Many hospitals that specialize in bariatric surgery on obese patients are already equipped with hydraulic equipment–imagine a small crane with a sling on it–for that job. The technology is also widely used in Europe. But in the past year, more U.S. hospitals have begun buying simpler devices: plastic air mattresses with small holes on the bottom. The air mattress slips under the patient, a small pump inflates it and air escapes through the holes, reducing the friction as the patient is pulled between beds. “It’s like an upside-down air-hockey table, and the patient’s the puck,” says Dave Davis of HoverTech International. James Weedling of rival Patient Transfer Industries says: “What’s really driving the product now is Worker Compensation claims.”
Proponents say the $3,000 devices pay for themselves in a matter of months. Says Sandy Wise of Novation, a Texas firm that helps hospitals buy equipment: “This is a supply that will become a necessity.” If they weren’t so pricey and electrified, they also look like they’d be fun at a pool party.
