| 摘要 |
As the obesity rate climbs nationwide, obese and morbidly obese patients will continue to pose special lifting challenges to the healthcare industry. Obesity among American adults has nearly doubled during the past two decades. One in 80 men weights >300 pounds and one in 200 women weights >300 pounds. Getting assistance is crucial when moving these patients. With these rising numbers, have come the numerous complications relating to medical treatment for these bariatric patients. Healthcare providers must consider the additional costs associated with handling of the bariatric patient along with safety issues relating to both the bariatric patient and caregiver. Also, moving extremely obese patients can prove to very dangerous or even fatal. The most economical assistance to move bariatric patients to and from the hospital bed can only be provided by some mechanical aid. The management of bariatric patients produces special challenges, and the best way to ensure safe patient handling is through the use of special mechanical equipment that meet the size and weight requirements of these bariatric patients and that can be operated in very confined spaces. The target population is estimated to be the 4.5 million extremely obese persons in the United States, with a Body Mass Index (BMI) >35 that will become patients in some health care facility. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that care for obese patients costs an average of 37 percent more than people of normal weight. In 2003, obesity-related medical costs in the US reached >$ 75 billion. This apparatus will be the first of its kind to incorporate adaptive control techniques to present-day assistive lift device designs.
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