Patient transport method and apparatus

Abstract

A transport method and apparatus is provided capable of reducing the accelerations encountered by an item or patient due to an external energy input to the transport device, by utilizing an active control system adapted to input a second energy to offset the effect of the external energy input.

1 . A patient transport device, comprising: 
 a patient support;    one or more passive energy devices coupled to the patient support and adapted to absorb at least a portion of an external energy input to the patient transport device; and    a force generator controllably coupled to the patient support and configured to provide a second energy input into the device to reduce the effect of the external energy input on the patient support.    
   
   
       2 . The patient transport device of  claim 1 , wherein the force generator is adapted to generate and control linear movement of the patient support with respect to a support reference.  
   
   
       3 . The patient transport device of  claim 2 , wherein the force generator includes an electrically driven motor.  
   
   
       4 . The patient transport device of  claim 3 , wherein the motor is a linear motor coupled to the support reference and having an actuator coupled to the patient support.  
   
   
       5 . The patient transport device of  claim 3 , wherein the motor is a rotary motor coupled to the support reference and is coupled to the patient support through a rack and pinion interface.  
   
   
       6 . The patient transport device of  claim 1 , further comprising a sensor in electrical communication with the force generator, the sensor adapted to detect a response characteristic of the patient support to an external energy input, and adapted to generate a sensor signal representative of the characteristic.  
   
   
       7 . The patient transport device of  claim 6 , wherein the sensor is adapted to sense a selected one of the following response characteristics: position, velocity, acceleration, and force.  
   
   
       8 . The patient transport device of  claim 6 , further comprising a controller in electrical communication with the force generator and the sensor, the controller adapted to receive the sensor signal and apply a control law to generate a control signal.  
   
   
       9 . The patient transport device of  claim 8 , wherein the force generator is adapted to receive the control signal and generate the second energy input based thereon.  
   
   
       10 . The patient transport device of  claim 8 , wherein the sensor, controller, and force generator are part of the same component.  
   
   
       11 . The patient transport device of  claim 1 , wherein the patient support is adapted to couple to an incubator for neonatal transport.  
   
   
       12 . The patient transport device of  claim 1 , wherein the patient support is adapted to couple to a transport bed for juvenile and adult transport.  
   
   
       13 . The patient transport device of  claim 1 , further comprising a support reference removably coupled to a frame of the patient transport device such that the patient support device may be removed from the frame.  
   
   
       14 . The patient transport device of  claim 1 , wherein the force generator is adapted to dynamically generate the second energy input based on a negative feedback control loop.  
   
   
       15 . A method for reducing the effect of an external energy input to a patient during transport, comprising: 
 providing a patient transport device having a patient support coupled to an active control system that includes a sensor in electrical communication with a controller that is in electrical communication with a force generator, the force generator adapted to at least generate and control linear motion of the patient support;    sensing a response characteristic of the patient support as a result of the external energy input;    sending a sensor signal representative of the response characteristic to the controller;    generating a control signal based on the sensor signal that is representative of a second energy input required;    sending the control signal to a force generator; and    inputting a second energy into the patient transport device to reduce the amount of the external energy that is transmitted to the patient support.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein sensing a response characteristic includes sensing the position of the patient support with respect to a support reference, and the inputting second energy input includes generating a force input of an amount and direction sufficient to cause the distance between the patient support and the support reference to remain constant.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein sensing a response characteristic includes sensing either position, velocity, or acceleration of the patient support.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the sensing a response characteristic includes sensing position, and further includes determining the velocity of the patient support.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the second energy input is proportional to the position and velocity of the patient support.  
   
   
       20 . A transport device adapted to reduce the impact of an external energy transmitted to the device on an item being transported, comprising: 
 a support member;    one or more passive energy devices coupled to the support member and adapted to absorb at least a portion of the external energy; and    a force generator controllably coupled to the support member and configured to provide a second energy input into the device to reduce the effect of the external energy input on the support member, the force generator being controlled through a feedback control loop.