Technical Field

The invention is related to a prone position pillow developed to enable the patient to stay in the prone position more comfortably.

The invention is particularly related to support systems that support the patient's head, neck, and body and allow these regions to stay in the same plane and to prevent problems that may occur due to improper posture, and a prone position pillow arm apparatuses that support the upper extremities, which are positioned according to the direction of the patient's endotracheal tube, in order to support the patients lying in the prone position in the health sector.

The State of the Art

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 stance, so that extremity contracture does not develop, and the other arm is placed on the side of the patient's body. The shoulder of the arm facing the patient's face is brought to 80° abduction and the elbow to 90° flexion to ensure the normal angulation of the patient's arm posture. The other arm lies on the patient's side with the elbow slightly flexed. Since the pillows used in the technical area to support the patient in the prone position only raise the patient's torso, the shoulders and arms remain down, and this situation causes the neck region to be angled too much by the fact that the patient does not stay on the same plane. On the other hand, since the shoulders and arms tend to hang down, they remain under pressure and this creates a risk of pressure sores in the patient. In the prone position given to increase the ventilation of the patient, the head and neck region of the patient cannot be supported with pillows of appropriate sizes, and the face of the patient is buried in the pillow, accordingly, it causes the dislocation of the endotracheal tube, threatening the patient's life and causing the present treatment to be interrupted. In addition, the use of more than one material that supports the pressure zones of the patient causes an increase in the workload and there is no holistic system in the clinic for this purpose. Especially in bedridden intensive care patient groups, changing the position of the patient and monitoring the status, reducing the pressure formation by supporting with appropriate materials in this process, and preventing the complications that may develop due to the situation are important in maintaining the patient's treatment effectively and increasing the quality of care. In this sense, there is a need for new structures that will solve the problems mentioned in the related technical field.

The utility model application with the publication number CN214415109 U was determined in the patent and literature search carried out for the known state of the art. Said application discloses a medical pillow comprising a face piece, a chest cavity piece, and a leveling piece. The upper surface of the face and the thoracic cavity are ergonomically configured as a naturally fitting curved surface, and the middle part of the face is equipped with a through hole for the nose. There are respiratory grooves corresponding to both sides of the nostril. However, since the patient has an endotracheal tube, they should be laid with their head on their side. The medical pillow in the said utility model application is designed with the patient's face forward. However, in the target patient group, lying face down is not preferred due to the position of the endotracheal tube and the possibility of dislocation. Therefore, in the said utility model application, the nasal passage created for the ventilation of the patient does not constitute an advantage for the target patient group, and nasal breathing is ineffective because the patients are already mechanically ventilated.

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 a prone positioning pillow that meets the above-mentioned requirements, eliminates all 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 develop a new prone position pillow in order to support the patients lying in the prone position and to prevent complications that may be caused by support materials of inappropriate sizes. Thanks to the prone position pillow as the subject of the invention, the patient's head, neck, and body are supported according to the patient's body form and posture, and these regions are kept in the same plane. In addition, the prone position pillow prevents the patient's face from being buried in the pillow, thus reducing the possibility of endotracheal tube dislocation. In addition, the neck area of the patient is properly supported, preventing excessive angulation of the neck. The patient's upper extremities, which are positioned according to the direction of the endotracheal tube, are supported by the arm apparatus appropriately, preventing the development of contracture in the patient. For patients who stay in the prone position, which is difficult to rotate, for a long time, the use of a multifunctional position pillow in appropriate sizes that supports the patient's upper body increases the comfort of the patient, reduces the workload of the caregivers due to more than one material used on the patient, and provides savings in terms of both cost and time. The characterizing aspect of the invention in the known state of the art is that it consists of a single pillow that supports the head, neck, and body of the patient and includes arm apparatuses that support the upper extremities of the patient, positioned according to the location of the endotracheal tube.

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 Aiding the Description of the Invention

Figure 1 shows the top view of the patient lying in the prone position.

Figure 2 shows the view of the patient's arms while lying in the prone position.

Figure 3 shows the views of the right and left arms in the prone position with the endotracheal tube on the right.

Figure 4 shows the views of the right and left arms in the prone position with the endotracheal tube on the left. Description of the Part References

1 Head support

2 Neck support

3 Body support

4 Arm apparatus area

5 Endotracheal tube

6 Arm apparatus

Detailed Description of the Invention

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

The invention is related to a prone position pillow developed to enable the patient to stay in the prone position more comfortably. Said prone position pillow includes head support (1), neck support (2), and body support (3). Figure 1 shows the top view of the patient lying in the prone position. Accordingly, head support (1) has a form such that the patient can put their head and their face is exposed. Since the standard pillows used in the known state of the art are not in a format suitable for the patient's head size, the patient's face is buried in the pillow, which creates pressure on the patient's face. The head support (1), which is in the structure of the prone position pillow as the subject of the invention, is designed according to the dimensions where only the head of the patient touches the bed, and it is aimed to support the patient with the appropriate size head support (1).

The neck support (2), which is located in the continuation of the said head support (1), supports the neck of the patient, which is angled more than the normal posture due to the patient’s staying in the prone position for a long time. The body support (3), which is designed in conjunction with the head support (1) and the neck support (2), provides the height needed by the patient in the prone position and ensures that the neck and body parts are positioned in the same plane. In addition, the body support (3) is designed to cover the shoulders of the patient, and it is aimed to protect the neck and shoulder posture of the patient and to prevent the pressure that may occur. While the body support (3) is at a height parallel to the head support (1), its height gradually decreases in the lower part of the body that descends from the shoulder to the abdomen.

In the prone position, the patient's arms are positioned in two ways. One of the said positionings is right arm up, left arm down. The other positioning is left arm up, and right arm down. This positioning changes according to the location of the endotracheal tube (5). To support the patient's arms positioned according to the direction of the endotracheal tube (5), the body support (3) includes an arm apparatus area (4) for the right and left arms. An arm apparatus (6) that will support the patient's arms are attached to each arm apparatus area (4). Figure 2 shows the view of the patient's arms while lying in the prone position. When the patient's endotracheal tube (5) is on the right, the arms are positioned so that the right arm is on top and the left arm is below, and the arm apparatuses (6) suitable for the position of the arms are attached to the arm apparatus area (4) and the patient's arms are supported in this process. When the endotracheal tube (5) is on the left, the patient's arms are positioned so that the left arm is on top and the right arm is down, and appropriate arm apparatus (6) is used. In this sense, it is possible to support the upper extremities, which are positioned according to the direction of the endotracheal tube (5) in the prone position of the patient, in an appropriate posture. As seen in Figure 3 and Figure 4, the arm apparatus (6) is designed according to the patient's anatomy, and there are four pieces in total, two right and two left, depending on the patient's position. The arm apparatuses (6) are equipped with a support surface so that the palm, wrist, and underarm parts of the patient do not create pressure on the patient. In this way, the pressure areas of the patient can be supported and it can be ensured that the patient maintains the prone position more comfortably and without complications.

In order to solve the present problems in the technical field and to fulfill the mentioned objectives, the invention is a prone position pillow developed to enable the patient to stay in the prone position more comfortably;

• a head support (1), which has a form in which the patient can put their head and their face is exposed,

• the neck support (2), which is located in the continuation of the said head support (1), supports the neck of the patient, and which is angled more than the normal posture due to patient’s staying in the prone position for a long time.

• the body support (3), which is designed in conjunction with the head support (1) and the neck support (2), which provides the height needed by the patient in the prone position and ensures that the neck and body parts are positioned in the same plane.

• arm apparatus (6) to support each of the arms of the patient positioned according to the direction of the endotracheal tube (5),

• the arm apparatus area (4) in the body support (3) structure, where each arm apparatus (6) is placed.