If necessity is the mother of invention, then accident-prone inventors will always have a leg up on artificial intelligence. The Nurse’s Easy Lift and Positioner www.nurseslift.com was born out of frustration. In 2007, inventor David Wolfe dislocated his shoulder after an experimental aircraft accident. After the ER doctor re-inserted it David found it ludicrous that the only physical aid the hospital sent him home with to keep his shoulder together was a “five-dollar canvas sling.” He explained “No matter how I tried to alter the sling, nothing pushed my arm back into the socket as well as tilting my torso 45 degrees and jamming my elbow into the sofa arm. This allowed my humerus bone to push all those ripped tendons back up towards the socket, temporarily removing the excruciating pain of the arm’s weight pulling down on them. Tightening the sling only brought my wrist towards my chin and that gave me 10% of the shoulder relief I cried out for. I thought it was unbelievable that the hospital couldn't give me, loan me or guide me to a rentable device that sat on a bed or table that was capable of holding my arm at the correct height and angle to provide pain relief and possibly better healing. It didn't exist.”  

Years later, David suffered another injury. This time it was a roller skating accident that bent his knee sideways. To aid in healing and pain relief, for a month he sat on a sofa while he tried to keep his toes pointing up. The only problem with that was legs at rest (especially when a cast is involved) tilt outwards, causing knee pain and impeding proper knee healing. Additionally, David later learned that patients often have hip problems after months of casted legs healing in bed unnaturally over-rotated. To counter this, David used rolled-up, taped, towels placed under/beside his calf to keep his toes pointed up and his knee straight. 

This time the frustration of rolled towels falling off the sofa every 5 minutes motivated him to create a solution. First, he thought of a contoured cushion to cradle the leg, but without a steady base, it would fall out of place. Then the idea of an adjustable lift with a stabilizing base below and a body contoured cushion above, came into focus. Finally, the idea of any number of body-contoured, task-focused cushions that clicked in and out of a stable lift came into focus. The lift would become a standard platform that could assist in moving or holding dozens of body parts.  He grew to realize “the funny thing about the evolution of an idea is you never know where the invention will take you, because, by the time I racked my brain to think of as many uses as I could, it turned out that half of the lift and prop tasks actually do as much for nurses as it does for patients.” Wolfe was astonished to find out that nurses have among the highest injury rates of any profession. So when the time came to conceptualize the powering of the lift  “I decided to keep the batteries, wires, and motor off the lift entirely and place that weight in the nurse’s other hand by way of a small rechargeable socked-ended drill that attaches to a center bolt through the lift. When adjusting the lift before patient placement, a hand crank easily does the job."

Wolfe concluded that the invention needed to avoid physically taxing caregivers so they'd use it more.  “My goal was to have the lift weigh as little as a half gallon of milk. My carbon fiber fabricator got really close with the prototype coming in at 3.5 pounds, but he tells me a mass-manufactured unit would be under 3 pounds.”

The final prototype has 11 urethane-coated EVA foam cushions that perform 31 tasks, including the two that formed the initial inspiration: a forearm holder for arm and shoulder injuries and a calf cushion that holds one leg flat with toes up for secured, upright healing. The nurseslift.com website details the quick assembly and lift capabilities like patient turning, BM cleaning, stabilized healing, enhanced circulation and preventing upright patients from slipping down the mattress. The lift kit also includes a cushion mount that attaches to the lift, functioning like an endoskeleton for each cushion as well as a way to firmly attach soft cushions to the solid lift.

The utility patent number 11986430 was issued on May 21st 2024 and has international protection.  The technology is being offered for sale or exclusive license.  Contact [email protected]

“I believe that over time, doctors, ALF workers, travel nurses, chiropractors, family caregivers, nurses, therapists, and the like will tell us what additional tasks they wish the lift could do, and whichever company bought the patent rights, they'll be able to make new cushions. I get a kick out of thinking the best application for the lift and cushions has yet to come.“ 

To view the 31 tasks, 11 cushions and much more, visit https://www.nurseslift.com