Patent ID: 8458827

Claim:
A patient positioning system for use in moving a patient from one location to another location, said patient positioning system comprising: (a) a rail system, the rail system being positioned within at least one room of a building and being coupled to a building structure; and (b) a hoist system, the hoist system being coupled to the rail system, the hoist system comprising a harness adapted to hold a patient and means for reversibly moving the harness vertically; (c) wherein the rail system includes a first rail, said first rail being shaped to include a top wall, a bottom wall, a left wall, a right wall, a substantially open front, a substantially open rear, a first rib extending horizontally from the left side wall to the right side wall, and a second rib extending vertically from the top wall to the first rib, the first rib and the second rib jointly dividing the interior of the first rail into a pair of upper chambers and a lower chamber.