How do I know if all of the air cylinders are working properly? Is there any routine check I can perform to assure myself it’s working at peak performance?
While the AccuMax represents a technological breakthrough in pressure management, the system dynamics are as remarkable in their simplicity. Unlike microprocessor-based systems that unfortunately can operate at varying degrees of efficiency, the AccuMax is either working or its not; it will be very obvious. First, visually observe the AccuMax to confirm that it is uniform in its shape. Second, feel the surface of the AccuMax to determine if any one air cell is under/over-inflated in relation to the others. If the AccuMax passes these quick visual and tactile inspections, you can be assured the system is working at peak efficiency. However, if you are ever concerned or have further questions, please give our Customer Satisfaction Department a call.
|
 |
|
Can I buy replacement cylinders to have on hand to minimize down-time, should I have a problem?
Replacement parts are available, which certainly include air cylinders. We have manufactured our AccuMax to deliver very reliable results for its entire warranted life. The need to have replacement air cylinders on hand is extremely small. We might suggest you stock a couple of extra top covers should one get damaged by a needle stick, etc. but that is not necessary. A call to our Customer Service to order a new top cover can normally get one shipped that same business day.
Depending on your facility's "comfort level" with replacing parts, we can in-service your maintenance department to train them to replace any and all of the component parts of the AccuMax.
|
|
|
How many control units should I have on hand? Should I have extra?
That is entirely the choice of the facility based on their pressure management protocol. Based on historical information, those facilities that have chosen to purchase controls unit have averaged approximately a 5 to 1 ratio of mattresses to control units. But in reality that number is all over the board. Some facilities have purchased at a 1 to 1 ratio while others have purchased a small amount to have the alternating pressure therapy available when needed. Because the AccuMax is a pressure relief system even when non-powered, there is no need to have extra control units in the facility.
|
|
|
When should the control unit be used?
Again, that is the preference of the facility based on their pressure management protocol. Some facilities have chosen to use the control unit if a patient has little to no mobility. Others have chosen to use the control unit on any Stage IV pressure ulcer. Still others have attached the use of the control unit to a particular score (rating) on their risk assessment scale.
|
|
|
Is there a noticeable difference in comfort when the control unit is used?
There can be. Remember, when non-powered, the AccuMax is a very comfortable and pressure relieving support surface. Should a patient need alternating pressure therapy, it is a therapy of its own—Higher pressures then lower pressures. If a patient should complain about their level of comfort the control unit can be adjusted for comfort.
|
|
|
How do we know if the control unit is not working properly?
A couple of simple tests can be performed as well as a diagnostic test that is explained in the owner’s manual. First of all, the control unit has a normal pressure and low pressure light. Normal pressure is green (good) and low pressure is bad (red). The low pressure light can illuminate during the initial inflation process but should be replaced by the normal pressure light after adequate inflation has been achieved. Second, to make sure the air is alternating you can disconnect the air tubes at the control unit side and by feeling the air emanating from the control unit you can tell if the pumps inside the control unit are blowing air. After about 7-10 minutes you should also check to see if the air does alternate to the other output valve to make sure it can deliver alternating pressure therapy.
The diagnostic test in the Owner’s Manual is a test that can be performed in the engineering department to make sure the proper amount of air and pressure is being created by the control units.
|
|
|
Can the AccuMax be used for patients with bad backs? Will the heel slope cause back pain
There is nothing preventing patients with bad backs from lying on the AccuMax. Historically, we have been led to believe that patients with bad backs should be on a firm (hard) surface and the AccuMax is not a hard surface. But it is a surface that readily conforms to the anatomy of each individual and provides incredible pressure relieving support.
After over five years in this product category, nothing has shown that the heel slope causes back pain.
|
|
|
Are you telling me that any patient that I would put on a Hill-Rom or KCI low air loss bed can now go on an AccuMax™?
There will always be patients that need other adjuvant therapies that only low-air loss, rotation or pulsation beds can provide, but fortunately it is a very small percentage. While the AccuMax can truthfully be labeled a dynamic system, it cannot deliver those types of therapies. The AccuMax is most effective and indicated for those patients that would have been placed on a high-end rental bed system only because a viable, lower cost, alternative did not exist prior to its existence. The AccuMax makes no claims that it can deliver the pulmonary benefits of true rotational beds (such as the RotoRest® or Keane Mobility Bed) but in most of the remaining pressure ulcer patients the AccuMax can deliver positive clinical outcomes.
|
|
|
Does it still work effectively when the bed it gatched?
Absolutely. As long as one end of the air cell can freely "communicate" with the other end, the AccuMax will perform at maximum efficiency. Only if an air tube is truly kinked will the AccuMax fail to operate at peak efficiency. Beds would have to be gatched at more than 90º for this condition to occur. Hospital beds do not even have that capability other then when they are being cleaned/disinfected.
|
|
|
Some patients complain about a sinking into the mattress, is that normal?
In order for any system to deliver the low-pressure therapy it claims, the patient must "sink into" the product in order for the patient's weight to be adequately displaced. From the simplest convoluted pad to the most expensive rental beds pressure reduction/relief is all about maximizing surface area. The more area that can be used to support a patient's weight the better the average pressure readings will be. That is why it has always been so hard to get very low pressure readings in the heels. All the weight of the lower leg and foot is concentrated on that one very small bony prominence, the heel.
|
|
|
How should we perform CPR?
Use the same protocol we have always stated on our MaxiFloat®. A board must be inserted under the patient to achieve the adequate resistance needed for CPR.
|
|
|
How does the AccuMax Quatum™ differ from the Span America Pressure Guard (Hill-Rom PrimeAir) product?
The AccuMax, in all of its different versions, differ from the Pressure Guard Custom Care in a variety of very subtle ways, (the Heel Pillow in the acute care version for example). But the one huge difference is simply that the AccuMax is a dynamic (open) system and the Custom Care is a closed system. The AccuMax with its Controlled Release technology uses a series of input/output valves to constantly adjust the air inside the system using atmospheric pressure as it power source. Any time a patient moves the valves can either expel more air or increase the amount of air in an air cell from an infinite supply.
The Custom Care uses air exchange from a finite supply of air (from the cells to the reservoir and back) to deliver its therapy. While it may be understating its clinical benefits, the Custom Care System shifts air around just like a Gaymar Sof Care overlay. No one has ever called the Sof Care overlay a dynamic system (not even the manufacturer), because it is not a dynamic system. And much like the Sof Care pad the Custom Care needs to be checked and reinflated periodically.
|
|
|
What are the patient weight limits, both low and high?
Because the initial pressure necessary to maximize displacement of body weight and shape is the same no matter what the size of the patient, theoretically there exists no minimum or maximum weight limitation on the AccuMax. I say theoretically because if a patient is either so big or so tall that their body exceeds the intended therapeutic surface area of the AccuMax then its clinical effectiveness is certainly less than optimal. The same restriction would exist on any therapeutic support surface.
|
|
|
Can I use a draw sheet under the patient to help us with turning?
Yes. The same protocol that is used on our MaxiFloats® applies on the AccuMax.
|
|
|
FAQ's About Our
Accumax™ Mattresses
|
Can the AccuMax work with the Bed Exit System?
Absolutely. Because the air tubes are essentially the bottom layer of the AccuMax, with only the malleable vinyl cover beneath, they do not exert the same kind of load or force on the Bed Exit system that a foam mattress might. That is why our foam mattresses need Bed Exit channels for the Bed Exit System to work. When a patient tries to "walk" out of his bed the lightweight air cushions allow the bed exit load cell to lose contact and sound the alarm for the nurses to hear. In short, the AccuMax is completely compatible with the Hill-Rom Bed Exit System.
|
|
|
Does the AccuMax come in ICU sizes? Twin? Full? Queen? King?
Currently the AccuMax™ comes in four sizes 32" x 80", 35" x 75", 35" x 80' and 35" x 84 for facility use." We also have a full line of AccuMax Quantums for bariatric bed frames and can also provide AccuMax units for the traditional sizes of the home.
|
|
|
How does the AccuMax clinically compare with the Zone Aire?
The AccuMax is a dynamic system that delivers low pressure therapy. So does the Zone Air. Clinically we have outcome studies that prove the AccuMax delivers on its promises. I am sure that Hill-Rom can burden its customers with reams of the same “white paper” documentation. The AccuMax is dynamic, so is the Zone Air. The AccuMax can deliver pressure relief therapy while non-powered, the Zone Air needs an electrical power source at all times to operate. The AccuMax is around $1,300, the Zone Air is more than twice the price of an AccuMax.
|
|
|
Why now all of a sudden can foam provide pressure relief?
The foam alone is not the pressure reducing/relieving element of the AccuMax. The foam is used primarily as a reforming agent (the machine that makes the air tubes pull in air during repositioning). The AccuMax also consists of a comfort engineered topper with layers of polyester fiber as well as two layers of co-polymer with a special section for the heels. The AccuMax also comes equipped with our patented Heel Pillow™ that rests upon two separate air sectors for added heel protection.
|
|
|
Why are the heel section air tubes separate from the torso section?
Upon pressure testing during the design and creation of the AccuMax Quantum System we simply found we got lower pressures consistently on the heels when they were separate of the alternating pressure.
Alternating pressure on the AccuMax System provides a gentle massaging action to help combat the effects of immobility. Because of the unique anatomy of the heel, with one very small spot bearing the weight of the lower leg, we found that offering consistently low pressure with:
- A supersoft section in the topper
- Our patented, multi-layer Heel Pillow
- A slight heel slope (to have the calf support some of the weight)
- Two separate air sectors
…provided better care than having the last two air cells alternate the pressure between them.
We also separated the heel air tubes because we wanted to make sure that during initial air redistribution upon ingress, movement etc., air from the torso section was not first routed to the heel section (raising heel interface pressures for a short time) before being released into the atmosphere.
|
|
|
Can the AccuMax be used on patients with unstable spinal cords? Or is it contraindicated for any patient with spinal instabilities?
Any system that does not provide adequate stabilization for a spinal cord patient is contraindicated. This list includes low air loss beds, water beds etc.
The main reasons air beds are traditionally contraindicated for spinal patients are the chances of rapid deflation during a power loss or should an air cell be compromised and uncontrollably deflate. While these beds can be ordered with a battery back-up (at additional cost) to address the first issue, nothing can be done if an air cell is ripped or torn inadvertently. The rapid deflation can cause a dangerous situation for an unstable spine.
With the AccuMax Quantum, even in the event of a torn or ripped air cell, there is no chance of a rapid deflation of the system. Our Owner’s Manual does list unstable spinal patients as contraindicated as it is the industry norm to do so. We think it best to consult with the physician in charge from him/her to make the final decision
|
