Patent ID: 7954186

Claim:
A cushioning device comprising: a first deep cell inflatable bladder, a minimum five inches in height, having a first side, a second side, an upper surface and a lower surface, a first restraint structure having a top surface and a bottom surface and defines the exterior perimeter of a plurality of first deep cell inflatable bladders wherein the upper surface, when at a maximum inflation, and the top surface are on or within an approximation of the same plane and a patient positioned on the cushioning device contacts, excluding a conventional medically acceptable cover material, the first deep cell inflatable bladder and/or the first restraint structure; a pump having (a) a maximum inflation mode that inflates each of the plurality of the first deep cell inflatable bladders so each bladder's entire upper surface and the first restraint's top surface are in the same plane and (b) a normal operating inflation mode that provides sufficient inflation to (A) prevent the first deep cell inflatable bladder's upper surface from contacting the first deep cell inflatable bladder's lower surface, (B) decrease (i) the formation of debuticus ulcers on a patient and (ii) the patient's tissue interface pressure, and (C) allow the first restraint structure to inhibit and/or restrain the patient from rolling off the first deep cell inflatable bladder; an attachment that attaches at least a portion of the first deep cell inflatable bladder's first side to the first restraint structure at a predetermined distance (a) of 3 inches or greater below the first restraint's top surface and the first deep cell inflatable bladder's upper surface when inflated to maximum inflation mode, and (b) greater than zero inches above the first deep cell inflatable bladder's lower surface and the first restraint's bottom surface so (A) the first restraint during the normal operating mode inhibits and/or restrains the patient from rolling off the first deep cell inflatable bladder, and (B) the first restraint and first deep cell inflatable bladder provide lateral stability to allow the patient to get in and out of the cushioning device and facilitating patient transfers during the maximum inflate mode.