergo specialized training to use the equipment Market Potential The wheelchair market was estimated to have generated $490.8 million in revenues in 2007. The market is expected to grow at 11% annually for the next few years. Worldwide there is huge demand for wheelchairs, with 100-130 million people needing wheelchairs [3].