Patient Lift Sling and Hanger Design for Quick and Comfortable Transfer Care

Abstract

A patient lift is a useful tool for preventing lower-back pain of care helpers. However, conventional patient lifts require additional effort by the helper to change the patient’s posture when attaching and detaching the sling and putting the patient in a wheelchair, thereby causing physical strain to the helper. Furthermore, the patient feels anxiety about falling down and additional pain because of compression while being lifted. For this study, we developed a new sling and hanger for patient lifts to solve these problems. The proposed sling is U-shaped to support the body broadly. It can be inserted easily between the body and bed or seat while avoiding high-pressure areas such as the shoulder blades. The developed hanger has a paired parallel link mechanism that maintains the patient’s center of gravity as static. The hangar can change the patient’s posture easily to sit deeply in a wheelchair. When compared with a conventional belt type sling, the total time required for a task from attachment to detachment from the patient was shorter by 11% and the physical strain of the helper was lower by 24% when using the developed sling and hanger. Moreover, the patient can sit in the wheelchair without the need for posture adjustment after detaching the sling. Embarrassment, anxiety about falling, and pain resulting from compression were also reduced.